So you’ve decided that real estate investing is the path for you? And you’ve begun to put the wheels in motion, but now you’re stuck trying to figure out how and where you can find the leads that will turn into contacts and appointments and, hopefully, deals.
You may have heard about the Multiple Listing Service, otherwise known as the MLS. And you may have also realized that while many sources purport to offer the MLS, only licensed Real Estate Agents, otherwise known as Realtors, have full access to the MLS. Now it’s certainly possible that you have close business or personal connections with someone who is in contact with the MLS and can provide you with some relevant information form it. But it’s not necessary.
Because the most successful real estate investors know that a team will yield them greater, faster lead results than any one individual. So maybe you have a realtor on your team. You might also have a mortgage broker providing you with information. Those are the standard professionals that people think of when searching out leads, but what about the non-standard professionals, or anyone else with access to the information you need. For example—a divorce attorney.
Most people who experience the break up of a marriage also experience financial difficulty, and many of them find that their present living situation is simply too expensive for them to handle by themselves. And with their family now divided, these couples now also have much more space than they need or can afford. Finally, divorcing couples have often put their problems off until necessity really begins to press, and they frequently need to act fast in order to avoid serious consequences like bankruptcy and foreclosure. This means that they are often in a position where they can benefit immensely from your timely assistance, and you can achieve a high profit that they simply do not have the time or the resources to attain.
This is just one example of the many different channels from which information could pass to you. For example, you may have a friend who specializes in landlord tenant relations. Or you may know a local sheriff. Or your neighbor could be picking up trash in neighborhoods you rarely get the chance to visit. Maybe your brother-in-law works for the postal service. Any one of these people has daily access to information that they receive and process regardless of whether you can use it or not.
So if for some reason you find you can use the information, both of you are able to benefit without either of you really having to do anything special or extraordinary, and that’s a win / win situation for everyone involved.
The key is to keep the team as seamless as possible. If any one of your team members is being asked to perform tasks that are outside the scope of his normal routine, either you are going to have to pay through the nose for it, or that person simply will not hold up his end of the deal. But if you ask people for information they already have access to, chances are they’re more than happy to offer it. And that means that you don’t need a professional license or expensive credentials to get the leads you need.