Screening properties and evaluating potential real estate investing deals is an extremely important part of the business, however unless you have a system it can also really slow you down and limit your ability to do a large volume of transactions. So how can you streamline and speed up the evaluation process?
Once you have systematized your methods of getting fresh new potential real estate investing deals across your desk every day you need a way to quickly and effectively disqualify those properties which are not good choices. This starts with having a property profile which defines which types of deals you will even consider. This includes, number of bedrooms, minimum square footage, locations, price ranges, estimated profit margins, dollar amounts of repairs and more.
Additional elements to contemplate include who you will be dealing with in a transaction and how motivated a seller is. You always need to make sure that you are dealing directly with the person or organization which is really in control of a property. You may also want to be more selective about the sellers you choose to work with and homes you want to make offers on depending on their level of motivation. Do they just want to see how much they can sell for or do they really, absolutely need to.
Look for ways to streamline your valuation process too. Pulling your own comps that you can really rely on can be tough and waiting for a full appraisal and taking on the expense can mean losing the best real estate investing opportunities. So look to outsource this to a fast, reliable and inexpensive source like having your appraiser perform ‘pencil searches’ or opting for AVMs.
Finally, use set forms, conditions and contingencies to speed up the offer making process. The faster you can not just evaluate deals but get out offers the better your chances of snagging the best real estate investing deals and getting the biggest discounts.
