A cash buyers list is one of the most effective instruments in real estate investing. Even for seasoned investors, selling a home can be a stressful experience, considering you want as many potential buyers as possible. This is where the cash buyers list comes in.Real estate cash buyers can be found in a variety of places, such as online, on property signs, or on the websites of tax assessors — making you wonder whether a cash buyers list is worthwhile.
What Is a Cash Buyer?
As the term indicates, a cash buyer is somebody who has enough money to purchase a property without the need for a mortgage or financing. Instead, they usually write you a check or wire transfer the entire amount.
In other words, if there is no financing procedure, no loan terms negotiations, and no submission of applications, the closing process is likely to speed up.
The Benefits Of Cash Buyers
The conventional house buyer must submit application forms, negotiate financing conditions, and frequently go back and forth throughout the entire transaction. Weeks and months have typically passed by the time everyone reaches the closing table, making a financed real estate transaction a lengthy procedure with several steps.
A property with claims to title, defects found during the inspection, or a low appraised value can push back the closing date or affect the approval of the mortgage altogether.
Cash buyers provide the significant advantage of not requiring appraisals when selling property that would otherwise need an evaluation from a lender. Also, having a shorter closing time benefits investors like you as you’re able to plan out your strategies without the increased risk of a deal falling through.
The Drawbacks Of Cash Buyers
Being a cash buyer comes with plenty of benefits, but there are also disadvantages.
Because of the simplicity of cash sales, sellers typically prefer cash offers. This means that cash buyers can sometimes win the seller over at a lower price compared to a financed offer, even below market value. It’s often not that much less than the value, but it’s usually always less than what you would have gotten in a traditional sale with financing.
As with everything involving sales and cash, you have to also make sure that what the buyer is saying is true. Because you won’t be using a mortgage lender as a middleman to handle the bulk of the paperwork, you must be extra cautious and require verification of their assets. Always confirm that the buyer has the cash that they say they do.
Check the validity of cash offers by checking:
- Bank statements
- Assets (other properties that they intended to sell? Potential trust funds?)
- Investment documents
Weed out the fake and undervalued offers and get straight to the point by paying attention to potential red flags and weighing the benefits of accepting the cash offer.
Do Cash Buyers Pay Closing Costs?
After deciding you want to pursue cash buyers, you may be starting to wonder whether cash buyers are paying closing costs if they forego the rest of the financial fiasco and paperwork.
While the buyer doesn’t pay any loan-related fees, they still pay other fees, including the closing costs:
- Any transfer costs from the county/city
- Title insurance fees
- Any processing and filing fees by the county recorder
- Any appraisal fees (if needed)
- Any home inspection fees that were needed
- Any HOA fees related to the property
What Is a Cash Buyers List?
A cash buyers list is simply an organized database of potential cash buyers that contains their contact information:
- Name
- Phone number
- Company name (if applicable)
Savvy investors also maintain a notes section within their cash buyers list to keep track of little reminders about each contact, including:
- Where you met
- Property type/location preferences
- Past transaction details
- Personal details (hobbies, family members, favorite sports teams, etc.)
Details like these help you build personal relationships with your cash buyers so that they’re more interested in considering your listings when you call, and so that they’ll call you first when they’re in the market for a new investment property.
In short: It’s a list or database of accumulated cash-buy investors. Some CRMs offer the option to categorize investors by the type of properties they buy, price ranges, and even by neighborhoods or zip codes — which helps you by getting your deals in front of the right eyes.
Bolster your brand by expanding your online presence with pages on Facebook, LinkedIn, and other social media sites.
10 Creative Ways to Find Cash Buyers
Once you’ve figured out the logistics and infrastructure to manage your cash buyer list database, it’s time to tackle the hard part: finding cash buyers.
1. Add an enticing squeeze page to your website
Your property investor website is the foundation on which you’ll build your cash buyers list. It also provides the perfect opportunity to capture that precious contact information from interested cash buyers via a squeeze page.
Also known as a lead capture page, a squeeze page is an industry term for a website’s landing page that’s designed to capture email addresses from visitors to the site. Your squeeze page can’t just ask for that contact info, though. It’s called a squeeze page because you need to “squeeze” or entice your site visitors to want to give you their contact information.
Here are just a few options to entice cash buyers to add themselves to your list via your squeeze page:
- Request a sign-up for a monthly newsletter of property investment tips
- Offer access to exclusive content or listings
- Promise a wealth of helpful content, including podcasts, webinars, checklists, etc.
2. Get instant access to cash buyers via New Western Acquisitions
Apart from creating a website that builds your cash buyer list for you, the easiest alternative to ease the eternal investor struggle go through to find cash buyers is to connect with New Western Acquisitions.
