Cash buyers are crucial for success in real estate wholesaling because they close deals quickly without the need for banks or lenders.
These buyers are highly valued for their ability to reduce the paperwork, headaches, and complications that would normally come with a traditional sale.
The question is: how do you find cash buyers in your area?
Connecting with cash buyers for your wholesaling deals is easier than you think.
In this article, I’ll cover over 34 excellent ways find cash buyers through:
– Networking
– Online research
– Offline steps you can take
Let’s get started so that you can start building your list and moving your deal inventory.
How to build a cash buyers list
Networking
1. Attend Auctions
Attending public auctions, whether for foreclosures, straight sales, or tax deed/lien sales, lets you see buyers in action. You don’t need to buy anything to watch; scope out who does buy and sell, and use that information to grow your contacts. Since you’ll be there in person, you can strike up individual conversations with buyers right then and there. Find out where they are investing and their criteria, and take note of how hot the auctions are for each area.
2. Meetup.com
Meetup.com is known for displaying groups for everything under the sun, both personal and business. It’s a great site for growing your network and learning how to run and market a business, and meeting people who you would not otherwise come in contact with. Just set up a profile and instantly have access to virtually every aspect of life and real estate investing, including finding people who are ready to purchase properties to flip or rent. Don’t forget to hand out your card to everyone you meet since it’s not always obvious who is an investor.
3. Real Estate Agents
Once you’ve established relationships with real estate agents, you could ask if they will pull a list of recent cash sales in nearby locations for you for the last 180 days. You want to keep an eye out for sales that closed in 30 days or less from listing to closing. This can lead you to either names or (more likely) addresses, which you can then use to search public records online to find the names of probable cash buyers. If the buyer is an LLC, a quick name lookup in the Secretary of State’s website for your state should net you the name of the owner and possibly address of the business. Give them a quick call, or send them a post card with your contact information.
4. Hard Money Lenders
Your buyers may need extra funds from time to time when they aren’t purchasing all-cash. They use hard money for supplementing their cash purchase, or for funding the rehab portion. Be the person who recommends new buyers to a trustworthy lender, and you’ll find the favor most likely returned by way of referrals.
5. Contractors
Many contractors not only work with flippers and cash buyers, but also flip on the side. Whether you are flipping or wholesaling, building relationships with contractors is key. You can have a symbiotic relationship where you can send each other business. Our post on how to find and vet construction contractors who specialize in rehabs is a good start.
6. Local REIA (Real Estate Investors Association)
Your local REIA meeting is a boon for all things investing, and you’ll often find investors from every exit strategy at them. Make sure to also pay attention to the vendors that are commonly at these meetings. Since the vendors get around town, networking with them may lead to intel about potential cash buyers and other opportunities. Find your local chapter here: https://nationalreia.org/find-a-reia/
7. Closing Attorneys
Get to know the attorneys, closing agents, and others responsible for closing a lot of deals in your area. They are often in the know about their cash buyers; by striking up a good relationship through adding value, you may eventually be let in on their list, and grow your resources from there. In time, you can build a symbiotic relationship between you, the buyer, and the closing attorney.
8. Serial Landlords
Look for landlords who already have several properties, and who continually expand their rental portfolio, through seeking recommendations from the people who service the landlord’s rental properties. Anyone from a lawn maintenance company to a tax preparer might be able to pass on a tip or two.
9. Real Estate Clubs
Real estate clubs are excellent resources for investors, vendors, and realtors from all walks of life. Simply google “real estate club in [your area]” to find them. You can use these clubs to find cash buyers for real estate wholesale deals, or strike up networking opportunities with those who might want to Joint Venture by supplying the buyer for your property under contract. Also consider attending the speaker presentations to keep a pulse on market conditions in the area.
10. Property Management Companies
Management companies often work with people who have purchased their rental properties with cash. Adding new management inventory to their rolls is their lifeblood, so they are highly invested in keeping buyers buying, and they’ll likely be interested in helping you (and their customers) out, if you can pass on a great wholesale deal.
11. Build Relationships with Competitors
You can play nice and learn to work with other wholesalers. Whether doing a Joint Venture, passing on a property that you cannot put under contract, or sharing cash buyer names, you’ll get a feel for how the others in your market are operating, and can gauge how friendly they are towards a peaceful co-existence.
Research Online
12. Have Your Own Website
The best way to get cash buyers to get on your list is to show them your inventory, and the best way to do that is to have a real estate investor website.
REI/kit SEO-optimized real estate investor websites have this covered in a unique template that you can set up in less than a minute, and allow you to show your deal inventory fully supported by all of the data inside of REI/kit.
