Who can give me the best leads on property that is for sale

Think about all the people likely to come into frequent contact with troubled homeowners looking for a quick sale. Quickly, before you read my following suggestions, write down a description of all those people. If you wait until after you see my list, your mind will not be able to work as creatively.

These are the ones that spring to my mind.

- Divorce lawyers. They generally encounter high concentrations of people with money problems. They also usually do not practice bankruptcy law, so they would be glad to refer people to you for help.

- Nursing home staff. Many elderly family members are moved to nursing homes or other assisted living facilities by their loved ones. Most will never return to their homes again.

Those homes usually have years of deferred minor repairs, accumulated dirt and grime, and a lifetime of sentimental but otherwise worthless objects cluttering the attic and house. The family needs a quick solution that involves minimal time and money. You can be the answer.

- Ministers. Like bankers and lawyers, they are not allowed to give you any names, but they do come to know about a lot of people in trouble. A minister is generally a nurturing person who wants to help, so he or she will be motivated to give your telephone number to other people, should they find themselves in need of your services.

- Self-storage operators. When people see a possible foreclosure looming, many of them start putting stuff in storage, just in case. They also tend to be remarkably candid with the manager of the self-storage facility about financial problems motivating them to seek storage. Cultivate relationships with the self-storage operators in your targeted part of town and you will find yourself with a steady stream of information regarding potential flips.

- Title pawn, paycheck advance, and quick-cash businesses. These businesses get to hear a lot of sad stories. Sometimes they simply cannot loan additional money to someone in trouble. They can hand someone your business card, though, or ask the applicant for permission to give his or her name to you.

How can I encourage sellers to find me?

Think about how people who want to sell their homes can find you. You should have signs in every location in your target area that has a bulletin board churches, day care facilities, grocery stores, and faculty lounges at schools. Other good locations include nursing homes and beauty parlors. Self-storage facilities are good places for your signs because many of the tenants are facing some sort of residence change through death, divorce, or layoff.

Your signs should be printed on colored, letter-size paper, in a font large enough to read from 10 feet away but still leaving plenty of border around your message. That border is also called white space. It attracts more attention than filling a page with text. Here is an example.

Twice a month, change your sign for one with a different color of paper. That way, it will keep attracting people’s attention.

Resist the urge to put too much information on the sign.Your sign should not do any selling. It should generate a phone call from a prospect who fits your flipping strategy. You can do the selling in person or over the phone. Possible sign messages could include your phone number and one of the following phrases.

- I buy 10–20-year-old houses in need of TLC.

- Sell your home quickly. No need to fix it up or clean it up.

- Quick cash for older homes.

- Be my partner to flip your home.

You want to attract people who just do not want to fool with all the work necessary to make a house ready for sale. Most of them know they are going to take a hit on the sales price, but they do not care. They want the house sold, they want it done with a minimum of hassles, and they do not want to have to worry about it any more.