New Western has tackled the hassle of building a cash buyer list for you by creating the largest network of cash buyers in the nation.
This large network is solid, too, because New Western does the work to ensure that their cash buyers actually have the funds to follow through. All of New Western’s cash buyers are vetted through an onboarding meeting that assesses their funds and financing availability before ever putting them in contact with property holders.
New Western Acquisitions also has its own staff of trained and licensed real estate agents to help you have a smooth transaction, so there’s no need to pay for your own Realtor.
3. Network in online real estate forums
With the whole world going digital, online forums are becoming the go-to place to connect with other professionals. Here are just a few of the online places to interact with other real estate investors online:
Create your personal profile and get active making relevant comments on the posts of other investors, and creating a few posts of your own. Share successes and horror stories of past sales, ask questions about tricky transactions, or create informational or simply fun polls.
With every investor that you build personal relationships with, you’re adding another potential cash buyer to your list.
4. Join a local real estate investment club
One of the best places to meet cash buyers in person is at a local real estate investment club. These clubs regularly host lectures, workshops, and mixers to provide members with information and opportunities to meet other investors.
Finding one in your area may be as simple as searching your favorite social media site for local real estate clubs. Other places to check for investment clubs include:
Bring plenty of business cards with your website address prominently featured on the card. Pass them out to everyone you chat up, and hopefully, you’ll get cards in return with contact information you can add to your cash buyer list.
For every card you get, be sure to jot down when you received it and any interesting tidbit you discussed so you can mention the conversation when you follow up.
Anyone who doesn’t hand over their contact information in return has your web address and will hopefully be enticed to connect via your squeeze page.
5. Become a data detective
Meeting other investors online or in person isn’t the only way to build your cash buyer list. Sometimes the best cash buyers are discovered through online data research.
Many states allow access to real estate transaction data via your local public records or county assessor’s office. Peruse this data for all cash sales (identifiable by their lack of a lien from a bank loan) and take note of the names, especially those who’ve made multiple cash buys within the same year. A little more research online and you should be able to come up with their contact info.
Google and Craiglist are also great online sources to investigate for cash buyer leads. A simple Google search for “sell my house for cash” will generate a list of ads and links to the most active cash buyers in your area.
As for Craigslist, many cash buyers place ads on the site looking for properties to buy in cash-only deals. These “we’ll buy your house for cash” ads are essentially the digital form of bandit signs and may not result in a lot of leads were you to create one yourself. But they are a rich source of contact information to add to your cash buyer list.
FYI: Contacting a potential cash buyer found through data research is essentially cold-calling, so they might not be initially receptive. However, if you’ve built a strong brand through your online presence, you’ll have the credibility to turn that cold call into a contact for your cash buyer list.
6. Attend real estate auctions
In other words, why not cut to the chase? If you prefer developing relationships organically in person to get a better understanding of the sort of person the buyer is, attending events where buyers are easily accessible (and wanting to buy properties) may be the way to go.
Here’s how to do it:
Develop a better understanding of your goals and the number of homes you want to sell within the next12 months (yes, think long-term here). Begin by looking for upcoming real estate auctions in your area and marking your calendar.
You may then come to the realization that you are unable to attend all of them, which is OK – we wouldn’t want you to. Instead, make a commitment to attend a set number of auctions each month, whether that be two or as many as three or four. The idea is that you will have the flexibility to go to more, but you won’t feel forced.
Tip: Attend different kinds of real estate auctions to get more of a variety of buyers.
While attending these events, be prepared with an elevator pitch that explains what you do, who you are, and your target audience. Most importantly, try to differentiate yourself from other vendors by highlighting the advantages of working with you.
At the time of information exchange, make sure you have investor-specific business cards (if you don’t already have them) and make sure you also ask for the other person’s contact details to add to your cash buyers list.Tip: Don’t be discouraged if those new connections aren’t interested in the initial round of offers you send them. They may not be interested in purchasing your current properties, but they may be interested in purchasing your future ones.
7. Put up a property sign
This traditional approach may be surprising to you as this is something most modern sellers and investors don’t consider doing anymore; however, you’d be surprised at the number of sellers and other investors you can attract.
If you decide to put up a sign, make sure it’s close enough to the property and the street with a light, so it’s still visible when it’s dark. Use bright colors and make it stand out.
Here are some details to have on the sign:
- Where the property is located, the street, and even the address. If someone drives by and calls you because they took a picture of the sign as they were driving by, they may not remember where it was.
- Short and general description of the property (how many rooms, bathrooms, square feet, etc?
- Consider even adding the estimated value after repairs and the estimated repair costs, if needed.
Each contact you receive from the signs can be entered into your database, as they may be interested in other properties in the future. Note the criteria for the property they were initially interested in so you can send them similar ones in the future.
