Strategic Networking For Profitable Real Estate Deals

WHO they are: Local Postmen

WHY you should know them: They know of all the distressed houses on their mail routes – the ones with full mailboxes. They can provide you with a list of leads and include the Owners contact information. An excellent source of high-quality "raw" leads once they're trained up correctly.

WHERE to find them: You can find them by going to the post office itself and inquiring about who the postman is that is delivering mail to the areas you are interested in. You can also find them while they are driving around and delivering mail.

HOW to compensate them: Flat fee per lead.

WHO they are: Insurance adjusters, or claims adjusters. 

WHY you should know them: They know of damaged property in your market. The damage can vary drastically ranging from mostly cosmetic, to full structural problems that would require major renovations.  The adjuster will have an intimate understanding of the issue that involves the insurance company. They may also have insight concerning how motivated the Owner may be.

WHERE to find them: I like to search for them on Linkedin or Facebook. I find that an online search works well to find them.

HOW to compensate them: Percentage of profit.

WHO they are: Code Violation Officer

WHY you should know them: They work with a continual stream of ugly, distressed property They are often aware of the sentiment of the Owners They often have a bearing on how motivated the seller may be. They can help mediate the deal between you and the Owner.

WHERE to find them: I like to find them on Linkedin.

HOW to compensate them: Percentage of profit.

WHO they are: Property Manager

WHY you should know them: Know of investors who need to sell and liquidate their holdings. They may also know of other investors in your market that could be a good fit as a partner, lender, or buyer to add to your professional network. They can sometimes provide multiple distressed properties to you at a time. Often have specific insight on why the owner is motivated to sell. They can help mediate the deal between you and the Owner.

WHERE to find them: Referrals, Facebook, Linkedin, Phonebook. Usually very easy to find by title alone.

HOW to compensate them: Percentage of profit.

WHO they are: Closing Attorney / Title Company

WHY you should know them: Closings fail all the time for a variety of reasons. Swoop in, close the deal, and establish a pipeline of deals. These deals can often be some of the simplest to profit from because they are sometimes very far along in the closing process when you get involved. Also, if the deal previously failed to close, this often further motivates the seller of the property and you may be able to get a deeper reduction in price. They are VERY well networked with other professionals in your market.

WHERE to find them: Referral from other investors.

HOW to compensate them: Save them from losing money on houses that will fail to close.

Standard equipment for networking. You MUST have business cards, AND you must give them away.

I use Vistaprint.com. You can get 500 cards for $10. Keep it simple, and by all means... give them away!

This is the form that you provide to your Closing Attorney or Title Company when you initiate a closing. This form outlines the amount that is to be paid to your contact who provided you with the deal. This amount will show up on the HUD1 form - which you can also provide a copy to the contractor upon a successful closing.

It's important to provide your contacts with something to reference in relation to the kinds of houses you are looking for. There are 2 ways to do this - GENERAL or SPECIFIC. The choice is yours.

- GENERAL: Results in more leads and more opportunities for profit, but also more work.

- SPECIFIC: Results in fewer leads, but they are typically of higher quality overall.

I choose to provide my contacts with a SPECIFIC criteria form. I'd rather miss out on some of the deals while also saving myself a boatload of time and effort. There is no right or wrong answer, it comes down to your own personal preference.

* The Buying Criteria Outline that is downloadable here is a PDF only and only for example purposes.

** It is the actual criteria form that I use in my business, and it is for example purposes only. PLEASE do not use my criteria because your market is going to completely different from mine.

You will need to produce your own Buying Criteria Outline. Simple start with a blank word document, and create one for yourself. Make it as GENERAL or SPECIFIC as you like, then export it as a PDF so that you can distribute it to your network

One of the worst things you can do to your connections are to leave them hanging. You've got to keep in touch and let them know what you're up to. That means, when a deal is heading to closing - let them know, and keep them updated through the process. That ALSO means that when a deal dies, you've got to let them know. It's far, FAR more damaging to leave people hanging and make them feel like you forgot about them.

Build a habit. Pick up the phone. Touch base.

You've got to take good care of your people if you expect them to take good care of you. That means doing what you say you are going to do, keeping them in the loop about how their leads are being utilized, and letting them know that you value them as a connection. We're talking about phone calls here. Not emails, not texts. This is a people business after all! Whatever happens, by all means, make sure that your strategic connections receive their fair share OR BETTER of the profits when you close a deal that came from them.

This is actually very simple stuff. Anytime you make ANY progress concerning a lead, you've got to update your record. The record itself can be anything from a notebook, a spreadsheet, or a fancy lead tracking system. You call a seller and leave a message... update the record. A deal dies... update the record. A seller rejects an offer... update the record. It's easy and only takes a few seconds once you develop the habit. This is vitally important to both your success overall and also to ensure that you pay the people who brought you the lead. DON'T let that fall through the cracks. You've got to know the deal source the entire way through the life of each lead, on every single lead, forever. It's simple stuff, but also vitally important stuff.

Download your free copy of my Repair Estimate worksheet! This is a very handy for that you can use to help accurately size up repair estimates, which will ultimately result in getting more offers accepted.

Also, I'd like to extend an invitation for you to download a complete set of my own personal Real Estate contracts. This set of contracts has been painstakingly developed over the last 15 years of active use. They've been scrutinized at a cost of over $10,000 by multiple Real Estate attorneys. All together this contracts package puts you in. a position to profit from a WIDE range of investment opportunities such as rentals, flips, and wholesale deals.

Download the complete set for just $7 by visiting my website ContractsFor7.com.