Working With an Agent to Find Off-Market Deals (What to Ask + How It Works)

Working With an Agent to Find Off-Market Deals (What to Ask + How It Works)

Most real estate agents can't help you find off-market investment properties.

They'll tell you they can. They'll promise to "keep an eye out." They might even send you a few MLS listings with "motivated seller" in the notes.

But that's not off-market. That's just... the MLS.

After 8 years sourcing investment properties and closing 150+ deals, I've learned exactly what separates agents who actually find off-market deals from those who just talk about it.

This guide shows you how agent-sourced off-market deals actually work, what questions to ask, and why most investors waste months chasing agents who will never deliver.

What "Off-Market" Actually Means

Off-market means the property isn't listed on the MLS.

The seller hasn't hired a listing agent. There's no sign in the yard. It's not on Zillow or Realtor.com.

These deals exist because:

The seller doesn't want to deal with showings, open houses, or listing their home publicly.

The agent has a relationship with the seller and knows they're considering selling.

The property needs work, and the seller wants a fast cash close.

The seller is dealing with probate, divorce, foreclosure, or estate issues.

Off-market deals give you less competition, better pricing, and faster closings.

But here's the problem: 99% of agents don't actually source them.

Why Most Agents Can't Help You

Most agents are trained to work the MLS and represent retail buyers.

They're not set up to find off-market investment properties because:

They don't have systems for prospecting distressed sellers. They wait for listings to come to them.

They don't know how to underwrite deals. They can't tell you if a property is actually a good investment.

They're focused on retail commissions. Off-market investor deals often mean lower prices and smaller commissions.

They don't have time. Finding off-market deals requires massive volume—hundreds of calls, texts, and emails per week.

Saying "I'm looking for off-market deals" to a random agent is like asking a cardiologist to perform brain surgery. Wrong specialist.

You need an investor-focused agent or brokerage that actively sources off-market properties.

How Off-Market Agent Sourcing Actually Works

Here's how it works when you work with an agent or brokerage (like us) that actually sources off-market deals:

Step 1—Agent Prospecting at Scale

We reach out to approximately 2,500 agents every single day across the Atlanta metro area.

Not a typo. 2,500.

That volume is necessary because we're competing with everyone else doing agent outreach. When Pace Morby started teaching agent outreach a few years ago, the strategy got saturated fast.

Back in 2017, I could make 30-40 calls per day and buy houses easily.

Now? We had to scale to 200+ calls per day just to stay consistent. Then we scaled again to where we are now—2,500 daily agent touches across our team of 5 full-time acquisition specialists.

Step 2—Filtering Leads

Even with that volume, we buy maybe 1 out of 100+ leads that come in.

Imagine underwriting 100 houses to get one deal.

A full underwrite—from estimating ARV to estimating rehab on our budget sheet to figuring out our final offer price—takes me 15-20 minutes, and I've done this for 8 years.

When you're starting out, a single underwrite can easily take 60+ minutes.

Most investors can't do that volume. That's why they need to work with someone like us who already does.

Step 3—Rigorous Underwriting

When we send a deal to our investors, it's been rigorously underwritten by someone who actually knows the neighborhoods.

We know that a comp 0.2 miles away could be selling for $200k more than your house solely because of the street it's on.

Most investors—and almost ALL other wholesalers, and even most agents—don't know these things like we do.

We know exactly what the house can sell for. We know the exact finishes that are in high demand in each area.

That's why we excel both inside the perimeter and in the suburbs within an hour of Atlanta.

What to Ask When Interviewing an Agent

If you're trying to work with an agent to find off-market deals, here are the questions that matter:

"How many off-market deals have you closed in the last 12 months?"

If they can't give you a specific number, they're not actively sourcing.

"What's your prospecting system?"

They should describe a systematic approach—daily calls, texts, emails, relationship building. If they say "I'll keep an eye out," move on.

"Do you work with investors regularly?"

Retail agents don't understand investor math. You need someone who knows ARV, rehab costs, and profit margins.

"Can you provide examples of recent deals you've sourced?"

Ask for addresses, purchase prices, and ARVs. If they can't provide specifics, they're not sourcing deals.

"How do you underwrite properties?"

They should be able to explain how they estimate ARV, rehab costs, and whether a deal makes sense. If they can't, they're just passing along properties without analysis.

The Problem With DIY Agent Outreach

Some investors try to do their own agent outreach.

It's possible. But here's what you're up against:

You need massive volume. We do 2,500 agent touches per day. Can you do that while also managing your business, contractors, and closings?

You're competing with us and companies bigger than us. There are brokerages in Atlanta with 40+ people doing what we do. You're one person.

Generic outreach doesn't work anymore. Calling or emailing agents and saying "Hey, I'm looking for my next fixer-upper—got anything?" gets ignored. You need incentives, systems, and messaging that separates you from the noise.

Speed matters. One time, an agent sent me a deal on a birthday weekend when I wasn't around. By Monday, my coworker had already gotten it under contract. That was a paycheck I missed solely because I wasn't fast enough.

If you can commit 40-60 hours per week to agent outreach, have a team to handle volume, and build systems for speed, it's doable.

If you can't, you're better off partnering with someone who already does it.

How The von Group Sources Off-Market Deals

When you work with The von Group, here's what you get:

2,500 daily agent touches. Our team of 5 full-time acquisition specialists is constantly building relationships.

Pre-underwritten deals. When we send you a property, we've already confirmed the numbers work.

Local market knowledge. We know the neighborhoods, the streets, and the exact finishes that sell.

Fast deal flow. We close 150+ deals because we're always sourcing. You get consistent access to inventory.

Transparent pricing. No hidden fees. No bidding wars. First-come, first-served.

Profit guarantee. If you buy a flip from us and don't make at least $20,000, we'll list it for just $1,000 + 0.12% commission.

We're not just passing deals. We're active investors who flip houses ourselves.

We spent $58k renovating 5759 Albans Way in Lithonia when our investors estimated $100k. We sold it for $354k in 2 weeks with multiple offers when none of our investors thought it would sell for over $300k.

That's the kind of execution and marketing we bring to every deal.

Ready to Access Off-Market Deals Without the Grind?

The von Group provides vetted off-market properties sourced through our network of 2,500+ agent relationships. We've closed 150+ deals.

First-come, first-served pricing. No bidding wars. Fast closings.

Get access to off-market deals here.

Need financing? Check our financing resources to connect with hard money lenders.