The key for investor-friendly agents is to find the right real estate investors who will consistently close deals in any economic conditions and in your local market. With the right strategy and a bit of hustle, agents can position themselves to close dozens of deals a year.
Here are some practical strategies to help build a pipeline of motivated real estate investors and generate consistent deal flow.
A great way to build an investor list on Meetup.com is to start a group and serve as the admin. You will need an upgraded Pro account, which costs $30 per month. As the group owner, you get to establish yourself in a position of trust and authority. You’ll also get help from Meetup as they will promote your group to members of other groups with similar interests. This is a huge growth driver as it gets your group in front of other real estate investors.
Visit Meetup.com
Conferences — whether large or local — are packed with serious investors and networking opportunities.
There are numerous virtual and physical real estate investing conferences. The larger conferences attract thousands of investors and can last several days. It’s a great place to network and connect with real estate investors. Local investment conferences attract smaller audiences but are target-rich environments with serious local investors.
You need to go where your investors go! If you’re looking for an upcoming (October 2025) event, check out BPCON!
You can also check our list of real estate conferences to see which one comes up in an area near you.
You need to be disciplined and follow this checklist for every event. Unless the event attendee list miraculously falls into your hands, you’re stuck doing the grunt work to connect with investors on a one-on-one basis.
It will take you a minute to get a feel for who is an investor, but it gets much easier over time. Remember that every homeowner is, by default, also an investor. They are all candidates for your home wealth adviser services. Here’s what to look for:
Here are the types of data that are typically available from county records and will be particularly useful in your database:
BiggerPockets is one of the most active real estate investing communities in the country, with more than a million members. It’s a go-to platform for investors looking to learn, find resources, and connect with like-minded professionals.
Try BiggerPockets to connect with investors — whether you’re networking or offering value, it’s built to help relationships flourish.
Visit BiggerPockets
BiggerPockets offers a Featured Agent program that gives agents increased exposure to investor audiences — similar to Zillow Premier Agent.
The free path on BiggerPockets is similar to how you would find real estate investors on a social network like LinkedIn.
Always have a cooperative and sharing attitude. If you participate and give value, you will build your network, and you will also be noticed by the admins and moderators on the site. At some point, you may be invited to moderate or speak on a webinar or at an event!
FreedomSoft is a powerful platform that helps organize and segment investor leads.
You can download raw property data from your county assessor and treasurer departments, and you can also subscribe to data services that will apply market analytics to enhance and organize the data into lead lists and marketing campaigns.
FreedomSoft allows you to search and organize data by recognized categories of investors. Target filters include:
Plus, it includes tools for skip tracing, automated follow-ups, email/text outreach, and lead funnels.
Visit FreedomSoft
Understanding the different types of real estate investors can help tailor your approach and messaging. Each type has unique goals, risk tolerance, and deal structures.
[TD]Individuals using personal capital to buy, hold, flip, or rent properties. Often flexible and relationship-driven, operating locally. May be new or experienced.[/TD]
[TR]
[TD]Institutional investors[/TD]
[TD]Large firms, hedge funds, or real estate companies managing pooled capital to acquire significant property portfolios. Focused on scalable opportunities and often seek agents who can bring them consistent deal flow.[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]REITs[/TD]
[TD]Companies that own or finance income-generating real estate. Public REITs don’t typically work directly with agents, but private REITs may engage local sourcing.[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Proptech investors[/TD]
[TD]Technology-driven companies or startups disrupting traditional real estate (e.g., iBuying, short-term rentals). Prefer agents who are tech-savvy and data-minded.[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Syndicates & partnerships[/TD]
[TD]Groups pooling funds to buy larger deals — often commercial or multifamily. Agents working with syndicates must understand how to pitch deals to groups and often deal with a managing partner or sponsor.[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Buy-and-hold investors[/TD]
[TD]Focused on long-term rental income, prioritizing cash flow, stable markets, and property management. Value local market knowledge and deal analysis.[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Flippers[/TD]
[TD]Seek properties to renovate and resell quickly for profit. Often look for distressed homes, foreclosures, or undervalued properties.[/TD]
[/TR]
Investors can be demanding, but the potential reward is significant.
