Farming street to get properties

[Sunstone]

Dear guys,

Would like to promote discussion on this situation.

Just say that you have a target street that you particularly want to purchase further properties in. However with the current situation they are not coming up for sale fast enough.

Accordingly because you have specific street requirements to speed this up do you:

1) Door knock in the street to ask if they are interested in selling.
2) Do an ABR or similar search on current owners and then target them by mail/phone.
3) Do a letterbox drop in the street and hope that someone calls back.
4) Engage a realestate agent to specifically target this street for you.

Are there any other recommended techniques?

By doing this what will be the expected reactions? Will this ensure all prices in the street go up substantially? Should a more surreptitious method be employed to get the same result? If so what is this method?

Looking forward to your feedback.

Cheers,

Sunstone.

 

[landholdings]

edited

 

[Sunstone]

Dear LH,

I don't see how you could think that this is morally wrong.

"Farming" is a skill developed by all real estate agents and is a important part of their business.

One part of a real estate agent's business is managing properties but the other significant part is selling property. If they do not have any properties to sell how are they going to get more?

Common business sense tells one that if you have no product to sell then you have an obligation to source more product in order to satisfy your customers demand.

If you went into the supermarket to buy some milk and they didn't have any what would you do? Would you feel irritated that they didn't have any product or would you go elsewhere to purchase some? By going elsewhere the agent "loses" this transaction/customer and has a negative impact on their business.

Many property owners do not know the fine detail of council codes and subdivision requirements and therefore cannot see the opportunities presented and also the "benefits" that you are bringing to a community. My last meeting with council on site the officer in charge commented that he can see a real benefit and need for dual occupancies in the area. Am I just doing this for money? Or is this knowledge and proactiveness actually benefiting the local community.

In long term property investing and development "farming" is an area that I feel would benefit our knowledge base by knowing more about.

Cheers,

Sunstone.

 

[DaveP]

Shane...

Can you please advise whats an ABR search...hows it done and whats it cost?

What are the easy and cheap ways of finding the owners details of a property other than a rates search through the local Council for us investors who do not have access to RP Data or the like such systems...

Thanks

Dave P

 

[Kevin Hockey]

Hi Guys,

As an agent it is obvious I would be using many of these options myself to prospect for listings. Your comments Sunstone are on the mark and the better an agent is at prospecting the better they will be, however I do understand LH's comments, just not so sure it is "morally wrong". It may be intrusive to privacy and downright bloody annoying at times but I can't see the moral issue. "Prospecting" is simply about getting in touch with people to find a home seller. Most people are ok with it, some are really happy that you contact them and a few get cranky.

Telemarketing and Fliers are probably a bit too slow to work if you want an immediate result. Direct mail is a better option but doorknocking is the best way to get a quicker result. Most agents hate it. If you are in full uniform it can get pretty hot, it is a slow option for getting to mass numbers and of course there's Brutus the Bull Terrier to contend with. If I was looking privately however, doorknocking would be my preferred choice.

The next thing you will have to deal with is the owner who gives you lines like "I'm in no hurry", "I want my price", "the one down the road went for $$$$" (even though it's twice the size) and "I need this price to pay for the one I'm buying"(plus a new car, kids education etc). Bottom line is you will need to be prepared to pay in the top region of the market place in most circumstances. Of course that may not matter if it is a high growth area or the property is high demand.

Lastly, if you do find a seller or 2 and the property is not what you want, refer it to your local agent and negotiate a spotters fee. I'd suggest it could be worth $500 if they list and sell it (maybe more depending on the properties value).

Kev

www.nundahrealestate.com.au

 

[Sunstone]

Dear Dave,

ABR = Australian Business Research. www.abr.com.au They are one of the distributors of the Dept of Natural Resources and Mines info.

Have a look on the external providers and you will be able to find the info you are looking for.

http://www.nrm.qld.gov.au/products/distributors.php?type=Real-time+Online


Other cheap and easy ways of getting owners information:

-Knock on the door and ask.
-Knock on the neighbours door and ask.

Others I have heard have rung up council and said that they needed to find out the owners details as they want to talk with them about sharing the cost of a fence. I don't condone this but nonetheless it is another method I have heard used.

Kev,

Thanks for the further feedback. Yes certainly agree that going direct is the fastest but then one must be prepared to pay top dollar for this.

Good to know about the spotters fee option. Who know's how many on the forum have not thought about this.

Cheers,

Sunstone.