How to Become a Real Estate Bird Dog and Sniff Out the Deals for the Investors
If you want to learn how to become a real estate bird dog, you will need to sharpen your detective abilities and your assessment skills. Remember the nosey neighbors down the street who always seemed to know what every family in the neighborhood was up to? Well, if you want to become a bird dog in real estate investing, that is a quality you will want to develop.
A real estate bird dog is one half property assessor and one half “nosey neighbor.” In order to be valuable to a real estate investor, the bird dog has to have the ability to dig up inside information that will give the investor a clear upper hand in a real estate investment deal. The better the deal the investor is able to secure, the more valuable you become as a bird dog.
You may start out receiving about $500 as a birddoging fee, but once you hone your investigative skills and become more useful, the fees will increase as well. Many real estate bird dogs start sniffing out deals as a way to bring in an extra income, but eventually make the switch to “full time” bird dog.
In order to become a real expert at what you do, it’s generally a good idea to find a niche that you are interested in and start developing from there. Let’s say there is a beautiful lake area with a ten mile radius that you particularly enjoy. Find out everything you can about the area. Be aware of crime statistics, neighborhood parks, area culture, and anything that brings value to the area. Map the exact radius out and slowly become familiar with every home and commercial property in the area. Yes, it will take some determination and research. That is why it’s best to choose an area that you personally enjoy.
Once you have a general knowledge of the area, become familiar with the owners of the properties. There are different programs online that can give you vital information, such as the last time each property changed hands, what it sold for, when it was renovated or had an addition built on.
Keep files on real estate properties that you have a good feeling about. Maybe a particular home has never changed hands and has recently become run down. This may be a sign of problems that could lead to the property becoming available. Becoming the trusted expert for a certain territory will soon become apparent to real estate investors and they will begin turning to you for leads and referrals. Once you become a known source of investment information, the bird dog fees, which were once $500, will now command a higher referral fee.
Another way to obtain inside information which will prove valuable to real estate investors is by attending town meetings that target issues directly involving your area of expertise. Things like this will also allow you to network with the residents. As a real estate bird dog, you never know what piece of information will lead you to that “big deal” or “perfect opportunity.” Once you become confident at assessing potential investment deals, you may want to take the financial plunge and invest in a few properties for yourself.
Whether you make the transition to real estate investor or remain content as an expert investigator and real estate bird dog, one thing is certain; you will enjoy the freedom of working for yourself, doing what you love, and being financially successful.