If you don’t have a website, then it’s guaranteed that anyone looking online for deals in your area will not find you, so having a website is not optional in this business.
Here’s an example REI/kit website for wholesalers, with a page specifically designed for showcasing your deal inventory: https://www.reikit.co
13. Google Searches
Tried-and-true Google searches can yield results. Searching for “We Buy Houses” + Your City might yield results of your competitors, but it also may net you cash buyers who are looking for deals. This is, to an extent, fishing in a really, really deep pond, but you just might find a local buyer who’s just advertised on their personal website or a real estate site.
14. Craigslist Landlords
Craigslist is a great resource for virtually all kinds of business contacts, and cash buyers are no exception. Yes, it may be oversaturated, and many of the ads you see will be wholesalers, but it is still a viable option. If you work with multi-family and apartments, try searching Craigslist for landlords with several properties. Many landlords are already looking for the next great deal; by reaching out to them directly via their Craigslist contact information, you put yourself at the forefront of their attention.
15. Google Adwords
You can use PPC (Pay-Per-Click) advertising with Google Adwords to tailor your own marketing campaign based on what people are clicking on, such as “buy houses to flip.” This might allow you to get ahead of the local competition and find cash buyers before anyone else.
16. Make Your Own Craigslist Ads
If Craigslist is looking a little empty at the moment, consider setting up your own ad, explaining your intent and need for a quick cash buyer. Ideally you would have a property already under contract, but it doesn’t hurt to try even if you don’t. Buyers may be searching Craigslist and waiting for the right opportunity. The more you place yourself on the web, the easier it will be for potential buyers to find you.
17. Use the ‘net to Find Realtors
Even if you already have a realtor, you can search the internet for other realtors who might frequently work with cash buyers. If you can forge a connection with these agents, you’ll both grow your overall business network. Try Googling “investor-friendly realtor in [your area]” or checking the major listing syndication websites for real estate agents, like Realtor.com. Offer them a finder’s fee to sweeten the deal, especially if your area is particularly saturated.
18. Facebook Groups and Facebook Marketplace
Facebook groups and Facebook Marketplace are easy and effective way to promote your business, through finding groups that have already been created expressly for that purpose. A quick query in the search bar of Facebook page should net thousands of cash buyers for real estate investing, and many local to your area if you include your service area in the search. Creating your own Facebook business page is a must, and you could even start your own group if the ones in your area are lacking.
19. Check Other Wholesalers’ Sites
Your competition may advertise houses they just sold, including the address. In some areas, you can then use the tax assessor’s website to find the owner of that address, and they just might be another verified cash buyer whom you can then reach out to and try to entice with a deal of your own making.
20. Lists of Corporate-Owned properties
REI/kit Leads list tool is predominantly used by wholesalers to source off-market properties like Vacants, but you can also use the site to look for corporate owned properties that, if not owned by a bank, are often owned by an investor LLC. You can also laser in on finding absentee owners who have 100% equity. These are your clues that the properties were probably purchased by a cash buyer, who you can then contact about future opportunities.
Check out this breakdown of the tool: www.reikit.com/motivated-seller-leads
Your Leads list can potentially have an email address for the property owner on file, so that you can send the cash buyer’s list a cold email campaign that you’ve also set up in REI/kit.
21. LinkedIn
LinkedIn may not be the first social platform you think of when looking for real estate investors, but it still holds tremendous power, and it’s likely that investors on this site mean business. As your network grows, be sure to reach out to colleagues from time to time with your deals, and you may be able to find cash buyers through close connections.
22. Section 8
Mine this government program for landlords. Affordablehousing.com (formerly GoSection8.com) allows you to search your area, where you’ll find landlords who are listing their properties for rent to qualified applicants. Or, simply call your local housing authority and ask for a Section 8 list of approved properties. This list will have the contact information for each landlord, and can be a treasure trove of potential buyers.
23. Local Tax Assessor Websites
You can find cash buyers using public records through the website of your local area tax assessor’s office online, and look up specific ownership information. One clue is to look for properties with a mailing address that is different from the property address, especially if out of state. Check also for properties owned by an LLC, as this indicates it is more than likely an investment property. Some jurisdictions do not allow personal contact information to appear on the property profile, so you may still need to hunt down a name through skip trace or a directory search.
24. “We Buy Houses” Franchises
These nationwide franchises will usually be snatching up TLC properties, and they’ll definitely be ready to buy something if it fits their criteria. Find a franchise near you and keep their contact information in mind.