Real estate investors buy and sell properties year-round, no matter the market conditions — this consistency means it’s a great idea for agents to work with investors!
In the first quarter of 2024, investors purchased approximately 44,000 US homes, accounting for 19% of all homes sold during that period — the highest share in nearly two years, according to a Redfin report on investor home purchases.
Here’s why working with them can be a career game-changer:
1. One client can fuel your business: Some investors transact so frequently that they can sustain your deal flow for years.
2. Investor activity is widespread and growing: Every market — urban, suburban, mid-sized, and even rural — has active investors looking for opportunities. Tapping into this consistent demand can open up steady, year-round business where others aren’t looking.
3. It’s a less crowded space: Most agents don’t target investors, so competition is lighter.
4. They buy year-round: Unlike traditional clients, investors don’t follow seasonal patterns.
5. Agents can leverage this experience to invest themselves: Working closely with investors teaches you how to evaluate deals, analyze markets, and spot opportunities — skills that can eventually help you build your own real estate portfolio.
Not every investor lead is worth pursuing. Here’s how to separate the serious from the tire-kickers:
That last step is essential because you need to cut your losses and move on from investors who may be willing but are unable to invest!
The 50% rule is a general guideline for estimating the profitability of a rental property. It states that 50% of a property’s gross income will go toward operating expenses. It’s used to quickly assess if a rental property might be a good investment.
Instead of looking for a generic “investor,” start by identifying what kind of buyer your property suits — flippers, buy-and-hold investors, or short-term rental operators. Then, connect through groups, events, or direct outreach with a clear pitch that highlights your property’s investment potential.
The “best” place depends on your strategy. Online platforms like BiggerPockets are great for scalable outreach. Local events and clubs offer relationship depth. Public records help uncover hidden investors in your area. A combination of online and offline channels tends to yield the best long-term results.
The post How to Find Real Estate Investors to Work With (in Any Market) appeared first on The Close.
Here are some practical strategies to help build a pipeline of motivated real estate investors and generate consistent deal flow.
1. Local networking: Real estate investing (REI) clubs & meetups
- Cost: Varies — generally free
- Best for finding: Small private investors, niche private investors, and building your investment team
Where to start
- Search for local investing groups on Google, Meetup.com, or Facebook.
- Join both broad and niche-focused communities.
- Most meetups are social events held at a local coffee shop, restaurant, or brewery, and you can attend them free of charge (often with a free beverage included by the organizer).
Tips for success
- Show up regularly — familiarity builds trust.
- Spend time in informal spaces where real conversations happen.
- Always collect contact info and follow up.
- Join multiple groups and start attending all their events. It’s a slow and time-consuming way to network, but one deal makes it all worthwhile.
Visit Meetup.com
2. Real estate investing conferences
- Cost: Varies — can be expensive
- Best for finding: Small multifamily investors, proptech investors, and institutional investors
Conferences — whether large or local — are packed with serious investors and networking opportunities.
There are numerous virtual and physical real estate investing conferences. The larger conferences attract thousands of investors and can last several days. It’s a great place to network and connect with real estate investors. Local investment conferences attract smaller audiences but are target-rich environments with serious local investors.
You need to go where your investors go! If you’re looking for an upcoming (October 2025) event, check out BPCON!
Networking tips
- Come prepared with plenty of business cards or a digital contact-sharing tool. Dress professionally and have a brief, authentic elevator pitch ready.
- Join the event app or any official social group before arriving. Start connecting with attendees and reviewing the schedule to identify high-value networking opportunities.
- Reach out to potential contacts ahead of the event to schedule short meetups or coffee chats.
- Attend sessions specifically designed for networking, such as happy hours, roundtables, or breakout groups. These often lead to more meaningful conversations.
- Spend time in informal areas like the lobby, lounge, or hallways — seasoned investors often skip sessions and focus on connecting.
- Identify key connectors or influencers and collaborate on sharing contacts or splitting networking duties.
- Partner with exhibitors who aren’t collecting leads and offer to sponsor a giveaway in exchange for shared contact details.
- Be approachable — smile, make eye contact, and start conversations. A friendly, open attitude goes a long way.
- Focus on offering value — whether it’s insight, a referral, or an introduction. Investors remember those who help.
