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WIN
Drive your business with real insights.
Learn how to find and meet the needs of independent real estate investors and small business owners.
What drives real estate investors? How and where to they find potential investment properties? What resources do they use to make investment decisions? What do they expect from mortgage brokers and finance companies?
If you’re a mortgage broker seeking to grow your business by offering financing for residential investment properties and small commercial buildings, knowing the answers to these questions is paramount to your success.
What’s
WIN?
WIN stands for “What Investors Need,” because understanding the needs of your clients is a fundamental rule for every business. You can't win if you don’t know who your client is and what they want from your company.
The WIN
Study
In June of 2019, we conducted a quantitative research survey among independent real estate investors and small business owners to better understand their interests, behaviors and preferences. Our study included questions on how investors find, evaluate, and select investment properties, along with the media channels, tools and resources they use to be successful.
In addition, the study also explored the differences between real estate investors in general and those who seek financing from alternative, specialty finance companies like Velocity.
WIN
Methodology
A total of 287 residential and small commercial property investors were interviewed. Survey participants were screened and contacted at random from a large, multi-sourced Internet research panel of several million households. All participants had purchased or refinanced a residential investment or small commercial property in the last ten years.
WIN Key Findings
Velocity investors are nearly two times more likely to work with an independent mortgage broker to obtain financing for residential investment and small commercial properties than other investors who prefer a large bank.
It’s no secret that location and cost are two of the most important considerations when purchasing any type of property. However, when it comes to investment properties, you also need to understand the importance of cash flow.
Investors who purchase single-family homes as an investment outnumber the second most popular investment property — condominiums — by nearly three to one.
Velocity investors have a significantly higher incidence in purchasing a small apartment, multi-family or small commercial buildings.
Servicing real estate investors provides an opportunity for repeat business since the typical investor often owns several investment properties.
Interest rates are the most important factor when investors consider a mortgage loan. However, other factors like certainty to close, a flexible term and cash flow become important for investors who don’t qualify for a traditional bank loan.
Velocity investors are twice as likely to utilize real estate auctions, nearly five times more likely to use other real estate investors, and almost three times more likely to use a mortgage broker to find investment properties.
Velocity investors are twice as likely to ask a friend or associate and three times more likely to ask other real estate investors for a recommendation when researching lenders for investment property loans.
While six out of ten independent real estate investors rely upon the assistance of a real estate agent when they’re looking for investment properties, age plays a significant role in the choice of other methods used.
If your goal is to attract independent real estate investors and small business owners, your sales strategy and messaging should focus on flexible underwriting, ease of qualification, and a shorter time to close.