25. Create an Email Marketing List
If you have a website, and your opt-in campaign has generated a list of people in the real estate industry, you can send out an email marketing chain that can be forwarded to other potential cash buyers by those who already know you. This can ripple outward beyond what you might expect.
26. HUDHomeStore.com
This is a site where hopeful homeowners and many investors bid on HUD homes, and the beauty of it is that you can simply look at bid results for each property and find the name of the investor who purchased. Ignore O/O (Owner Occupied) in the Purchaser Type column, but take note of those with INV. Look up the address in your county assessor’s office for the mailing address. Do a simple Google search for the investor name and the mailing address on file for the property, and you just might be lead right to their website.
27. Real Estate Rental and Property Management Companies
While the bulk of your cash buyers will be solo investors, there are also institutions ready to snatch up everything you have on offer. These are companies who specialize in offering rentals or who do property management, and to reach them you simply need to crack open your internet browser and search your area.
28. Facebook Ads
You can quickly get started with Facebook lead ads targeting cash buyers for wholesale deals. The ability to target specific groups and demographics down to even to a zip code is still the gold standard when it comes to social media advertising, and you can have your ads shown for just a few cents per view.
Take Action Offline
29. Local Public Records Office
You can physically dig through your local public records office records and try to find cash buyers. Since homes purchased with financing need two documents (a deed, and the lien from the loan), any home purchased by a cash buyer won’t have the lien from the loan. This tends to be highly time-consuming, but it’s a good way to start if you have few funds for a list or advertising, or limited access to the internet.
30. Bandit Signs
You’ve probably seen “We Buy Houses” signs, and maybe even use them yourself right now, but you may not have thought of them as a cash buyer lead avenue. It’s likely that at the other end of the line is either a wholesaler prospecting for their next distressed property (who may want to JV), or a cash buyer who is prospecting for themselves. With their phone number right on the sign, this is a no-brainer way to add to your cash buyers real estate list.
31. Newspaper Ads
Along with your Craigslist ads and your ads placed on-site, consider placing an ad in your local paper, like in the good old days.
32. Home Builders
Your local home builders and construction companies might have an interest in purchasing a tear-down and building new in an up-and-coming area. And, of course, have access to cash buyers who have purchased land themselves and then built on it.
33. Property Rehabs in Progress
Drive your target areas, and when you see a house that is being rehabbed, stop and chat up the owner and contractors.
34. Personal Property Signs
These are straightforward signs that you would place on an existing property that you have under contract or are selling. Unlike bandit signs, which are suggestive and leave off details, these signs should be very clear that you’re interested in a cash buyer — have all of your contact information available on the sign to make reaching out to you as easy as possible.
You might be wondering if you need a certain number of cash buyers in your list.
What size of cash buyers list should you have?
To answer that question, it’s not the quantity, but rather the quality, of the list that you want to aim for.
The most effective list, is one with high quality repeat buyers, and the quality of your buyer list is going to be reflected in the quality of the deals that you present.
It’s important to show in your deal reports all of the supporting property data that you have found with REI/kit Real Estate Wholesaling Software, like calculating the ARV and including comps and rehab estimates. You should be able to present a deal report like this one with complete data in a professional report: REI/kit Marketing Report
Once you have done all of this, your cash buyers will have faith in you that your deal is as good as you say it is.
As a result, your list won’t need to be as big and you can spend more time on finding more deals.
Conversely, if your deals have thin margins, or are poorly marketed with no details, then you’ll have more difficulty holding on to qualified buyers, and you will need to spend a lot of time constantly filling it with new cash buyers.
Diversify your methods
It’s also important to keep your methods as broad as possible until you find the one or two methods that consistently work for your business in your area.
Although the internet has evolved over time to become prime real estate for advertising and marketing, don’t forget that real estate is still a relationship business, and in-person networking should be a large part of your day.
Key Points
In this article, you learned about 34 different ways to grow your cash buyers list for real estate wholesaling. Building a strong network of cash buyers is crucial for success in this business. We went over some battle-tested methods like:
- Using social media and online platforms to connect with buyers
- Attending real estate events and auctions to meet potential buyers in person
- Creating a website to attract and capture buyer information
- Networking with other real estate professionals like agents, contractors, and attorneys
Those are just the top 4…this article also gave 30 more practical tips to help you find more cash buyers. Armed with all these methods, you should be able to collect an extensive list of quality cash buyers in your area. By using a mix of these strategies, you can build relationships with serious buyers who are ready to act quickly on good deals.
