Most real estate investors who have been in the game for any length of time have heard the adage that “You make money on the buy.”
This common advice is extremely accurate. Being able to buy properties at discount prices can drive profit for an investor—whether it looks like the lump sum pocketed at the end of a successful flip, or the monthly cash flow you earn from a property where rents cover expenses.
This means real estate investors who aim to scale their businesses are constantly on the search for properties to flip, tear down to rebuild, or add to their portfolios. Being proactive is especially vital in today’s market where inventory is exceptionally tight. It’s also extremely valuable to have access to off-market properties that homebuyers can’t bid on yet because they haven’t hit Zillow or the MLS.
If you’re on the property search, we have good news: the real estate investment ecosystem has plenty of property search resources that can save investors time while giving them early or even exclusive access to investment-worthy deals. And many of these options are available to investors at reasonable prices or even no additional cost.
This guide presents four major categories of ways that investors typically find properties, along with several specific resources in each category that Lima One’s team has vetted and/or used for effectiveness and cost. When you’re ready to get proactive and find your next investment property, use these sources to get leads or find your next off-market property to purchase.
AUCTIONS AND FORECLOSURES
Real estate investors have long found foreclosure auctions to be one of the best places to buy properties at a discount. But it’s hard for even the most prolific real estate investor to attend auctions on the courthouse steps in multiple counties in their investment area, let alone in multiple states if they’re looking for out-of-state investments. That’s why many investors turn to online listings to find properties that are available for auction, in pre-foreclosure status, or for sale as bank owned or REO properties.
Here are some of the best online auction and foreclosure sites for real estate investors.
Xome 
Xome offers a simple way for real estate investors to find and buy homes available as auction properties, foreclosure sales, and bank-owned REOs, along with traditional listings. It also allows homeowners (including investors) to list their homes for auction. Xome’s cutting-edge technical tools help investors identify after-repair value of potential flips so they can more easily evaluate the potential of a foreclosure or REO property as a flip.
Lima One has worked with Xome to ensure easy access for investors to get quotes on financing for eligible investment properties purchased through Xome. This smooths the purchase process for Lima One customers and makes it easier for investors to find their next flip or portfolio addition. We also work with Xome behind the scenes to streamline financing of investment property purchases through Xome. Click here to search Xome.
Foreclosure.com
As the name suggests, foreclosure.com focuses on listings on foreclosure and pre-foreclosure properties around the country. Most of these properties are off-market listings. Click here to search properties.
Zip Foreclosures
Zip-Foreclosures.com lists more than 2 million foreclosed and REO properties and the ability to search by city, state or zip code. Again, most of these off-market listings aren’t easily found elsewhere. Click here to search properties.
Auction.com
Auction.com is another nationwide source of bank-owned and foreclosure properties, many of which are off-market. Click here to search.
PORTFOLIOS
Investors looking to grow their real estate businesses quickly may consider purchasing portfolios instead of buying one property at a time. Unlike auction and foreclosure sites, the listings here focus on mostly turn-key properties that can immediately become single-family rentals. Some of them also offer land ready for new construction or build-to-rent projects.
SVN | SFRhub
SVN | SFRhub’s marketplace offers nationwide listings of single-family rental and build-to-rent portfolios of various sizes. After setting up a free account, investors can search all the marketplace’s listings, with filters available to search based on your investment box.
Portfolios range in size from under 10 properties to nearly 200, with many options in between. This makes SVN | SFRhub’s marketplace an essential resource for investors of all sizes. You can set up a free account and search listings here.
Mynd
Mynd allows investors to purchase off-market single-family rental properties from its exclusive inventory in 25 popular markets across the country. Mynd also offers property management in each market it serves, making it easier for investors to invest out of state. Sign up for updated property listings here.
WHOLESALED PROPERTIES
Wholesalers build their businesses around finding off-market properties and making them available to investors at a fee. Many investors find that good relationships with trustworthy wholesalers are an ideal source of deal flow.
But even if you don’t have those relationships (or have enough of them), you can access wholesaled properties through these online marketplaces. Lima One has partnered with these companies to give our clients access to their off-market wholesale listings.
Property Source
Lima One has collaborated with Property Source to offer a nationwide, searchable database of wholesaled properties. You can request Lima One financing as well as title services through the platform. Create a free account to search Lima One’s Property Source marketplace here.
Rubik 
Rubik is a startup that offers exclusive listings of wholesaled properties that investors can purchase at no additional cost. Sign up here to get updates on properties and new listings from Rubik.
DRIVING FOR DOLLARS SOFTWARE
Nothing replaces straight-out effort when investors are looking for properties—which is the thinking behind driving for dollars. In this strategy, investors tour areas where they want to invest, looking for properties that are for sale (or that may soon be).
The following software tools allow investors to drive for dollars more intelligently by letting them search areas for the kinds of properties they want to buy before they get in the car. These tools let investors work smarter and harder, making driving for dollars efforts more efficient and ultimately more successful.
Property Radar
Property Radar is a nationwide property listing that allows you to identify properties that may be investment targets at the state, county, or neighborhood level. By combining a thorough data set from county records across the country with a robust filter set that will fit any investment strategy, Property Radar offers investors significant power in finding properties they may want to buy.
Even better, the tool comes with skip-tracing tools to find phone numbers and email addresses built in, included (up to a monthly limit) with the subscription price that starts at $99/month. Investors get a lot for this monthly investment, and the reasonable price makes Property Radar an incredibly helpful and powerful tool for investors of any experience level. Learn more here.
Realeflow
Realeflow is a software tool that allows investors to identify leads of potential property purchases, analyze the deals, make offers, and more. Investors looking to exit a property after a flip can also list properties for sale on the platform. Pricing starts at $99/month. Learn more here.
Deal Machine
Deal Machine is designed to help investors by tracking their drives and capturing highlights that investors notice while they’re in the area. It also offers contact info and postcard marketing services to allow investors to target the properties they are interested in. Pricing starts at $99/month. Learn more here.
DISCLAIMER: This article contains affiliate links which enable us to share in the revenue from purchases made.
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