How to Find Investment Properties: 5 Ways

You want to invest in real estate, but maybe you don’t know how to find good investment properties. You’ve come to the right place! In this article, we’ll show you exactly how to find investment properties using five proven methods. Whether you’re just starting out or looking to scale your real estate portfolio, these strategies will lead you right to your next investment!

Summary:

• Real estate investors are not limited to traditional listing sites (Zillow, Realtor, Redfin) to find investment properties. 
• You can find great investment properties through turnkey providers, old listings, pocket listings, local meetups, or direct-to-seller marketing.
• Rent to Retirement makes it easy to find turnkey rental properties, as we list our inventory online and perform preliminary analysis on both the market and the property.

1. Turnkey Rental Providers 

Turnkey companies offer recently built or renovated rental properties with property management and tenants in place. Some of these companies, like Rent to Retirement, perform market research and preliminary analysis upfront, so you have a great baseline to work with when filtering through properties and doing your own due diligence!

How to Find Investment Properties 

Some turnkey providers, like Rent to Retirement, list their available inventory. Visit our website and follow these simple steps:

Browse Turnkey Properties 

Each turnkey property listing includes not only key details about the property but also your initial investment, projected cash flow, and potential return.

Run the Numbers

Although we’ve completed some initial analysis to confirm that each property can be a profitable investment, you should always do your own analysis and due diligence. Use our rental property calculator to quickly determine if a property is the right fit for you and your investing goals!

Contact the Turnkey Provider

Finally, reach out to the turnkey provider to make an offer on the property, discuss financing options, and see if they have any other properties that fit your buy box!

Rent to Retirement offers an unbeatable 5%-down loan on new build investment properties!

2. 90+ Days-on-Market Listings

While there tends to be higher competition for new listings, properties that have been sitting on the market for 90 days or longer can often be purchased at a fair or discounted price. What’s more, these properties may be older, distressed, or have issues the average homebuyer doesn’t want to deal with—giving you an enormous value-add opportunity.

How to Find Investment Properties 

Thankfully, these properties are relatively easy to find on Zillow, Realtor, Redfin, or any other listings website.

Filter by Price, Bedroom/Bathroom Count

Narrow down your parameters so that your search matches your budget and buy box. For single-family rentals, 2-3 bedrooms and 1.5-2 bathrooms is a great place to start.

Set “Days on” to Be 90+

Next, find the “days on” tab and set it to “90 days.” This will limit your search to older listings that most homebuyers are probably overlooking!

Submit an Aggressive Offer

Since these properties have been sitting on the market and the seller may be growing impatient, you can be more aggressive by making a lower offer or requesting seller concessions. Just make sure you know why the home has stayed on the market for so long. There may be a value-add opportunity that allows you to lower the price even further—an old roof, troublesome tenants, or something else!

Browse high-cash flow rentals in some of the best places to buy rental property!

3. Pocket Listings 

Pocket listings are properties that haven’t yet been entered into the multiple listing service (MLS). Some agents and brokers can bring you these deals before they go live, allowing you to buy an investment property before the competition sees it!

How to Find Investment Properties 

To receive pocket listings before they hit the market, you’ll want to do the following:

Get Pre-Approved to Buy

Pocket listings often sell quickly. You’ll want to have your financing option lined up so that you’re able to jump at the right opportunity. This also gives the agent (who will provide you with pocket listings) the confidence that you can close on the deal (and get them a commission). 

Find an Investor-Friendly Agent 

Not all real estate agents provide pocket listings. Find an investor-friendly agent who is plugged into your market and ask them to send you deals!

Define Your Buy Box

Limit your buy box to properties you actually want in your portfolio, and share this information with your agent. This will help you avoid a barrage of listings you’re not interested in!

4. Real Estate Meetups

One of the best ways to find investment properties is to attend real estate meetups. Some groups meet virtually, but many markets have their own in-person events.

How to Find Investment Properties 

Networking takes time, and meetups can be a powerful tool if you do the following:

Define Your Buy Box

Get a clear picture of what you’re trying to buy so that you’re able to articulate your requirements to those within your network.

Talk to EVERYONE!

Connect with as many people as you can! Not everyone will bring you deals, but they might be able to give you referrals for agents, lenders, contractors, and vendors.

Analyze Deals (and Respond!)

If someone presents a deal to you, be sure to follow through, analyze the property, and respond to them—even if you choose not to go forward with the deal. Use our cash flow calculator to quickly determine if a deal pencils out!

Want headache-free cash flow? Buy turnkey with property management and tenants in place!

5. Direct-to-Seller

Direct-to-seller is the process of buying an investment property directly from an owner without an agent involved. Investors build out lists of off-market/direct-to-seller leads by skiptracing owners (finding contact information) of run-down houses or owners that may be in distress (facing pre-foreclosure, recently divorced, given the house through inheritance/probate). 

How to Find Investment Properties 

Build out your list of potential sellers and use any (or all) of the following approaches to contact them about their properties:

Direct Mailing

Send out individual mailers to sellers, listing the reasons you wish to buy their property and the benefits of selling to you. Make sure these letters are highly personalized so that they actually get read!

Cold Calling

If you’d rather speak with owners, pick up the phone and start a conversation. Be ready to face rejection, but remember that even one “yes” can make all the hard work worth it!

Pitch Selling to Landlords

Landlords posting rentals online may be ready to sell at the right time and for the right price. Some could even be open to seller financing!

We Find Investment Properties for You!

Don’t want to go through the trouble of filtering through old listings or cold calling homeowners? You don’t have to! At Rent to Retirement, we have a steady stream of turnkey inventory in some of the best states to invest in real estate. We find the properties for you, so all you have to do is run the numbers and make sure they align with your specific investing goals.

With our 5%-down financing, you could even buy a turnkey rental with a much lower investment property down payment. But that’s not all—if you buy a new build, you can also choose one of three builder incentives: a price reduction, an interest rate buydown, or cash back at closing!

How to Find Investment Properties FAQs

What’s the Fastest Way to Find Investment Properties?

Buying turnkey is one of the fastest and easiest ways to find great rental deals. At Rent to Retirement, we list properties for sale right on our website, along with any important details like the purchase price, initial investment amount, projected cash flow, and potential return, so you have a head start on your analysis!

How to Find a “Good” Real Estate Deal?

To find a good real estate deal, you’ll first have to define what a “good” deal is for you. Run the numbers using our rental property calculator to determine if a property meets your investing goals!

What is the 1% Rule for Investment Property?

The 1% rule states that an investment property should bring in roughly 1% of its purchase price in monthly rental income. Keep in mind that this is a very outdated rule and unachievable in many markets today.