Complete Guide: Marketing for Real Estate Investors

How to market wholesale real estate? Listed below is the complete guide to marketing for real estate investors. Sometimes you may find yourself getting sucked into the mainstream way of generating motivated seller leads. Thinking outside of the box will certainly create more leads than using traditional methods. 

Make it a goal to implement one new technique each week, until you‘ve tested every single one of these methods.  To know what is truly working for you, keep track of the results that you get from each campaign.

The key to being a successful investor is consistency. Whether you wholesale real estate, rehab,  or buy and hold investment properties, these marketing ideas will work for you.

Your lead machine has to be turned on and cranking out lead generating techniques 100% of the time.

The following list will give you plenty of good, effective real estate marketing ideas for generating motivated real estate seller leads.  This will help you reach your goals of closing more deals and making more money as a real estate wholesaler.

Property M.O.B.’s List of 63 Best Marketing for Real Estate Investors

Marketing to Landlords

• Tired landlords: Many times people that own rental properties get burned out on late payments, bad tenants,and evictions. 
• List of eviction court attendants
• Out of state landlords
• Landlords who own more than one property with back taxes
• Buy a “leads list” of landlords from: (www.realquest.com)

• tax delinquent multi­family properties
• Mailers to Property owners who acquired the property via Quit Claim Deed (These will usually appear in the public records as a $0 ­ $100 Transaction. Check with your county records office to verify how these are recorded.
• Properties that were owned by known investors who went out of business
• Absentee Owners
• Tax delinquent homeowners (Get this list from the Tax Collector’s office)
• Place “We Buy houses” flyers and real estate business cards at unemployment offices….a lot of people there could be having trouble with their homes and may need a solution
• One ­page Flyers posted on bulletin boards at large stores (Put pull tabs on the bottom so they can rip off your phone number).
• Real Estate Mailers to Vacant land owners (only in specific areas where development is ideal)Using Craigslist to find sellers: a. Post ad that states, “We Buy houses”
• Send emails to craigslist ads with apartments for rent (the emails go to landlords who may be looking to sell, or buying more properties)
• Mailers to specific zip codes (preferably low income neighborhoods) asking if they want to sell or know someone who does
• Real Estate Marketing Postcards to People getting divorced (this information can be found in the public records)

Automate your Direct Mail Marketing Campaigns and get Non-Stop Seller Leads

• Mailers to Divorce Attorneys who can refer clients to us
• Mailers/emails to FSBOs
• Send mailers to expired MLS Listings
• Post WE BUY HOUSES ad on www.Backpage.com
• Send mailers to properties purchased between 3k­20k within last five years (owner might be wanna­be flipper who did nothing with property)
• Send mailers to estate Executors/Administrators (a.k.a. Probate)
• Send mailers to Estate/Probate Attorneys (consider having my attorney send letter, business cards to Estate attorneys because attorneys always open mail from other attorneys)
• Bandit signs: We buy houses
• Big Baller marketing: TV, billboards, radio ads

Some of The Best Real Estate Marketing Ideas are the Most Unconventional Ones

• Out of state owner who have owned for more than x years (more than 30 years, so you know its free and clear meaning they will be more flexible with sales price)
• Building code violators (a.k.a. condemned properties or code violations)
• Health code violators
• Pre-Foreclosure
• Purchase leads lists of folks who inherited homes
• Send mailers to people making double payments (bought a new house, REALLY want to sell old house)
• Target people who have been transferred (job) and must sell NOW
• Target people with medical problems/health issues who cannot keep their houses
• Vacant House Owners
• People who are having financial chaos of any sort
• Target people who are 30­60 day late on mortgage lists
• Send ads/ mailers/business cards to Credit Repair Agencies & Credit Counselors
• Target HUD/VA Foreclosures

TIP: People in Jail Are Highly Motivated Sellers

• Send mailers to people arrested for violent crimes (going to prison for a long time)
• Business cards to Realtors
• Employees who have been laid off (ie “corporate downsizing” in the news)
• Networking with other investors at local meetings
• Locate list of section 8 approved properties—send mailers to the owners
• Post Newspaper classified ads: We Buys houses
• Send mailers to Properties with liens: Mechanics Liens, HOA Liens, Tax Liens
• Contact sales people at new home subdivisions (their clients will want to sell their OLD houses) (or place signs near new home subdivisions that say "Sell Your House Fast" with your phone number….they will want to sell their old house ASAP)
• Contact mortgage companies; they may know of people wanting to sell their old house/last house
• Hire bird dogs (sometimes even through craigslist “help wanted” ads). What is a bird dog? Check out our blog post about bird dogs to learn more.

Owners of Property Aren't the Only Target Markets

• Bankruptcy court listings
• Accountants and CPA Firms: They have clients with financial problems where an investor can be of help.
• real estate attorneys [Specifically Family Law and/or Probate Attorneys]
• Real Estate Advertising using Apparel with Logos: Hats, T­Shirts, Golf Shirts
• Send to anyone getting their car repossessed: If the car is going the house isn’t far behind.
• Send ads, business cards to carpet cleaners: Many of their customers are preparing a house for sale.
• Consider sending mailers to charitable groups/churches: They frequently receive gifts of real estate, but they’d rather have the cash
• Send ads, business cards to City & County Inspectors: Code violations and red tags. (If you develop a reputation of buying distressed properties and improving them, you become an asset to them)
• Send ads to Large Employers (HR departments): Let them know you buy properties because if they need to transfer an employee, they don’t get stuck carrying the house.
• Place ads on boards at Nursing & Retirement Homes: Frequently residents need to sell a house.
• Consider placing Door Hangers on target properties
• Stick pre­printed post­it notes at target properties
• Create a website to Generate Seller Leads
• Run Google Ads/Facebook Ads.

Get Creative When It Comes to Opportunity

• Send mailers to addresses having Garage Sales: Are they moving?
• Send mailers to Hair Salons/Barbers: A social hub! Lots of talking going on during haircuts
• Send mailers, ads, business cards to Insurance Brokers: Policy changes from owner occupant to the landlord or vacant house coverage.
• Recruit Mail Carriers to notify you of vacant properties
• Send mailers to Owner of multiple properties (target them to offload portfolios)
• Post advertisement in PennySaver type papers: We Buy Houses
• Send mailers to Water, Gas, and electric company shut off lists

Property M.O.B.: Your #1 Go-To Source For Real Estate Investor Marketing Ideas

Remember, it’s all about being consistent. You have enough real estate marketing ideas to choose from here. Test a few, track a few, close a few deals, and measure your marketing efforts. That way you will know what's working, and can do more of it. 

Implement and fire up the ones that perform the best! You can always get more lead generating real estate marketing ideas and become a Bad Ass Real Estate Investor by subscribing to the Property M.O.B.’s blog updates.

Property M.O.B. provides the best content and advice for every level of real estate wholesaling and investing. Are you looking for real estate training? Property M.O.B. is the right solution for you. Want to know how to create high converting bandit signs? Check out this article that tells you how to pull in the most leads from bandit sign or contact us today.