Is there a way to find motivated sellers before the list services even have them
I put one LP check into a Texas multifamily deal last year and now I want to find something where I can actually get in at the deal level, not just write a check at the finish line. So I've been trying to figure out how off-market residential leads actually surface before a wholesaler has already touched them. The part I keep running into is that by the time a property shows up on any list, whether that's pre-foreclosure data, probate filings, whatever, somebody has already mailed to it. I talked to a guy in Austin last month who said he gets his best leads from contractors who are already inside distressed houses doing estimates. Plumbers, HVAC people. They're in a house that clearly has problems, the owner is clearly stressed, and they just mention they know a buyer. That made sense to me. The list is just a lag indicator of a situation that already exists. The contractor is there when the situation is fresh. What I can't figure out is how you actually structure that arrangement without it feeling transactional enough that the contractor stops doing it. Paying per lead seems like it should work, but I've heard it creates weird incentives where they're calling every owner who seems remotely tired. I'd rather have two good conversations a month than twenty bad addresses.
