The Top 6 Ways Agents Can Help Flippers Find Profitable Deals

Disclaimer: PropStream does not offer investment or legal advice. This article is for informational purposes only. Consult a financial and/or legal professional before recommending real estate deals to investors.

As a real estate agent, what if you could work with clients who buy and sell often, close fast, and aren’t emotionally attached to properties? This is the value of partnering with home flippers.

However, flippers aren’t won overnight. You must first learn their goals and how to help them. Then you can demonstrate your value as an agent and eventually become their trusted partner. 

In this article, we’ll explain the top six ways to help flippers find profitable deals, including the skills and resources you need (hint: PropStream) to spot undervalued or distressed properties.

1. Understand What Flippers Are Looking For

A home flipper’s business model is simple: Buy low and sell high. However, accurately estimating and securing a low price and then selling for a high price can be challenging. 

Flippers must account not only for the purchase price but also for renovation costs, holding expenses, and the property’s eventual after-repair value (ARV). A single error in estimating any of the above could turn a great deal into an expensive learning experience. 

However, agents who learn how to think like an investor can anticipate potential red flags and recognize opportunities before introducing them to flipper clients. This helps you and them not waste time on unprofitable deals and builds trust in you as an expert.

Fortunately, you don’t have to assess a property’s potential profitability by hand. Instead, use PropStream. It has information on over 160 million properties nationwide, including condition assessments, comps (i.e., what similar properties nearby recently sold for), and ARV estimates. 

2. Use Data to Find Off-Market and Distressed Properties

The best flipping opportunities are off-market, meaning they’re not listed for sale on the MLS. This is because they face less competition from other buyers, leading to lower purchase prices. By helping flippers find off-market deals, you can be a valuable asset to them. 

So how do you find off-market deals?

With PropStream, you can filter properties by potential selling motivations using 165+ filters or 20 premade lead lists For example, you can focus on pre-foreclosure, vacant, or high-equity properties, whose owners may be more open to selling (despite not actively marketing their property for sale). 

You can also limit your search to a particular zip code or a custom geographic area with PropStream’s Draw Tool. This narrows your search even further to help you pinpoint ideal opportunities for your investor clients. 

Pro Tip: PropStream has 20 pre-made Lead Lists for Pre-foreclosure, Bank-Owned, Senior Owner, Tired Landlord, and other types of distressed properties.

3. Help Flippers Secure Reliable Comps and Accurate ARVs

You can’t know how good a deal is without reliable comps. This goes for the property’s as-is value and its value after any renovations and upgrades you plan to perform. Once you know those two numbers, you can calculate an expected return on investment (ROI). 

For the as-is value, you can leverage PropStream’s built-in Comping Tool. It gives you a real-time, data-backed property valuation on any property based on local real estate sales data. From there, you can estimate the ARV by adding to it the cost of any renovations. Get real quotes from contractors and suppliers, or use our Rehab Calculator for a quick estimate.

By sharing this information with investor clients, you can position yourself as a data-driven advisor, not just a transaction coordinator. 

4. Build Relationships with Contractors and Vendors

Another way to add value to investor clients is to connect them with reliable renovation teams.

While some investors may already have relationships with contractors, they may appreciate other options, especially if they’re more reliable or a better deal. 

Maintain a vetted vendor list of contractors, inspectors, stagers, and other real estate professionals to whom you can refer interested investor clients. Any new partnerships that arise can be a win-win-win for you, your client, and the vendor. 

Pro Tip: PropStream’s property history and permit data can help you identify potential rehab challenges early, another benefit that you can offer investor clients.

5. Negotiate and Manage the Transaction Efficiently

To become a top-tier agent for investors, you need to do more than just share profitable property leads. You must also get deals across the finish line. This requires knowing how to write strong offers, negotiate, and coordinate the closing process for your clients.

For example, know what your investor client’s maximum offer is, so you don’t overbid. From there, make a competitive offer that highlights your client’s ability to close quickly and addresses the seller’s pain points (e.g., financial distress, unwanted property, etc.). Meanwhile, be sensitive to timing constraints, financing options, and any seller disclosures.

Ultimately, you must be the “bridge” between buyers, sellers, and lenders—ensuring a smooth transaction for each.

6. Use PropStream to Stay Ahead of the Competition

Flippers move fast, and agents who support them need to move even faster.

PropStream can give you the data and tools you need to find profitable opportunities before they hit the market:

• Access to nationwide off-market property data at your fingertips
• Quickly pull instant comps and detailed property analytics
• Reach motivated sellers first with built-in marketing tools

Ready to get started?

*PropStream engages an independent third party to perform skip-tracing.