In the real estate investing world, there is no such thing as a shortage of potential deals. The challenge for many investors is that these deals are often hard to find.

By finding off-market properties, driving for dollars can help real estate investors, wholesalers and bird dogs alike. It is especially useful in a hot market; listed properties go under contract within hours with dozens of offers. Driving for dollars helps you find distressed property so that the first (and only!) offer has been provided by you! Here are our tips.

Know your criteria

When looking to survey neighborhoods, you need to first know the market that interests you. Depending on what your goals are and how you will be exiting the deal later, this could vary a lot. Things like age of the houses or crime rates can make it better for some but not others. In order define which neighborhood would work best for you, start by finding subdivisions within one large target area using Google Maps custom maps tool

Look for the clues

• If you're looking for a motivated seller, keep an eye out for red flags. For example:
• Tall grass means someone neglected the landscaping
• Boarded up or broken windows is a good sign of abandonment
• Overfilled mailboxes also means neglect
• Code enforcement taped to the door - This is a good sign because now the city or county is involved
• Piled up newspapers means neglect
• Overgrown vegetation includes bushes, gardens, and possibly something in the backyard
• Deferred maintenance as in foundation, roof, or garage door

Hire a skip tracing service

Yes, you can take the approach of looking up public records yourself to plan out your marketing. Or you can you just take the easier route: skip trace with us and we’ll tell you who the homeowner is and how to get in touch with that person. Since most of the time the person you’re looking for doesn’t live there, it would take you a while to hunt down the right contact information and location of that person. That would delay any marketing you have planned.

Nonetheless, do leave a note on the property, and if possible, talk to a neighbor. If you see a neighbor outside, strike up conversation with them and offer your business card. Many times they will provide helpful information about an abandoned property owner.

Driving for dollars is a proven, effective method that can help you find distressed properties. If this sounds like something your team could benefit from, book your business consultation with Perfect Skip today. Our experts are ready and waiting to partner with you in order to drive more revenue and get you more deals.