In this economy, buying apartment buildings for sale is a smart investment decision.  There is a higher demand for multi-family Real Estate than other asset class amongst high net worth investors and institutional players.  They have multiple millions of dollars to invest on a regular basis and while stocks are volatile and other asset classes are questionable, apartment buildings are thriving.

Although you may not have quite that much money to invest, you can play ball at your level.  They are typically looking for 200 units and above in emerging or stable markets.  You are agile enough to buy smaller deals.  Whether you are ready for a 100-unit apartment complex or a 6-unit apartment building; now is the time to buy.

The trick is to find good deals.  Most investors fail because they get impatient.  They hunt for deals and when the first month of hunting comes to an end and they still don’t have a deal, they contract the next one that comes to them.  The most successful real estate investors plan their course of action and stick to that plan while making some adjustments as they go.  If your plan does not include making lots of offers and only contracting deals that have upside, then you are exposed to risk.  To alleviate risk and ensure success, it is important to buy for the right price.

In this article, we are going to discuss the 3 best methods used by successful real estate investors to find good deals.  If you are looking for a complete training on buying and selling apartment buildings, I recommend Dave Lindahl.

1.  County Court House – This is a real gem which is not discussed much in the real estate investor community.  Most people think about auctions and tax records when they think of why they may be interested in going down to their county court house.  While those are very valuable, the best information is available under ground.  At least at my court house, we go to the lower level to access public records.  In the public records, you can see data on all of the pending and previous court cases.  This includes:

- Probate

- Bankruptcy

- Foreclosure

- Evictions

- Property Tax Evasion

- Health and Safety Violations

- Divorce

- Lawsuits

There are many more reasons why people go in front of a judge to hear their case.  Not all of them are property specific and they may require more work to find out who is facing what, but most likely, your competitors are not doing this.  These are most likely motivated sellers right before your very eyes.  Although they may not be selling, they are probably considering it.  They may look at their property as a nuisance and you can save the day.  Public records will give you insider information on apartment buildings for sale before they are even for sale.

2.  Direct Mail – This is the fastest way to a deal if done correctly.  It is also the most expensive option.  A mailer typically cost 50 cents to a dollar per piece.  If you have 1,000 owners in your database and you want to mail to them once per month, your budget should be $500-$1,000 per month while you are testing what is most effective in your market.  Of course, your budget can be lowered or raised by the amount of owners you plan to mail to.  You can also mail once per quarter if you would like.  Ideally, you would mail at least once per month to the owners of your favorite properties in  your market.  If you plan to buy buildings between 12 and 50 units, then you can cut out anything 11 and under and you can cut out anything 51 and over.  You can also drive by all of the properties between 12 and 50 in a day and subtract all of the buildings you have no interest in.  No matter what you do, plan to provide value to your owners.  Let them know you buy apartment buildings for sale but also provide them with valuable information; like a rent survey.  This will set you apart and they will think of you first when they are ready to sell.

3.  Calling Owners – For those on a budget, this is probably the best way to start.  You can grab the contact information for all of the owners at the court house or from a list broker online.  Then, you can go to google, superpages.com, or any other social media site to find phone numbers for each of the owners in your market.  Make sure you find the real owner’s info and not the management company.  The idea of calling is not to persuade the owner to sell but to find sellers who really NEED to sell.  They are in a pinch for one reason or another and are happy to talk to  you.  While you are calling, let the owners know that you buy apartment buildings for sale in your area and if they are interested in selling, find out why.  If they say that they are testing the market, they are not serious or motivated.  If they say that they just inherited the property and they have no clue how to manage it, they are probably pretty motivated.  If you have financing all lined up and know how to analyze deals as well as understand your market well, you will be prepared to close the deal when the seller needs you the most.  Do not take advantage of people, rather provide them with a valuable service.

There are definitely people out there right now, in most markets that need to sell.  The key is to find them when they are ready, not just when you want to buy apartment buildings for sale.  If you focus on marketing and writing offers, you will win.  It is very important that you are prepared for that moment when you find the right seller in the right situation.  You can have success at this by trial and error if you are patient and persistent.  If you want to cut that time in half or even more, you would benefit tremendously by getting the right training on buying and selling apartment buildings.  It may cost a little money upfront but it will save you lots of time and money since you will not have as many learning pains to go through.  My favorite trainer is Dave Lindahl.  He owns over 7,000 units.  He has been investing in Real Estate for 15 years.  He has lots of successful students and if you allow him, he can help you too.  Visit this site and decide for yourself: Dave Lindahl.