How to Find Off-Market Properties Faster Than Your Competition

If you’ve been investing or even purchasing a primary home in the last couple of years, you’ve probably heard this line: “Sorry, that property’s already under contract.”

It’s frustrating, right? You spend time researching a property, tracking down the owner, getting your pitch ready—only to find out someone else beat you to it. Or worse: You finally get around to making an offer and find yourself in a bidding war with five other investors.

Here’s the truth: The best deals never make it to the MLS—they’re off-market. And if you want to win in real estate, you have to get to them before other buyers do. 

My real estate agent wrote a post the other day highlighting how she had found five off-market deals this year so far. She had potential buyers and knew their buy box. She reached out to people to see if they were interested in selling and was able to get her clients deals without them having to compete against multiple offers on the open market. Even real estate agents are going for off-market deals! 

There are actionable things you can do—right now—to tip the scales in your favor so you can have access to these deals. With the right tools, a few smart strategies, and a little bit of automation, you can start finding off-market properties faster and more efficiently than the average investor.

I’ll break down exactly how to:

• Find motivated sellers before they hit the radar.
• Use tools like REsimpli to move faster and smarter.
• Build a lead flow system that works while you sleep.
• Never miss a follow-up that could turn into your next deal.

Why Off-Market = High-Value (but Competitive)

When you find a property before it hits the market, you have room to negotiate directly with the seller, build rapport, and structure a deal that works for everyone. 

But here’s the catch: You’re not the only one looking. Every investor—wholesalers, flippers, buy-and-hold investors—wants off-market properties. They’re all hunting for motivated sellers, just like you are. And in a competitive market, the first person to make contact often wins—regardless of who has the best offer, because the seller won’t even know you had an offer to make!  

If you’re relying on luck, referrals, or hoping to “stumble into” a deal, you’ll constantly find yourself a step behind. So, if you want to stand out and get there before anyone else, you need more than hustle—you need a system. 

Using a System to Find Off-Market Deals

If you want to consistently find off-market deals before your competition, the first thing you need is a steady, reliable lead flow—not just random names scribbled in a notebook or scattered across spreadsheets. You need a system that brings in motivated sellers every week and keeps those leads organized from day one.

One of the most powerful tools is an all-in-one CRM like REsimpli. It can centralize and streamline your lead generation process. 

Let’s say you’re out driving for dollars. With the REsimpli mobile app, you can pin properties directly to your map in real-time. See a vacant or rundown house? Drop a pin, add notes or photos, and it’s immediately saved to your pipeline—no need to backtrack later or try to remember the address.

Once you add a property, REsimpli automatically populates key details such as Owner Name, Property Size, number of bedrooms and bathrooms, estimated value, and more. This gives you a clearer view of the property and the context needed to connect with the owner. Plus, you can instantly skip-trace the owner’s contact info directly from the app—no more wasting time searching for phone numbers or email addresses. You can start reaching out immediately, often before others have even noticed the property.

Here’s where it gets really powerful: REsimpli lets you segment and organize your leads using built-in filters and tags. I am always segmenting my properties by type, location, and strategy. 

When you aren’t out driving for dollars, you can create custom lead lists right in REsimpli—absentee owners, vacant properties, high equity, inherited homes—and layer those criteria to target the most motivated sellers. This list-stacking strategy saves you time and keeps you laser-focused on the highest-quality leads. This way, you are strategically looking at leads that fit your buy box, and the seller has a higher motivation to sell. 

Once leads are in your system, they don’t sit idle. For new prospects gathered through Driving for Dollars, Propstream, or ListSource, you can upload them to List Stacking. From there, you can send direct mail or cold calls using the dialer. Once you’ve made the initial outreach, any responses will convert those prospects into leads, which can then be automatically added to your automated sequences. Whether it’s a follow-up text, voicemail drop, or email, you’re building a pipeline that works 24/7—even when you’re not. By combining fieldwork, list intelligence, and automation, REsimpli helps you create a true lead flow machine—one that feeds your business with fresh, qualified off-market opportunities faster than your competition can catch up. 

Using such a process gives you more time to focus on tasks you can’t automate or outsource. This gets you one step closer to working on your business instead of in your business. 

Cash Has Always Been King, but So Is Speed

The investor who talks to the seller first often wins the deal before anyone else even knows it’s available. By the time your competition is pulling the same list or driving the same neighborhood, the best opportunities could already be locked up.

That’s why the tools you use matter more than ever to help you act fast. With REsimpli, you cut out the lag time between identifying a lead and making contact. The moment you pin a property or pull a motivated seller list, you can skip-trace and reach out immediately. No waiting, exporting to another tool, or manual data juggling. And that edge in timing can make all the difference.

Even better, you can set up automation that keeps you top of mind without constantly being on your phone. Let’s say you skip trace a lead, and they don’t answer the first time you call. Instead of dropping the ball, REsimpli can trigger a sequence—a follow-up text the next day, a voicemail later in the week, or a reminder for you to call again. That way, you stay in front of sellers without losing momentum. 

Here’s something a lot of investors miss: It’s not just about how fast you contact a seller—it’s also about how consistent you are. Sellers might not be ready to talk the first time you reach out. But if you’re the one showing up again and again—while everyone else forgets about them—you become the natural choice when they’re finally ready to make a move.

Speed opens the door. Consistency gets you inside. When you combine both, you don’t just beat your competition to the deal—you take them out of the running entirely. 

Let me know in the comments what the biggest hurdle you are facing today is to find off-market deals!