What is driving for dollars? For those of you that don’t know, this is one of the single most effective ways to find deals. You drive subdivisions in areas where you would buy looking for distressed homes. Some are going to be obvious. (The home with boarded windows) While others will be a little bit more subtle. (Peeling paint above the garage, moldy siding, and bad roofing.) What you’re really looking for is a lack of pride in home ownership. The thing that is great with marketing to a list that you built this way is that you know anyone who calls you is a home you would buy if the price is the right! If you’ve ever mailed an absentee home you’ve ran into the opposite. I’ve gone to properties that I would not have chosen to market to in a million years if i had seen the thing!

So a word of caution. When you’re building a list like this you’re slow rolling a neighborhood and often stopping to jot addresses down. I have even had to circle back around for one that I couldn’t see on the first pass. If you’ve ever had a car pull into your driveway to turn around you know the feeling! “What are they doing?” “Why have they driven past us 4 times?” “Why are they driving 4 miles an hr?”

Investors (that I know!) Have had the police called on them. If you’re a cop who gets this call and catches a guy with a printout of Google Maps and a list of addresses…. This isn’t looking good. So what’s going to save your bacon? MARKETING materials. I’m not talking just a business card here. Bring a box of your envelopes, papers, and cards with you. Explain that you work for a Real Estate company and help them locate distressed properties to contact the owners.

So the next time that 80’s GMC van stops in your driveway… Ask them if they want to buy your house!

What kind of luck have you had driving for dollars?