Primarily, real estate investing means finding properties that offer the greatest potential return on investment. That also means knowing where to find the best possibilities, and often it involves researching and examining off-market properties. With tight markets, home buyers, especially investors, need an edge, but it takes some skill and inventiveness to find these off-market possibilities. That’s why we advise using an agent to help you find off-market properties in Martinsburg, Hagerstown, Frederick & Charles Town .
Benefits of Off-Market Properties
Trying to find off-market properties in Martinsburg, Hagerstown, Frederick & Charles Town is worth the effort owing to the many benefits for investment buyers. First, it gives you access to a large inventory that your competition can’t even see. And when you have access to off-market listings, you increase your odds of purchasing properties you want at a good price, especially with respect to pocket listings. Word of mouth used to be about the only way, but the Internet has now changed all that.
Kinds of Off MarketListings
To find off-market properties in Martinsburg, Hagerstown, Frederick & Charles Town you could, if so inclined, use an agent to peruse those secret listed homes. Or your agent could search genuine off-market investment opportunities, such as:
- Website listings that show up before the property hits the MLS
- Those found by direct marketing with homeowners
- Foreclosures
- Properties of absentee landlords who want out
An Overlooked Way to Find Off-Market Properties
One way an agent can help you find off-market properties in Martinsburg, Hagerstown, Frederick & Charles Town is by working expired listings. This is often overlooked and so may offer considerable potential. Often investors don’t go after expired listings because they think the seller won’t be flexible on price or that the niche may be oversaturated with agents. Still, it can work.
Many sellers whose properties didn’t sell become highly motivated sellers later on and will be willing to bend on price just to finally get out from under the property. In addition, your agent can help motivate sellers even further by having a serious buyer – you – ready and waiting.
Using Craigslist the Right Way
The first place many people go when they want to buy or sell something is Craigslist, and that includes real estate. You can, of course, use the straight-up method of advertising that you’re looking for real estate to buy within a certain price range. You do, however, have to get some things exactly right with Craigslist to find off-market properties in Martinsburg, Hagerstown, Frederick & Charles Town for investment purposes.
You need to, for example, carefully craft your posting with the right keywords – the keywords that will get a response from the kind of seller you’re looking for. In addition, there are optimum times for posting Craigslist ads for the greatest visibility. Your agent will know how to do this and can help you.
Navigating the Process
Using an agent to help you find off-market properties in Martinsburg, Hagerstown, Frederick & Charles Town will definitely give you a leg up in the investing game, but there’s more to it than merely finding those properties. You still have to go through the process of actually purchasing the off-market properties. A good agent will be thoroughly versed in all the ins and outs of the process. So finding, say, a likely pocket listing is only part of the battle – you still have to close the deal.
If then, you want great deals with a promising ROI, you should probably consider using an agent to help you find off-market properties in Martinsburg, Hagerstown, Frederick & Charles Town . A good agent will not only help you find those promising investment properties but will help you navigate through the whole process.