Finding Off-Market Properties

This method closed me million-dollar real estate deals — without working harder. And I didn’t figure it out on YouTube. I figured it out in the middle of a deal drought. Let me explain. years ago, I started testing a different approach. Instead of cold-calling every owner in sight or chasing brokers for scraps, I shifted my focus to marketing like an owner — not a salesperson. It started small: → Weekly emails that actually told real stories behind the deals → Direct texts — not spam blasts, but thought-provoking, investor-first messages → And more recently, consistent content on platforms like LinkedIn But here’s the catch: I never sold anything in those messages. I educated. I shared the deal math. I shared what I passed on — and why. I shared mistakes I made early on, and what I’d do differently now. I stopped pushing. And started pulling. And then it happened… 📞 A seller texted me back from an old email campaign: “I’ve been getting your stuff. Want to look at a center I’m thinking of selling?” That turned into a $2.7M off-market deal. No broker. No noise. Clean terms. 📩 An investor who’d never responded to me in 6 months replied to a simple insight I texted about cap rates and inflation: “I like how you think. Loop me in on the next one.” He wrote a $1M check 10 days later. 💬 Then LinkedIn started compounding. I’d get DMs from owners, brokers, equity — all saying the same thing: “I don’t see anyone else breaking it down like this.” — Here’s the real play: ➡️ The right kind of marketing is just education with a backbone. ➡️ And the right audience isn’t looking for perfection — they’re looking for clarity. ➡️ When people trust your lens, they trust your deals. I still do outreach. But now… Deals come to me. Equity comes to me. Partnerships come to me. That’s leverage. And it didn’t cost more hustle — just better communication. — Adam Shapiro #RealEstateInvesting #OffMarketDeals #CapitalRaising #EmailMarketing #TextCampaigns #SocialSelling #CommercialRealEstate #LinkedInStrategy

I recently spent time listening to leasing calls and noticed a pattern. ▪️Only 1 in 5 prospects answered. ▪️When they did, the Leasing Agent seemed caught off guard. ▪️Voicemails were generic: “This is X from Y Apartments. Call us back.” ▪️Outbound calls were clearly less confident than inbound ones. So when I was on site last week, I suggested we make some calls together. Her face went from "Are you joking?: to terror. But here’s what we did: ▪️𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚 𝐭𝐞𝐱𝐭: We sent a quick text to three leads at a time, letting them know we’d be calling soon and why. Some replied “OK,” others didn’t—but our hope was at least they answer our unknown call. ▪️𝐌𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐬: The first “OK” lead answered. They weren’t ready to tour, but I asked how they’d prefer updates. Answer: email. We sent one, and they opened it immediately. ▪️𝐋𝐞𝐟𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐯𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐬: For missed calls, we left messages acknowledging their availability and promised to follow up with an email including photos and videos. Several emails were opened within hours, and one prospect texted back with a question. We rotated making calls, and by the 6th one, the Leasing Agent had it down. In just 1 hour and 22 minutes: +13 calls made + 2 tours booked (1 same-day) + 2 more tours scheduled later 𝐎𝐮𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐬? = 2 applications, 1 moving in this week It’s easy to label leasing agents as “not wanting to pick up the phone,” but what if the real issue is a lack of training? 👉Outbound calls are a skill, and like any skill, they require training and repetition to master. How confident is your team in making outbound calls? If they are confident, how effective are they at it? There's more to follow up than just picking up the phone. Do you agree?

I had a conversation with a friend that bought 15 short term rentals in the last 12 months, all off-market. He uses AI to find off-market deals and make offers on them. Here’s how he does it: 1. Scrape Listings: He uses web scraping tools (e.g., Beautiful Soup + GPT APIs) to scan Airbnb for properties in his target areas. 2. Image Analysis: He then trained an AI model to analyze listing photos. It flags homes with potential (good structure, layout, location) that are undervalued due to low-quality photos. He has had a lot of success finding homes that generate revenue but due to bad photos, don’t reach their potential. 3. Natural Language Processing: He also trained a NLP model to look for poorly worded Airbnb descriptions that he believes if written better can generate more revenue. 4. Market Comparison: Then he leverages Zillow Zestimate APIs to compare similar properties in the area and AirDNA to forecast what the property should rent for if the description and images were better. 5. Property List: All the properties based on this criteria get dumped into a google sheet. 6. Automate Outreach: For the final step he uses Claude to draft personalized outreach emails and Airbnb DMs to homeowners. Essentially his whole strategy is to identify underpriced homes that look worse online than they actually are. After the conversation my mind was blown 🤯