8. Bandit signs
As with property signs such as “We purchase homes,” most neighborhoods make use of bandit signs. They’re an excellent place to start if you’re looking to sell your property for cash. Sellers rarely use them, but they may be an excellent starting point, and you never know, they could just make you an offer you can’t resist.
Even better, you can gather their information for future sales too.
9. Real estate agents
You’d be surprised at the kinds of doors a local real estate agent may open for your company, which is why you might want to try networking with them. In addition to helping to find and sell properties, they may also provide you with information from the MLS, specifically an all-cash transaction list from the past 90 days.
Consider developing a larger database where you can keep email addresses, additional contact information, and maybe even the kind of properties they have previously purchased.
However, make sure you ask for permission before adding them to your email list to be notified of future deals. Some may not want to be added, so make sure they’re aware.
10. A tax assessor’s website
The tax assessor’s website is a hidden gem among places to discover cash purchasers. After you’ve figured out how to navigate their website, start checking nearby properties and collect contact information from other sellers and add it to your mailing list. Remember, if they’re selling properties, they could be interested in purchasing them as well.
Tip: You have a better chance of finding cash purchasers if you target LLC corporations and landlords rather than individuals while hunting for cash buyers.
Build Your Brand Before You Build Your Cash Buyers List
Cash buyers take a big risk when they lay out all cash for a purchase as pricey as a house, and they won’t be as eager to take that risk on you if your online presence is unprofessional or nonexistent.
A professional website is a quick way to create a brand around your business that gives all cash buyers confidence in your experience and your investment properties. There are hundreds of top-notch website hosts and website builders, including website service providers that cater specifically to real estate investors.
Your real estate investor website should include a bio detailing your real estate experience and a listing library.
You don’t need to build a whole marketplace featuring all of your active listings—unless you’ve got the time and social media skills to keep this feature up-to-date on a daily basis. You’re simply creating a listing library that features photos and a few details about your past and/or current investment properties. This physical evidence of your past successes instills confidence in the cash buyers you’ll be adding to your list.
What To Ask When Building A Cash Buyers List
You have the contacts, your scheduled events and meetings, and you have a database — now you may be wondering what the next step is and what to ask those investors.
Consider these options:
- What type of properties are they interested in and why?
- What was the cheapest and most expensive property they’ve ever bought?
- What are they looking for in properties?
- Are they interested in specific neighborhoods? If yes, why?
Many of the questions can be answered using any of the info you’ve collected prior; however, for some of these you may have to dig a bit deeper. You want to send them the right type of properties and increase your chances of interest.
Maintaining Your Cash Buyers List
Building a cash buyer list isn’t about adding to a dusty database that’s rarely used until you’ve got a property ready to sell. For serious real estate investors, building a cash buyers list is an ongoing task.
Keep the lines of communication open with your cash buyer prospects by sending out a monthly email newsletter filled with tips, recent sales, and available (or soon-to-be-available properties).
There are a number of email marketing services that also track the stats, such as which cash buyers are actually opening and reading your newsletters. This data is extremely helpful when you’re perusing your cash buyer list for a contact to pitch a property sale. It’s always easier to sell to a cash buyer who takes an interest in your business.
It’s also wise to take time each month to reach out personally to a certain number of your cash buyers. Make a quick personal inquiry about their family, hobbies, sports teams, and so on – or simply ask after any recent real estate deals they’ve made.
Maintaining that contact makes it easier to reach out when you have a property to sell, and it also helps you clear out any contacts that are no longer operating as cash buyers.
Selling your investment properties to all-cash buyers may be ideal, but it’s not always easy to find them. Building and maintaining an active cash buyers list is the best way to line up a cash buyer just as soon as you have a property ready to sell.
Last Few Thoughts About Cash Buyer and Cash Buyer Lists
Cash buyers are advantageous since they allow you to avoid a lengthy and time-consuming procedure that might take months by reducing it to a few weeks. Another advantage of having cash purchasers is that you may sell it even if it needs various repairs that would not be permitted by inspectors from individuals who want to finance it, which can create issues.
Whether you’re selling your own property or one that’s under contract, networking, meeting new individuals on a daily basis, or emailing email contacts can be time demanding. Cash buyer lists, on the other hand, eliminate the majority of the difficulty associated with selling properties each time by enabling you to find and target particular investors with your unique assets.
Still wondering if a cash buyers list is worth it and are you ready to take the next step?
If you’re ready to take advantage of new opportunities in the real estate market utilizing a cash buyer list, New Western offers one of the largest networks of cash buyers in the U.S. We work with our customers to eliminate obstacles, deliver a clear title and provide a seamless closing process.
