The MLS: How Important Is It?

The MLS: How Important Is It?

We’ve all heard it before, “Don’t bring me deals off the MLS.” Why do so many investors tell us this? Well, maybe they feel they can get those deals themselves, and as a wholesaler, they expect you to bring them off-market deals. I say rubbish. Go after deals on the MLS. Believe me, if you get something under contract at the price your investor wants, they will take the deal from you. They just want control of the deal at the right price. We all know realtors can help find and sell deals. According to a recent article by the Housing News Report, on average, 20% of all deals done last year were off-market, meaning not through the MLS and realtors. That also means that 80% of deals that were done were through the MLS. With a number that big, it is in your best interest to work with investor-friendly realtors and use the MLS.

The number of off-market deals is growing because of companies like OfferPad, iBuyer, Network Realty, Zillow and others. As a savvy investor, we need to keep our fingers on it all. Don’t give up on the MLS just because someone tells you it’s too competitive. Instead, use strategies to get offers out quicker than others. One technique I use is the blind offer strategy. Basically, when my agents spot properties I would like, I train them to immediately make an offer at 10% below list price with all my terms staying the same. Now, all I must do is sign the offer and they submit it. This strategy speeds up the offer and evaluation process, which is the most time consuming part of a deal. Once my offer gets accepted, I will do a proper evaluation before I purchase the property. Stay consistent with your methods to find deals, but make the MLS a core search engine for your deals.