Written by: Jason Rodriguez 

Let’s face it the majority of us aren’t independently wealthy and haven’t won the lottery. The reason we got into real estate investing was to generate cash profits into our bank accounts for financial security for ourselves and family, at least that’s why I started.

 From my experience, Wholesaling is the quickest way to make a sale in real estate. Some investors refer to “wholesaling” as “flipping”, either way you look at it the bottom line remains the same, Wholesaling Equals Big Bucks.

The tangible elements of the wholesaling system are constant, they don’t change: a property and a buyer. I’m going to share a secret with you that investors haven’t been clued in to yet, marketing. Marketing is the key to obtaining more deals than you know what to do with; I’m not only talking about marketing the properties but also marketing your contacts of buyers and sellers.

And there’s one key question to always ask, “How many pieces of marketing is it going to take to guarantee one deal?” Check out the video on my website http://www.elitementoring.com/ to see how my students answered that question.

Wholesaling: Selling Fast Can Lead to Fast Cash in Your Pocket

Start real estate investment marketing with buyers and sellers. I advise my students that they should always be looking for prospective buyers. What has always worked best for me and what I recommend to all my students is to compile lists of buyers and sellers.  This should be friends, family, neighbors, business contacts, and other investors they have met, people they know. Contact everyone on the list and let them know you have an investment opportunity for them. 

My Proven Simple Steps to Successful Marketing Strategies in Selling Homes

I have completed over 400 real estate transactions nationwide and each time I followed these basic steps to successful marketing and selling homes:

1. Call everyone who has a bandit sign in your area and all sellers who have placed local newspaper ads selling investment properties. Look for ads that say “Recently Renovated”, “Recently Remodeled”, “Priced to Sell”, “Cash Sale”, “Fast Sale”. You get the idea. These motivated sellers are probably investors who are looking for other investment deals. Ask them what they are looking to purchase; advise them you get many deals that you could pass on to them and will contact them when you come across an investment property they are looking for. Gain rapport with them. Tell them what you are looking to purchase, and also ask them to contact you when they have a property you are looking for.  
   
2. Have an Internet web page presence where you can advertise your deals to everyone on your contact list.  Send emails with the property information to your investors.  

3. Place ads in the local newspapers such as “Fixer Upper”, “60% off Retail!”, “Investors’ Special”. Ads that would attract you if you were looking to invest.

Placing ads in local newspapers is one way to go, but don’t forget about online. The Internet is still the fastest way to get information at your finger tips and you don’t even need a computer attached to your hip anymore. I just got the new iPhone 3G and I love it! Not only is it my phone but also my portable office. I can be online anywhere at any time. Sorry I got excited and got off tangent, the point was online ads can produce instant results. There is this new site that came out at the end of October 2008, DiscountedProperties.com and it is a unique real estate listing service that caters to people looking for wholesale properties, homes for sale by owner, fixer-uppers and pre-foreclosures. 

4. Place a flyer box and signage on the property. The flyer should have a picture of the property, the price, estimated repairs (if any) or list of improvements you have made, comparable sales in the area, gross profit and financing information.

5. I recommend listing the property for sale with a local experienced realtor.  Even if my students decide to sell the property “By Owner” [FSBO], I suggest that they place a lock box on the property so potential buyers may view the property at their convenience.

6. Have a virtual tour available so that real estate investors can view the property from the convenience of their home or office.

The truth is that the goal of marketing is to brand yourself and your business, prove to be the best of the best. In my experience the person who masters marketing makes the most money. In  order to maximize branding I suggest using enhanced features including: priority listing placement on the site, unlimited photos, virtual tours, and optimum placement of  company logo; then sit back and enjoy increased traffic directly to your web site.

7. Price the property to sell and leave room for the buyer to make a profit.

8. I have made many recommendations to students to sell real estate at real estate auctionsfor the following reasons: (a) prices sometimes exceed the listing price; (b) greater property exposure to a large number of pre-qualified buyers; (c) buyers are prepared to buy; (d) a quick auction sale eliminates long-term costs; (e) you know when the house will sell.

Most recently an article came out in Market Watch in October 2008 regarding an auction in Orlando, Florida, which is my neck of the woods. For me it reiterated that selling properties at auctions bring in a guaranteed buyer and cash. You can score a great deal at an auction. The title alone of the article caught my attention, “Auction of Upscale Orlando Foreclosures Gives Buyers Pick of Dream Homes”. They auctioned off 60 luxury properties for around $100,000; it’s crazy the deals you can pick up at these auctions. I’m only ticked at myself for missing this one, shame on me.

9. Offer incentives such as a vacation package, big tickets item like: a flat screen TV or a computer, etc.

My advice is to compile a list of sellers while finding deals so that you have many buyers wanting your deals.

Keep connecting and networking constantly marketing for potential investors so when a deal appears, you have the confidence of knowing the property will sell fast.  An important selling tip to remember is to price the property at a price that will sell quickly and leave room for your buyer to make a profit.
For more information visit http://www.elitementoring.com/