Having sourced and closed hundreds of millions in off-market deals, I got asked how I would approach deal sourcing today as a funded or self-funded searcher with a limited budget. This question got me thinking about the fundamental steps I'd take to maximize the chances of closing a deal, especially given the budget constraints and experience levels many searchers face. H͟͟e͟͟r͟͟e͟͟’͟͟s͟͟ ͟͟m͟͟y͟͟ ͟͟a͟͟p͟͟p͟͟r͟͟o͟͟a͟͟c͟͟h͟͟:͟͟ 1. 𝙎𝙚𝙩 𝙔𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝘽𝙪𝙙𝙜𝙚𝙩 Your budget dictates your strategy. Clearly defining your budget helps you plan your approach effectively. 2. 𝘿𝙚𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙚 𝙄𝙣𝙫𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝘾𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙖 Understanding what you’re looking for is crucial. Successful searches often have a targeted, rifle approach rather than a broad, shotgun one. While you can be a generalist, focusing on specific industries tends to yield better results in outreach based campaigns. 3. 𝘿𝙖𝙩𝙖 𝙎𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙜𝙮 Whether your search is niche or opportunistic, knowing what data you need and how to acquire it is key. Utilize free resources like ReferenceUSA (accessible with a library card), affordable options like Google scraping, or data subscriptions such as SourceScrub. If you can afford one data source, I highly recommend Inven for its cost-effectiveness, data quality, and user-friendly features. Niilo P. is also the man and is building something special. 4. 𝘾𝙧𝙖𝙛𝙩 𝙖 𝙉𝙖𝙧𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚 People buy into people and stories. Create a compelling narrative that showcases why your skills and knowledge make you an ideal steward for their business. Put yourself in the business owner’s shoes and address the questions they might have. 5. 𝘾𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙈𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙖𝙡𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙈𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙖𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙜 Stand out in a crowded market. Research best practices for email copy and outreach. Personalize your messages by demonstrating insights about their business and industry. Choose a reliable outreach partner; we use Smartlead and Instantly.ai, but there are many excellent options available. 6. 𝙁𝙤𝙡𝙡𝙤𝙬 𝙐𝙥 Persistence is key. It often takes 10-20+ follow-ups to keep business owners engaged and moving forward. Find the balance between being persistent and overly persistent. 7. 𝙏𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙠 𝙍𝙚𝙨𝙪𝙡𝙩𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙏𝙚𝙨𝙩 Continuously seek ways to improve your results, whether it’s your positive response rate to outreach or how you progress first calls. Regularly track and test your strategies. 8. 𝘼𝙪𝙩𝙤𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙚 Once you have a dialed-in process that produces results, look for ways to automate the repetitive, low-value tasks. This could involve third-party software, virtual assistants, or custom Python scripts. We are big fans of Clay; when you get into more complex automation, it has its limits, and it is not an easy tool to pick up, but it is an extremely cost-effective way to get started with research and outreach automation. If you have any questions about sourcing and closing off-market deals, feel free to ask in the comments.

How to find off-market deals that are the secret sauce to real estate investing... The good news is off-market deals generally provide better value because you are not competing with tons of other buyers. The bad news is finding them is hard work. It takes years to develop them, a lot of persistence and rejection. This is what I’ve done for the last decade: 1. Drive around my area, look at property records, read about real estate transactions, and do as much market research as possible. I’m looking for apartment complexes that could be acquired and renovated or land where we can build new housing. 2. I put together a list of property owners who I can reach out to and connect with, who I know own real estate in my target areas. 3. I start reaching out to people. Most people will hang up on you, tell you a ridiculous price or kindly tell you they’re not selling. 4. I build relationships. These need to be genuine and provide real value to them without expecting anything in return. Just get to know them. This step takes the longest. It’s taken as many as 3 years to get from “are you selling?” to “yes.” This has happened on a half a dozen deals for me. 5. Repeat. The key? Keeping at it. Most people will give up when facing constant rejection. If you can get used to it (rejection does become easier with time - trust me) the more you do that others are unwilling to, the more you'll win.

Let’s be real, warm intros will always convert better. No question. But that doesn’t mean cold outreach is dead, far from it. In fact, some of the best off market deals I’ve seen started with a cold email or direct message. The key? Execution. Bad cold outreach is vague, lazy, or too aggressive. “Are you selling?” Too abrupt. “Interested in talking?” No context. “Let's connect.” Zero value. What works is relevance and intention: “Hi [Name], I’m acquiring [type] businesses and came across yours. I love the way you [something specific]. If you’ve ever considered selling, or are open to a conversation, I’d love to connect.” That simple message, when done well, can open a door to a deal no one else even knows is on the table. And because it’s cold, you have no competition. That’s leverage. Yes, warm intros are better. But cold works if you’re thoughtful. Do your research, personalize your message, and focus on building relationships, not just deal volume. Cold isn’t dead. Sloppy is. #ColdOutreach #OffMarketDeals #SellerConversation #EPICWay #AcquisitionStrategy

