Most real estate investors spend the majority of their time and efforts on acquiring new properties. While critical, there’s another important step that often ends up being neglected as a result: building a buyers list.
There may be nothing more stressful for an investor than the prospect of searching for a buyer once he has finally managed to secure an offer. In this blog post I’ll show you why buyers lists are so important as well as how to build them using yard signs.
What is a Buyers List?
Just as the name implies, a buyers list is a list of qualified leads that may be interested in purchasing your properties. These are people you have ideally already established a relationship with and that you can contact right away. You’ve also pre-screened them to make sure that they’re a good fit for the types of properties you’re looking to sell. That way you won’t lose any valuable time on negotiations that end up going nowhere.
There are three pieces of information you should include about each potential buyer no matter what:
- Buyers’ first and last name
- Email address
- Phone number
However, a good buyers list should include as much information about the buyer as possible. The more work you put in in the beginning, the better the end result will be. Whenever possible, talk to the buyer and find out (and write down!) the following:
- Their buying criteria
- The type of funding
- Other important information
It’s easy to not put in the extra work and just collect the minimum amount of information on each buyer but those who put in the effort will see it pay off in the end.
Why it’s important to have a buyers list
A big benefit of having an extensive buyers list is that it minimizes the risk of being unable to sell a property. Acquiring a property is hard work so when you finally manage to get one under contract, the last thing you want is to be unable to sell it. In fact, if there is no end-buyer an investor may face several costs and penalties that will end up hurting their bottom line.
Also, the bigger and better your buyers list is, the faster you will sell your properties. Closing deals quickly means that you can move on to your next deal and build your real estate empire faster.
Reverse Yard Signs
Yard signs are one of the most effective ways to build a massive buyers list from scratch. They’re also ideal for newbie investors because of how cost-effective they can be.
What to write on a yard sign to attract qualified buyers
What you write on your signs is important because we want to make sure that we attract the right kind of potential buyers. We’re looking specifically for cash buyers and not retail buyers. The phrases you use serve to pre-screen buyers.
Here’s what I recommend putting on your sign:
- Fixer Upper
- 40k Cash
- Phone Number
Where to place yard signs to build a buyers list
Now that we know what to write on the signs, it’s time to decide where to put up your yard signs. The #1 location you want to put them is around properties that are getting auctioned in the near future. That way you’ll get hot cash buyers with no online presence to call you on their way to the auction.
Public auctions are simply auctions that are held on behalf of a party in which the property is owned by a governing agency, or can be sold on their behalf. Foreclosure auctions are a popular way to find and buy a more affordable real estate to turn it around and sell it for a profit. Typically, properties that are being sold at auction include foreclosures and are all cash sales. If you can find public auctions that are being held in your target business area, then you’ve found the perfect placement for your signs that will lead potential buyers to inquire about the properties you have for sale.
Don’t stop growing your buyers’ list
Investors should make an attempt to continually grow their buyers list. Even in the absence of a property under contract, it’s important to focus your attention on establishing relationships that can be added to your list. After all, when you have a property to sell, you want to do so as quickly as possible.
