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3 Secrets on How to Find Your next home in Calgary without a Realtor (You will Not find these homes listed on MLS or WeList Searchs)

Quick story on how I found my last investment (ok it was my personal residence) in Calgary;

This took place 2 year and 5 months ago- I was looking for a 2 story house, under $300,000, with a mountain view in Montgomery (right next to the childerns hospital) on a 50 foot R2 lot.

I had been in about 50 houses, went through 3 Realtors, searched MLS for hours at work and could not find a house that I really liked.

As real estate investor, I had found my last 3 fixer uppers through my own marketing and independent searches. I'd assumed that looking for a home was much different than finding an fixer upper.

But, I figured it wouldn't hurt to use some of the same investing strategies to find a home. Long story short, I used these 3 tactics:

1) Drove Montgomery to look at streets I might want to live on. Picked specific houses that had views, and met my search criteria.

- Pulled title (title searches can be done by your self at: https://alta.registries.gov.ab.ca/spinii/logon.aspx .

- Contacted the owner, either through a land title search or through the latest Tax Assessment- letting them know I was interested in their house

2) Sent out direct mail to the houses- either through the mail or dropped off fliers at the front door.

- A little work here, but huge payoffs if you are able to find a house of your choice without having to pay Realtor fees.

3) Bird Dogs- These are folks living or working in the neighborhood that know the residents and are familiar with the homes.

I asked postman, bankers, utility readers, newspaper delivers to keep their eye out for anyone looking to sell. I told them they would get a $1,000 finders fee if they brought me a house I end up buying.

Don't have the time or desire to knock on doors or send out flyers?

I'll tell you right now- this works for finding homes. I have found more investment properties using these methods than using MLS or WeList or the newspaper classified.

The biggest challenge- do you really enjoy knocking on strangers doors or sending out direct mail?

"Hey would you like to sell me your house"?

Most people not looking to sell will tell you to beat it. If they don't want to sell, then a stranger at the front door is like a door-2-door vacuum salesman.

If you have the fortitude to accept rejection and the time (maybe 2-3 hours a week) to drive around, put up flyers, drop of direct mail and knock on doors- you will find your dream house.

Your 2nd Option:

Find someone to do all this for you.

Would anyone do this for no money?

Most Realtors will not do this, even if they could make money. It takes time, effort and resources to do this effectively.

Why do I do it?

I come across deals all the time that do not fit my criteria (I am buy and hold investor in Calgary). So when I come across a house that doesn't fit in my strict guidelines, I look to my list of buyers to pass it on.

Hey, a seller that needs to sell doesn't care if I do it or you buy it- all that matters is they don't get jerked around.

How do I find the deals?

1) Experienced in finding motivated sellers

2) Time to go out and drive neighborhoods, speak to home owners and always networking

3) Resources- I've taken the time to develop the letters I write to home owners, scripts for speaking with potential sellers and emails that are dedicated to encouraging someone to sell their home.

4) I make money- when I find a house for me or for you (the seller pays a fee).

What other ways Do I do I find You a home?

Here are other tactics I use to start your home search:

1. Direct marketing to targeted neighborhoods, looking for specific homes that you are looking for.

When you fill out the form below, I'll follow up with an email to see how serious you are. If you are ready to go, I start my search immediately.

I try not to give away all my secrets on this site (as that is what really makes the difference between me and the competition), but when you contact me, I'm more than happy to explain how I find homes not yet listed.

You've seen some of my marketing strategies above- but I use 30 different tactics to find homes and I doubt you'd be interested in reading through all 30.

2. I call the Top 3-5 selling Realtors in the neighborhoods you are interested in. I do this for a few reasons.

- Most good homes never hit the market (they are snapped up by buyers that have their finger on the market). I've found that many Realtors know about 2-3 weeks in advance for a new listing.

You can gain first access to these homes before they hit the market on MLS. MLS is about 2-4 days behind MLX (what Realtors use), so it is always an advantage to be the first in.

3. Online marketing to Sellers- my goal is to get the sellers to come to you. If all I did was send you a list of homes for sale you can find yourself on MLS or We List, then I have not done anything special for you.

What If you're just looking right now?

Let me know what level of interest (ready to buy, just looking, might buy) you are at.

If you're not ready to buy and would like to see my exclusive list of homes that are for sale and might fit your needs- please fill out the form below and I'll send you a specific list of houses that fit your needs- with no obligations or strings attached .

- There is no obligation to work with me
- I will not send you 100 houses to look at, in hopes that you call me up
-You get a list of homes within 24 hours that will not be found anywhere else.

The more specific you are in your description, the easier it is for me to narrow down your search. If you like looking at lots of houses, its no problem, I can send you a larger list.

If you're just browsing- I'll look at my current list and see if there any matches. If you'd like, I can send out some "feelers" and see what happens. I won't go all out, as I don't want you to feel obligated to buy through me.

Secondly, I don't want to diminish my credibility with sellers- telling them I have a buyer when I really don't.

If you do decide to call or email me and you’re serious about buying, you never have to sign a Buyer Agency Agreement (contract) with me.

You are free to use whoever you like in your house search, and I put no pressure on you. I am confident that you will find my services to be so unique and catered to you, that you'll want to work with me- NOT feel obligated to (by signing a Buyer Agency Agreement) .

Good luck and feel free to call (403) 214-1884 or email me (by filling out the form below). I respond much quicker to the form- as it goes directly to my blackberry.

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Your FREE "e-Search" Please note that all fields followed by an asterisk must be filled in. First Name* First Name* E-mail Address* E-mail Address* Home Phone Ideal Location In Calgary (please describe) What style of House/Condo (check all that apply) 2 Story Bungalow Condo Townhouse Bilevel Other Describe Your Dream Home (views, size, yard for pets, garage for motorcycle, close to downtown, etc) What Price Range are Interested in? $200k-$300k $301- $400k $401- $500k $601- $700k $701- $1,000k $1,001K+ Comments? Please enter the word that you see below.

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P.S I only work with 2 home buyers at a time. This way I am able to fully dedicate my time to searching out the house you want. I tell you this so you know that you are not going to be pawned off onto someone else.

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