Driving for Dollars Real Estate

When you solicit donations from people or businesses in exchange for driving their car in a race, the concept is simple: you find a donor, agree on an amount of money they will give you for driving their car, and then use that money to pay for your racing expenses.

This method is often used by amateur and up-and-coming drivers who do not have the financial backing of major sponsors. It can be a great way to get your start in racing. And, it’s a lot of fun!

 

What Is Driving for Dollars in Real Estate?

One way to find motivated sellers that haven’t advertised their homes for sale is to find vacant properties. Because every month that goes by, vacant properties cost the owner more money.

Which raises another question: how do you find vacant properties?

There is online real estate investing tools like Propstream that make it almost unfairly easy for you. They cost money, and while we find them worth it (see Deni’s full Propstream review for pros, cons, and pricing), not all investors are quite ready to pay money for these automation tools.

So if you’re not quite ready yet for online tools like Propstream, “driving for dollars” refers to driving your target neighborhoods and physically looking for vacant or run-down homes that the owner clearly can’t afford to maintain. That gives you a list of potential properties, which you can use to contact the owners about selling.

It costs little besides time and gas and helps you familiarize yourself with your target neighborhoods. But make no mistake: it’s a numbers game. You may contact 80 owners, and only come out with one deal.

How do the Real Estate investors use the Driving Dollars App?

The driving for dollars app is a tool that allows you to find motivated sellers that haven’t advertised their homes for sale. It is an online real estate investing tool that makes it almost unfairly easy for you to find vacant properties. The driving for dollars app costs money, and while we find them worth it, not all investors are quite ready to pay money for these automation tools.

The driving for dollars app is a tool that allows you to find motivated sellers that haven’t advertised their homes for sale. It is an online real estate investing tool that makes it almost unfairly easy for you to find vacant properties. The driving for dollars app costs money, and while we find them worth it, not all investors are quite ready to pay money for these automation tools.

Get Organized with a Driving for Dollars Spreadsheet

If you’re driving for dollars manually, it can be helpful to have a system for organizing all the information you gather. A driving for dollars spreadsheet is a great way to keep track of properties you find and follow up with the owners later.

You can find templates online, or create your own. At a minimum, your spreadsheet should include the following information for each property:

– Property address

– Owner name and contact information

– Notes about the property (e.g., “vacant,” “for sale by owner,” “needs work”)

– Date you contacted the owner

– Follow-up date

This driving for dollars template from REI BlackBook includes even more information, such as the estimated value of the property and the estimated repairs needed.

Schedule When to Drive for Dollars

You might be thinking, “this sounds like a lot of work.” And it can be if you’re driving around aimlessly without a plan. But if you schedule when you’re going to drive for dollars, it can actually be quite enjoyable.

Set aside an afternoon or evening once a week, and put driving for dollars into your calendar like any other appointment. That way, it’s less likely to fall by the wayside as other things come up.

Plus, if you have a specific goal in mind (e.g., finding 10 vacant properties), it’s easier to stay focused when you have a set amount of time to do it.

The best time to drive for dollars is typically weekday afternoons when people are at work and not likely to be home. But you can also drive for dollars on weekends if that’s when you have more free time.

What to Bring When Driving for Dollars

When you’re driving for dollars, there are a few things you should always have with you:

– A notepad and pen (or your driving for dollars spreadsheet on your phone)

– A camera or your phone to take pictures

– An orange flag (to mark the property so you can find it again)

– An “I Buy Houses” sign (if you want to be extra aggressive)

You can find all of these things at your local hardware store.

How to Find Vacant Properties when Driving for Dollars

One of the most common questions we get is, “how do I know if a property is vacant?” Here are a few telltale signs:

– The grass is overgrown

– There are newspapers or flyers in the mailbox

– There are “for sale” sign in the yard

– The windows are boarded up

– The gutters are full of leaves

Of course, these aren’t always foolproof indicators (e.g., some people don’t have their newspapers delivered to their homes), but they’re a good place to start.

How to Find the Owner of a Property

If you find a property that you think is vacant, the next step is to find the owner so you can contact them about making an offer.

The easiest way to do this is to look up the property tax records. Every county has an online database where you can search for a property by address. Once you find the listing, it will include the owner’s name and contact information.

Step System to Driving for Dollars Efficiently & Effectively

1. Choose Your Target Market

The first step is to choose a neighborhood that you want to drive for dollars in. Of course, don’t just randomly pick any neighborhood — you want to choose an area with a lot of potential for deals.  

Consider some of the following questions to choose a “high value” neighborhood… 

• What is the crime rate? 
• What is the average home value? 
• How old are the homes?

You’ll have to decide for yourself and your market what answers to those questions are going to result in the densest number of deals for a particular area. 

