The MLS is a great way to find real estate properties that you might want to bring to your client to buy, but few agents get the most out of the powerful tool. There are several ways to “hack” the MLS and get the best prices on the most desirable properties available, beating out even the best competition.
Play a Numbers Game
If you are looking for excellent deals, be ready to send out a high number of offers. If you send out some low offers, half of them will get ignored outright. Despite that, using this strategy means that you will receive a few meaningful responses that may lead to potentially excellent deals.
The key part of this strategy is to be diligent. You will never know how motivated a seller is until you interact with him or her. You might learn that one or more of the sellers are willing to decrease their prices substantially, but the chances are that you will not discover this unless you play a numbers game.
Make Offers Directly to the MLS
Using this tactic might make you some enemies, but it can also help you generate some leads. To start, select a region in which you are interested in looking for real estate. Filter out the relevant MLS properties in the area and find the listing agent’s contact information. Contact listing agents with the “letter of intent” and make an offer on each property 40% lower than the list price. Again, most offers will be ignored, and others will be answered with anger. However, you might get a handful of agents who are willing to play ball.
Custom Notifications in the MLS
You do not want to waste time on properties that do not fit your criteria. You can set up custom search filters on the MLS and get notifications whenever specific actions occur. Weed out all of the buildings that do not meet your buyer’s needs. Once you have a good deal, establish rapport with the listing agent. Then, emphasize that you are helping alleviate the seller’s pain.
If you are considering using a real estate transaction management platform to complete a deal, look no further than Propy’s transaction management platform. The platform will help you reduce your transaction time and close your deal securely and safely, putting you even more solidly in the green.
