In the age of the internet, misinformation and outright scams are just about everywhere you look.

So I don't blame anybody who hears about the insane benefits of buying a home off-market and looks at it with skeptical eyes.

It can definitely seem too good to be true, so I want to use this blog post to explain why this works in further detail.

We'll look at some of the common misconceptions and myths around off-market properties so you can make an informed decision on whether this is the right fit for you.

Myth #1: Homeowners Would Never Want to Sell Off-Market

When you hear something like the fact that you can save 25% on one of life's biggest purchases by simply buying off-market, it can naturally raise some alarm bells.

Your first question is likely to be, "Why would a homeowner ever be willing to sell at such a steep discount?"

And frankly, that was my first question as well when I first learned of these strategies. 

But as I started doing some advertising and had sellers starting to reach out to me, I was blown away by how receptive people were to selling off-market, and often times at a steep discount.

Ease of Sale

See, when homeowners start thinking about selling their home, they typically get a serious case of anxiety.

If you've ever sold a home, you know what I'm talking about...

Getting everything packed up, painting, coordinating all the miscellaneous repairs in the home, keeping it spotless for showings, and having those showings constantly interrupting your life...

It's enough to make anybody think long and hard about how badly they want to sell.

But what if there was a way to avoid all of that? What if you valued peace of mind and a simple, streamlined process over squeezing every last penny out of the home? Or what if you were in financial distress and had to sell quickly?

As I started talking with more and more homeowners, I realized there were tons of people who fell into one of these camps. 

They simply weren't willing to list the home traditionally on the MLS or Zillow™, and were happy to give up some potential profits for the sake of having a more private, simplified, and more sure sale. 

Lower Commissions

The other benefit to selling off-market is that the seller typically gets charged a lower commission.

Because in most cases the agent is representing both the seller and the buyer, they can typically offer a more favorable commission rate.

This means the seller gets more take home proceeds and thus allows them to offer a better price to the buyer.

Myth #2: Off-Market Properties Are Hard to Come By

For a lot of the reasons I listed above, this simply isn't the case.

When you know how to put the right message in front of the right homeowners, it can actually be fairly simple to find people willing to sell their home off-market. 

At the end of the day, plenty of people want a hassle free sale more often than they want to maximize every last penny they can get out of the home. 

That's why working with a team who knows how to find these people and put the right message in front of them is the best thing you can do to ensure you find the perfect home at the right price. 

Myth #3: Off-Market Properties Are The Only Way To Get A Good Deal

While I'm clearly a big believer in buying off-market, I'm not here to tell you it's the only way to find the perfect home at an amazing price. 

The MLS and Zillow™ can actually sometimes have some great listings. The challenge is you have to act incredibly fast when those homes hit the market. 

So think of adding off-market homes to your search as an additional tool in your tool belt. 

After all, when you're making one of the biggest purchases of your life, why would you not want to give yourself every advantage?

Wouldn't you want to turn over every stone to make sure you're finding the best possible options for you and your family?

Conclusion

If you're ready to jump in and find the perfect home, my team and I are standing by and ready to help via our Perfect Home Finder program.

In it, we handle everything so all you have to do is pick which home works the best.

We'll do all the marketing, door knocking, cold calling, and negotiating.

You just tell us what the perfect home looks like to you, and we'll get to work.

Finding the right place to call home for our clients has been incredibly rewarding for my team and me. Nothing quite beats seeing the smiles on their faces when they move in. 

And frankly, if you've made it this far, I want that for you too. But don't take it from me. Here's what some of our clients had to say themselves:

So if you're ready to get started, I put together a free, quick video going over how we work with clients. 

Give it a watch at the button below. 

So you know you need to expand your home search beyond what you're seeing on sites like Zillow™, Redfin™, Realtor.com™ and the MLS....

You've seen how it can lead to saving up to 25% on one of life's biggest transactions. 

And you already know it can mean the difference between finding a home that just "sort of" fits what you're looking for, versus finding something that matches your exact criteria.

But the question you're probably asking now is, "how do I find these properties?"

Knocking on stranger's doors?

Running classified ads?

Talking to neighbors?

Well, in this post I'm going to walk you through what's working for my clients and me right now. 

These are the strategies I've paid mentors tens of thousands of dollars to discover, and are the same strategies I'm using to find my own investment properties, as well as primary residences (or vacation homes) for my clients. 

Put these into action and you'll be well on your way to finding the perfect Naples home.

The first place to start any home search is with your criteria. 

Before you can start marketing to off-market homeowners, you need to have an idea of what the ideal home might look like to you. 