Typically (but not always!), a higher crime rate, older homes, and lower average home value will result in more distressed properties with motivated sellers. 

Also, make sure that you’re tracking the areas where you’re driving for dollars. Otherwise, you could waste time and money driving the same areas multiple times — or miss out on lucrative areas because you thought you already covered them.

2. Prepare

Once you’ve picked a neighborhood, it’s time to prepare you or your team to drive for dollars. 

You’ll want to bring a camera (a smartphone will do just fine) and a notepad to write down addresses. You’ll also want to consider timing — when are you going to drive for dollars? 

(The last thing you want is people peeking out their currents wondering why the hell you’re taking pictures of their house)

The best time to drive for dollars is usually between 10am and 2pm on weekdays — most people will be at work during that time and so you can avoid awkward interactions.

And ideally, try not to spend too much time looking at any one house so that you don’t get the cops called on you for being creepy. 

If you’re hiring a team to help you drive for dollars, make sure that expectations are clear for where they’ll be driving, how long, what type of properties to look for, and what information they need to collect.

3. Look for Signs of Distress

We’ve talked about how distressed properties are more likely to be owned by people who want to sell their houses quickly for cash.

But you might be wondering… what are the signs that a home is distressed? 

Here are some things to look for…

• The yard is overgrown with weeds. 
• Broken windows
• Faded paint
• Uncollected newspaper or junk mail
• Notices are posted on the doors or windows

Trust your gut. 

If a property looks neglected, then it probably is owned by someone who’s frustrated with the management and upkeep of the home — they might, in other words, be willing to sell to you for a fair cash offer. 

When in doubt, write down the information and do some research on the property. The worst-case scenario is that you get rejected by the owner… but that’s just a part of the biz. 

But as you might expect, things can get cluttered… really fast. 

After you’ve driven for dollars 100 times, how will you know which areas you’ve covered and which ones you haven’t? 

In regards to all of the data you collect from multiple sources, how will you know who you’ve marketed to before? When the last time you called a prospect was? Where does each record fall in your follow-up sequence? 

The effectiveness of your marketing plan relies on good data management. 

Check out the software setup below to ensure you’re making the most of every dollar you spend and every lead you generate. 

How Important Is A Driving For Dollars Script? 

If you’re driving for dollars without a script, you’re missing out on a ton of deals. 

You see, when driving for dollars, most people will just take down the address and move on. But if you take the time to knock on the door and talk to the owner, you’ll be surprised at how many motivated sellers there are out there. 

And the key to talking to motivated sellers is having a script. 

A good driving for dollars script will help you: 

Build rapport with the seller

Qualify the seller

Get contact information

Set an appointment

Sellers are more likely to open up and tell you what their situation is if you sound like you know what you’re doing. And a script will help you do that. 

Not sure where to start? Here’s driving for dollars script that you can use:

Hi, my name is ________ and I’m a real estate investor in the area. I noticed that your home is __________ (in disrepair/being foreclosed on/etc.) and I wanted to see if you’d be interested in selling it.

Would now be a good time to chat for a few minutes?

What’s the best number to reach you at so I can follow up?

Great, I’ll give you a call tomorrow at _____. Thanks for your time!

By following this script, you’ll be able to quickly determine whether or not the seller is interested in selling their property. And if they are, you can set up a time to follow up with them and get their contact information. 

Benefits Of Driving For Dollars 

Here’s a quick overview of the benefits of driving for dollars:

A cost-effective way to find great real estate deals
Build a unique, targeted list of distressed properties
Drive, bike, walk or go virtual driving for dollars
Less competition for off-market deals
Anyone can get started today

Driving for dollars is a cost-effective real estate strategy to generate leads. Using the old-fashioned method by literally driving for dollars, all you’re trading off to find a distressed property is time and gas.

Virtually driving for dollars is even more beneficial if you are low on time and money. Driving for dollars apps help save time, the Street View feature on Google Maps doesn’t require you to pay a dime, and best of all, you can do all this at home if any shelter in place restrictions are in effect.

Don’t forget that when you’re driving for dollars, you’re looking for distressed properties that in turn can become off-market deals for yourself or real estate investors. The great thing about off-market properties is low competition for these hidden gems so they are normally sold below fair market value.

 Final Thoughts On Driving For Dollars

While it may seem like a long process, driving for dollars has never been made easier.

After you have your list of distressed properties, the right real estate marketing tactics will lead you to some hard-earned cash. With the many resources available at your fingertips, there’s no excuse as to why you can’t start right now!

Driving for dollars allows you to find off-market properties and obtain amazingly great deals from motivated sellers. This method is straightforward and affordable.

The success others have had using this strategy is proof that driving for dollars can certainly help you achieve your goals and allow you to become a successful real estate investor.

All you need is time, gas, and a driving-for-dollars script to get started. So what are you waiting for? Start driving!