Brokers won't bring you the best mobile home park. ❌ When starting in the industry most people go to Crexi, Loopnet, & MHP Store to try and find a good deal. They call brokers and ask them to send them deals. Preferably off-market pocket listings. You’re nobody though. 😂 Do you know how many calls brokers get each day? ☎️ Brokers get paid when a deal closes. They want to work with a buyer who has experience, someone who’s successfully transacted many times. Don't get me wrong, once you have a reputation and track record, brokers can be a great source of quality deals. But where should you start? ➡️ Direct to seller ➡️ Wholesalers 👉 How to get direct to seller leads for free? Use Google Maps to find mobile home parks in your target market Call the number online You’ll likely get a park manager Let them know you’re looking to buy parks in the area and wanted to speak to the owner. If you’re lucky, you may get the owner. The same script applies. Once you speak to the manager, use Google or a skiptracing service to find the owner of the property & call them directly. 👉 How to get deals from wholesalers? Use active MHP, RVP, and apartment Facebook groups. Post consistently letting people know the type of deals you're looking for. Build relationships with other great people who are sourcing deals. Be professional, be decisive, communicate feedback on each deal they send you & be willing to pay people their fee. I've paid multiple 6 figures in assignment fees & I will continue to because I want to continue building relationships & doing sound business with people. You should always build relationships with active brokers in your market. Realize it will take time. The same rules apply. Be professional, be decisive, communicate feedback on each deal they send you & be willing to pay people their fee. Organize all your leads, call them consistently, & build that relationship. 🤝 How has your lead flow been? Comment below! 👇

“Just following up…” isn’t a strategy. It’s a stall. And I get it...follow-up can feel awkward. You don’t want to be annoying. You don’t want to seem desperate. You just want to re-open the convo without sounding like a robot. So let me show you 3 better ways to follow up...and when to use them: 🔹 1. The Callback This one’s personal. You reference something they said on the call. “You mentioned wanting to raise your rates without losing clients...still thinking about that? I am here to dig deeper when you’re ready.” ✅ Use it when: They were warm, the convo was real, and you just need a re-entry point. 🔹 2. The Disruptor Humor. A GIF. A voice note. Something unexpected. This one’s a pattern interrupt. I've sent a GIF of a guy standing in the rain...soaked, waiting. No words. No pressure. Just a quiet nudge. The person replied within minutes. ✅ Use it when: You’ve been ghosted or left on read and want to show up without pushing. 🔹 3. The Shift Sometimes the original thread is dead. So… pivot. Change the energy. Bring something new to the table. “Just saw this article and thought of our convo. Curious if you’ve been seeing this trend too?” ✅ Use it when: The trail is cold, but the relationship is worth keeping warm. Bottom line? 📌 People don’t ignore you because you followed up. They ignore you because you didn’t give them a reason to care. So stop “checking in.” Start reconnecting...with strategy, creativity, and a little heart. 💬 Curious: Which one do you tend to use? And which one do you want to try next? Yaacov 🎙🙏🏻 --- 👉 Struggling to sell your creative work? Hi, I’m Yaacov 👋🏻—I help agency owners & solopreneurs land more clients without feeling like a salesperson. 💡 My clients have hit 200% growth in 60 days and closed $50K in 3 weeks. Let’s fix your sales process.

I see so many people follow up with: "?" "name?" "Checking in bro" Why would anyone respond to that? It's self serving and the intentions are obvious There are 2 ways to follow up 1. Context I give all prospects the benefit of the doubt. I know I'm not the most important person in their world, so why should I expect an instant reply. So when they inevitably forget to reply I follow up with something contextual to our previous conversation. Example: "how did your content perform this week? I saw you upped the volume of posts?" It shows you're paying attention and it shows you are actively checking in... not just saying it. 2. Take responsibility When was the last time you ghosted? The person might have followed up once, twice maybe a third. After a certain point you feel so guilty that you just ignore the conversation. This is what prospects do. It gets to a point where they feel guilty for not responding or they are annoyed. So either way take responsibility, relieve their guilt or break the annoyance cycle. Example for taking responsibility: "This week was a little crazy on my end, forgot to check in with you. How was it on your end? Crazy to?" Example for breaking the annoyance cycle: "Looks like I got carried away with the above. Here's something I think will help: INSERT FREEBIE. I'll leave you to enjoy it. Here if you need anything" These are much more effective then the lazy ? that a lot of people send. And both show you actually care and what this person to win Try these out with your next follow up

People want to see off-market opportunities—it’s just the way it is, and I aim to be a solid partner for my clients in finding them. Here’s how I help: (1) Tracking Maturing Debt: I stay informed about properties with maturing debt. When I speak with owners facing upcoming maturities, we evaluate their options. If they’re unable or unwilling to refinance, it’s often a sign they’re considering a sale. With their permission, I connect them with trusted clients. (2) Leveraging Lender Relationships: I spend half my day speaking with banks, life companies, and other capital providers, marketing the deals I have exclusives on. At the end of these conversations, I ask if they have struggling CRE loans in their portfolio they’re looking to unload. This has led to great opportunities, and with permission, I connect them with trusted clients. By being proactive and connected, I help my clients access opportunities they wouldn’t find elsewhere. Off-market deals often require kissing a lot of frogs, but sometimes they lead to real success.