- Follow up promptly via email or social media. Personalize your message and reference something specific from your conversation.
You need to be disciplined and follow this checklist for every event. Unless the event attendee list miraculously falls into your hands, you’re stuck doing the grunt work to connect with investors on a one-on-one basis.
3. County real estate records
- Cost: Usually free
- Best for finding: Small private investors, private lenders, wealthy investors, institutional investors, and proptech investors
How to use property data to find investors
It will take you a minute to get a feel for who is an investor, but it gets much easier over time. Remember that every homeowner is, by default, also an investor. They are all candidates for your home wealth adviser services. Here’s what to look for:
- Homeowners who own more than one home: Use a simple spreadsheet search to identify duplicate owners and spot those with multiple properties.
- Homeowners who paid cash or have no mortgage: They may not be active investors, but they clearly have the financial capacity to invest.
- Homes with mortgages from private or hard money lenders: These financing sources often indicate investment activity.
- Homeowners who hold title in a trust or LLC: These ownership structures are commonly used by investors for liability or tax purposes.
- Homeowners with different street and mailing addresses: Out-of-state or mismatched addresses often suggest non-owner-occupied, investment properties.
- Owners of small multifamily, condo, or townhome units: Investors often hold 25% to 40% of units in these complexes — track those patterns closely.
- Rental listings on public sites: Set alerts for new rental listings and cross-reference them with your property database — every rental is investor-owned by default.
- Permit and licensing data from your county: Check for separate datasets related to rental, short-term rental, and ADU permits that can reveal active investors.
Building your county property database
Here are the types of data that are typically available from county records and will be particularly useful in your database:
- Property ownership: Owner’s name, property street address, owner mailing address, and sale history
- Property characteristics: Physical characteristics of a property, including its size, number of bedrooms and bathrooms, age, and other features
- Property value: Assessed value of a property, which can be useful in determining its potential worth
- Tax information: Property taxes, assessed value, amount of taxes due, and the due date
- Deed information: Sales and legal transfer of property ownership, including the date of the transfer, names of the buyers and sellers, purchase price, and the owner’s mailing address
- Mortgage information: Mortgages or liens on a property, the amount of the mortgage, and the identity of the lender
- Zoning information: Zoning laws and regulations that apply to a particular property
- Building permits: Data on building permits that have been issued for a property, which can be useful in understanding the history of any renovations or improvements that have been made
4. BiggerPockets
- Cost: Free — $39 a month for the forum; $150 per lead for the Recommended Agent program
- Best for finding: Small private investors and small multifamily investors
BiggerPockets is one of the most active real estate investing communities in the country, with more than a million members. It’s a go-to platform for investors looking to learn, find resources, and connect with like-minded professionals.
Visit BiggerPockets
Join the featured agent program
BiggerPockets offers a Featured Agent program that gives agents increased exposure to investor audiences — similar to Zillow Premier Agent.
Tips for converting recommended agent leads
- Collect full contact details, including social links.
- Book a Zoom or in-person meeting ASAP.
- Build a solid investment profile and get pre-approval.
- Sign a buyer agency agreement and start touring.
- Listen actively to understand each investor’s goals.
- Add cold leads to a personalized drip campaign.
Network with investors on the BiggerPockets Forum
The free path on BiggerPockets is similar to how you would find real estate investors on a social network like LinkedIn.
Always have a cooperative and sharing attitude. If you participate and give value, you will build your network, and you will also be noticed by the admins and moderators on the site. At some point, you may be invited to moderate or speak on a webinar or at an event!
Tips for finding investors in BiggerPockets Forums
- Set a goal: connect with five new investors each week.
- Avoid spamming — share insights and build your profile.
- Upgrade to Pro to add contact info and boost visibility.
- Join lively discussions and comment thoughtfully.
- Follow up with everyone who comments on your posts.
- Use keyword alerts to spot relevant conversations fast.
- Related article: How to Invest in Real Estate: A Beginner’s Guide
5. FreedomSoft
- Cost: Starts at $197 per month
- Best for finding: Niche investors, out-of-state investors, vacant homes, foreclosed homes, private lenders, hard money lenders, and corporate investors
FreedomSoft is a powerful platform that helps organize and segment investor leads.
