How to become a Property “Hunter”

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This IS my main weapon in finding great deals. Know a small area like the back of your hand and you can have the pick of the deals. Make this system part of your investing. You WILL succeed.

The one basic non negotiable skill you must acquire to successfully find great property is to know a good deal when you do find it.

Many people, in fact in my experience most people, don’t understand the power of research and the need for some effort and efficient action to succeed in investing. I succeed because I work hard at it. But that effort has allowed me to retire young and I now have the ability to make money out of property, anywhere any time. It’s a skill I have acquired and now continue to develop that allows me to bless others and indulge the passion my wife and I have to help the poor.

Next to learning how to negotiate well with vendors my biggest “secret” is in knowing an area well. I share it with you in the hope that you’ll do it and learn how to succeed for yourself.

If you will do the steps I detail here, you can become an “expert” in any geographical area. This will allow you to make instant purchasing decisions and pick up every real bargain that presents itself.

Here is my format for initial research on an area.

1. Pick a small geographical area. Preferably no more than a dozen or so streets.
2. Visit at least 2 property managers who work in that area. Explain to them that you are an investor, keen to invest in that area and you are looking for a good property manager who can help you buy good properties and then manage them for you. Ask them the following questions.

   A: Are there any dodgy streets or negative influences in the area you are researching?
   B: What are the streets people want to live in?
   C: What types of properties with what features are the easiest to keep tenanted?
   D: What are typical rents in your area for 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 bedroom properties. Make sure they understand that you will be giving them the properties you buy so you will hold them accountable for the rental figures they give you.  Once you’ve completed this you will have a list of good streets, what types of properties rent well and average yields!

3. Finding great agents.
   Now visit every open home in your chosen streets. Try and time them for when there aren’t a whole lot of people around so you have time to talk to the agents. Tell them you are an investor wanting to invest in the area and do they have any listings you should look at. I always say I am looking for properties at a good price. I am a cash buyer. I will put an offer in on anything they show me that fits my criteria. One note here ~ agents generally do not understand yield and cashflow so it is not good to say your criteria is that you want 20% below valuation and 10% yield. You need to explain to the agent that you are looking for motivated vendors, multiple income properties, cosmetically distressed properties etc. Get them to bring you deals where they believe there is some value. Your job is to find out how good a deal they are, the agent will not know usually.
4. As you visit the open homes and listings with agents keep notes on every property and ask the agent…
   A: How long has the property been on the market?
   B: Why is the vendor selling?
   C: Are there any issues with the property that the agent knows about?
   D: What does the agent think the property will rent for?
5. Put all the properties into your spreadsheet or software and adjust the purchase price to make the property cashflow neutral or positive, pretax or after tax, depending on your situation.
6. Put in offers slightly below what you are willing to pay on every property that you’ve seen.
7. Buy every property you can that countersigns at an acceptable price.

Now this is a starting strategy that teaches you how to research. But it works. I have had students find amazing deals in under a week by following this strategy. It will give you an amazing education!!
In fact one of my students who followed this to the letter went out in her first weekend and came back with a property returning12% in West Auckland. She made a $9000 fee for assigning the property. This happened with 3 days of her following the steps detailed above.
If you knew you could make 9 grand in the next week by doing this would you? Well you can so get out there and do it!!