If you are a commercial real estate developer, finding vacant properties before they get listed is one sure way to get better deals and gain a competitive advantage.
Why wait for prices to get inflated and competition to increase when you can swoop in and find sweet deals that will produce incredible returns on investment?
While the idea is nice, execution is far from easy. In this article, we will show you three broad ways you can find vacant properties while your competitors are still fast asleep.
Online resources
Real estate marketplaces like Zillow, Crexi, Realtor, and LoopNet have extended databases of available CRE properties.
Though your competitors will also have access to these websites, you can gain an advantage if you know how to use the filter and alert features.
You can filter for vacant properties, properties selling at a discount, and those that have been listed for a while.
Similarly, you can set up an alert to get notifications whenever new properties matching your filters get listed on the website. By acting fast on those new listings, you can gain an advantage.
Alternatively, you can use websites like Auction.com and Foreclosure.com that focus specifically on properties up for auction and foreclosed properties, respectively. There is a higher tendency to find vacant properties on these websites.
Even better, you can explore data reporting websites like Attomdata.com and Propstream.com. With these websites, you can find comprehensive reports on vacant properties in locations of choice. These sites provide data points like valuation, climate change risks, and zoning details.
Finally, some GIS mapping tools can help you visualize the property and what the community will look like based on zoning and development plans.
Government resources
What if some vacant, empty, and abandoned properties don’t get listed online?
That’s where government resources come in handy.
You can visit the county assessor’s physical office or website to find properties with tax liens and arrears. Most of these properties have failed to pay property taxes because they are now empty or abandoned.
Forming a rapport with someone in the office can even help you get early notification of such properties.
Housing authorities are also useful for this purpose. They usually maintain a list of abandoned and foreclosed properties and can even put some of them up for auction. You can form a rapport with one of the officials or even consider discussing opportunities to collaborate on some development projects.
Finally, the municipal code enforcement departments can come in handy. Scout for properties with code violations, especially those with lingering code violation issues.
Field research
A drive-by through your target areas can help you identify vacant and abandoned properties even before they get listed. Accumulated mails, overgrown vegetation, boarded-up windows and doors, and code enforcement tapes are some pointers.
Even if you don’t get any hits on your drive-by, endeavor to form a rapport with some locals. If such opportunities arise, they will often be the first to know. With that, you can ensure that you will be the second to know.
Vacant or not, property sellers now require that buyers pay an earnest money deposit (EMD) before they can inspect or negotiate the price of a property.
Therefore, being the first to know about the property is not enough to gain a competitive advantage; you must also have your earnest money deposit handy. To achieve this, you need a consistent source that will provide you with EMDs.
Duckfund is an EMD financing company that provides you with EMDs for all your CRE deals. You can complete an application in 2 minutes and get the needed funds within the next 48 hours, all without submitting any credit report.
Sign up with Duckfund and explore all these options for finding vacant properties and you will be on course to outsmart the competition and get the best deals.