You can download raw property data from your county assessor and treasurer departments, and you can also subscribe to data services that will apply market analytics to enhance and organize the data into lead lists and marketing campaigns.
FreedomSoft allows you to search and organize data by recognized categories of investors. Target filters include:
- Known and out-of-state investors
- Vacant or foreclosed properties
- Cash buyers
- Private and hard money lenders
- Trusts, corporations, proptech companies, and more
Plus, it includes tools for skip tracing, automated follow-ups, email/text outreach, and lead funnels.
Visit FreedomSoft
Types of real estate investors
Understanding the different types of real estate investors can help tailor your approach and messaging. Each type has unique goals, risk tolerance, and deal structures.
| Investor type | Typical focus & strategy |
|---|---|
| Private investors |
[TR]
[TD]Institutional investors[/TD]
[TD]Large firms, hedge funds, or real estate companies managing pooled capital to acquire significant property portfolios. Focused on scalable opportunities and often seek agents who can bring them consistent deal flow.[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]REITs[/TD]
[TD]Companies that own or finance income-generating real estate. Public REITs don’t typically work directly with agents, but private REITs may engage local sourcing.[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Proptech investors[/TD]
[TD]Technology-driven companies or startups disrupting traditional real estate (e.g., iBuying, short-term rentals). Prefer agents who are tech-savvy and data-minded.[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Syndicates & partnerships[/TD]
[TD]Groups pooling funds to buy larger deals — often commercial or multifamily. Agents working with syndicates must understand how to pitch deals to groups and often deal with a managing partner or sponsor.[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Buy-and-hold investors[/TD]
[TD]Focused on long-term rental income, prioritizing cash flow, stable markets, and property management. Value local market knowledge and deal analysis.[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Flippers[/TD]
[TD]Seek properties to renovate and resell quickly for profit. Often look for distressed homes, foreclosures, or undervalued properties.[/TD]
[/TR]
- Related article: a href=”https://theclose.com/types-of-real-estate-investment/”>8 Types of Real Estate Investment
Benefits of working with real estate investors
Investors can be demanding, but the potential reward is significant.
In the first quarter of 2024, investors purchased approximately 44,000 US homes, accounting for 19% of all homes sold during that period — the highest share in nearly two years, according to a Redfin report on investor home purchases.
Here’s why working with them can be a career game-changer:
1. One client can fuel your business: Some investors transact so frequently that they can sustain your deal flow for years.
2. Investor activity is widespread and growing: Every market — urban, suburban, mid-sized, and even rural — has active investors looking for opportunities. Tapping into this consistent demand can open up steady, year-round business where others aren’t looking.
3. It’s a less crowded space: Most agents don’t target investors, so competition is lighter.
4. They buy year-round: Unlike traditional clients, investors don’t follow seasonal patterns.
5. Agents can leverage this experience to invest themselves: Working closely with investors teaches you how to evaluate deals, analyze markets, and spot opportunities — skills that can eventually help you build your own real estate portfolio.
How to vet real estate investors
Not every investor lead is worth pursuing. Here’s how to separate the serious from the tire-kickers:
- Use public records to check purchase history and financing methods.
- Introduce them to a broker or planner to assess buying ability.
- Disqualify those who can’t (or won’t) close deals.
That last step is essential because you need to cut your losses and move on from investors who may be willing but are unable to invest!
- Related article: Why Invest in Real Estate? Top Benefits
Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
What is the 50% rule in real estate?
The 50% rule is a general guideline for estimating the profitability of a rental property. It states that 50% of a property’s gross income will go toward operating expenses. It’s used to quickly assess if a rental property might be a good investment.
How do I find an investor to buy a property?
Instead of looking for a generic “investor,” start by identifying what kind of buyer your property suits — flippers, buy-and-hold investors, or short-term rental operators. Then, connect through groups, events, or direct outreach with a clear pitch that highlights your property’s investment potential.
Where is the best place to find real estate investors?
The “best” place depends on your strategy. Online platforms like BiggerPockets are great for scalable outreach. Local events and clubs offer relationship depth. Public records help uncover hidden investors in your area. A combination of online and offline channels tends to yield the best long-term results.
The post How to Find Real Estate Investors to Work With (in Any Market) appeared first on The Close.