Here are a few things to consider:

• Do you want to be in a gated community?
• Do you want to be in a single family home or a condo?
• How many bedrooms and bathrooms would be ideal?
• Do you want to be close to any particular attractions in town (i.e. the beach, 5th Ave, Mercato, etc.)?
• Do you have any pets (some Homeowners' Associations have pet restrictions)?
• Are there any particular amenities you want in your community (golf, tennis, fitness center, etc.)?

Don't feel the need to get it perfect on your own...

Having an exploratory conversation with an agent can help you sort through the different areas of town, different communities, price points, and amenities so you'll have a better understanding of what might make sense.

Once you have your criteria outlined, it's time to find a list of homes that match that criteria.

There are a number of ways to do this, but what we've found to be the most effective is to use softwares like Remine (which allows you to plug in your criteria and find a list of homes that match, whether they're on or off-market).

The key is to limit that list to the owners who are most likely willing to sell.

This can mean limiting the search to people who have owned for more than 3 years, have high equity in their home, or perhaps are in some sort of financial distress (pre-foreclosure, tax delinquent, etc.)

Now, it's finally time to get the word out to these homeowners that you're in the market to buy.

We've found that a few different methods work the best:

• Mailing handwritten letters
• Getting the owners' email addresses and sending a few emails over the course of a week or two
• Cold calling
• Cold texting
• Door knocking

Outside of that, having consistent advertising going out via channels like direct mail, Facebook, YouTube, etc. can generate a consistent flow of off-market listings, many of which are often the perfect fit for our clients.

Once you have a few homeowners responding to your marketing, you can start feeling out which might be the most serious about selling.

From there, you can get a better understanding of what their price expectations might be, then set up private showings.

After that, it's really as simple as negotiating the price and terms of the transaction.

The best part is there isn't such a massive time crunch like there would be if the home were actively listed. No additional buyers making things unnecessarily competitive.

I know this can seem a bit overwhelming. 

And frankly, I don't blame you. 

My team and I do this every day now, but I can remember the first time I started to learn about these strategies. It was hard to know where to start.

But luckily for you, that's what we're here for. My team and I are ready to help you find your next Naples home via our Perfect Home Finder program.

In it, we handle everything I just described on your behalf. We'll work with you to establish what the perfect home looks like to you, then handle all the marketing, screening, and negotiations.

And the best part is, we don't even charge a penny for this because the seller is the one paying the commission. 

I explain the Perfect Home Finder program in a little more detail in this short video. Watch Here to Get Started

-Alex

If you're looking for a new home in the Naples area, but you're feeling a little underwhelmed by the properties you're seeing on sites like Zillow™, Realtor.com, or elsewhere online, I feel your pain.

Most of what you'll find there is overpriced.

And if you do find something that's appropriately valued, it's usually a battle royale with other buyers to get it.

Which of course ends up driving up the price anyways...

When I first got into real estate, I followed the path that every brokerage and coach lays out.

If you have a client looking for a home, learn a little about their criteria, then set them up on an aromatic search that sends them the properties that come on the MLS that sort of match their criteria.

Then, hope for the best…

I know…not exactly breaking new ground.

See, that strategy can work.

That is, if you like staying GLUED to your computer screen and making rushed decisions when a new listing hits the market. 

That’s because thousands of other buyers are getting that notification at the same exact time. 

So if you’re using that strategy, you have to be lightning quick to be the first one in the door, then make a quick offer without having time to fully think through everything...

Not ideal to say the least.

This lesson was driven home to me when I went to buy my first investment property in Naples. 

I was tired of seeing all the overpriced, already picked-through listings everyone else was seeing on Zillow™, Realtor.com™, and all the other online sites. 

And especially as an investor, I need to ensure I was buying the property with enough margin to potentially flip it.

Months went by and nothing I saw really met my criteria. 

I wondered if I’d ever be able to find the right property at the right price. 

Luckily, that’s when I was introduced to a mentor who showed me some unique marketing strategies to find off-market homes…

He taught me how to identify homes owned by people who likely wanted to sell, then put the exact right marketing message in front of them to get them to reach out to me.

Before I knew it I had a flood of off-market listings that I could cherry pick from to find the best possible deal.

And the best part was, many of these homeowners were highly motivated...

And because I was the only one who knew they were interested in selling, I was able to negotiate a far better price (and terms) than you could ever get for a home listed on the MLS or Zillow™.

Suddenly, I had a property under contract for 25% less than what it was worth!

Sure, you might be used to seeing a 25% discount on things at the grocery store, but a 25% discount on one of life’s biggest purchases?

Safe to say my mind was blown…

Oh, and that doesn’t even take into account the crazy cash flow this property was now generating me because of the low price I was able to buy it at.

Since then, I’ve gone on to perfect this system for clients. 

And honestly, that's been the most rewarding part...

Nothing quite beats seeing the reaction on my clients' faces when the find the perfect home at the perfect price.

If you’re interested, you can learn more in this quick video: Watch Here

-Alex