Spring has sprung here in Memphis. Everything is green again, especially the grass. After sitting dormant all winter, lawnmowers and weed eaters can be heard everywhere, well almost everywhere. Some properties became vacant this winter, and now that the grass is green, growing and tall again, we can easily see that.
Why were they left vacant? Who knows? Why do I care? Because I do know that a vacant property can lead to a potential deal and that tall grass is often a sign of a vacant property. So it makes sense to take note of properties with tall grass, as there could be dollars hiding in those weeds. Just today I went to look at a property that popped up on the MLS and while driving to and from that property I counted and wrote down the addresses of five others to check out. All because it is spring and the grass is now growing.
This technique, called driving for dollars, is one of my favorites for finding properties. Even with all of the technology that exists today (I use that too), physically looking around still gets results. It’s cheap too! All it takes is driving around an area you wish to farm and looking for signs that a property is in distress such as tall, uncut grass. If you see signs of distress, make a note to yourself and check the property ownership details later. It may be worth sending the owner a letter and that letter may just turn into your next real estate project.
I like to drive around areas close to where I live. But you do not have too and you do not even have to be specifically driving around for dollars. For example, I found one property just because I was going back and forth to the grocery store. I found another because it was down the street from one of my other properties. And, as I said above, I found five to check out just by going to look at another listed property.
So open your eyes as your run your errands. Look for the tall grass and other signs of distress. It may just net you a nice deal.
Found any great properties driving for dollars? What do you look for when driving around? Please share with your comments.
