Let’s Talk About the “Inventory Problem”

Coaching people through my FastTrack to Financial Independence Program gives me a very interesting perspective on the current market.

 

In my day-to-day interactions with real estate folks from all over the country, I’m hearing the same thing over and over: “There’s no inventory here, and what does go on the market sells fast and for crazy prices. Finding deals is impossible.”

 

Yet, 2 times in the past 2 weeks, from coaching students in different parts of the U.S., what I’ve heard is some version of, “I can hardly handle the volume of deals I’m getting, I’m going to have to hire help.”

 

So what, you ask, is the difference?

 

Simple: the people who can’t see any deals are looking at publicly-advertised inventory—on MLS, in Craigslist, on auction sites.

 

Those who are getting so flooded with motivated sellers that they need VAs are using direct mail and other advertising to bring motivated sellers to THEM.

 

The dichotomy really is that simple. I’m not finding deals on MLS either—and I’m a licensed agent. Every deal I’ve done in the past 2 ½ years has either been from a direct seller call or from a referral from someone who got a direct seller call on a property they didn’t want.

 

And there’s another correlation, too—of the coaching students that I talk to week to week, some have a single deal they’re torturing to try to make work, and some have 3-4 at any given moment that they’re deciding whether or not to do. What’s the difference?

 

The AMOUNT of mailing/advertising they do.

 

Those that have a single list they’re mailing to, and who are doing 50 mailings a week are in the former category. Those that are sending 200 pieces of mail to several lists are in the latter.

 

So you can keep complaining about lack of inventory, or you can do what I’ve already told you works. One is a more or less guaranteed path to good deals, and one is a dead end. And next time someone in your market tells you there are no deals to be had, you can just smile and say, “Interesting, that’s not what I’m finding at all.”