Yesterday I did a post on finding lease option buyers.  I offered several different methods for attracting lease option buyers, but without question Craigslist is my favorite.  It’s so easy to pop in a few ads on a regular basis and pull in buyer leads.  The best part is, even if you don’t have any listings as a real estate agent you can still pop in some ads (see the ones I use below) to generate buyer leads and then find them a home.

I know a lot of agents are having a harder time in this economy.  Let’s face it, we’ve got a double whammy against us, the foreclosure market is high and buyers are having a hard time getting mortgages.  This can make it harder to earn a living.  I have trained lots and lots of agents in lease options and I highly recommend them as a method to help bring your income level back up.

But, back to Craigslist and finding lease option buyers.  Craigslist is free and gets lots of traffic.  Any real estate agent should be taking advantage of it to either advertise their listing or generate lease option buyer leads.

Here are two sample ads I have used:

Ad 1:

$2195/4 BR – Great Home on Rent to Own (Wayne)

A great home in Wayne on a Lease Option/Rent to Own.  Call today to find out more how I can help you.  I help buyers find lease options or contract for deed homes.  Working with buyers that have credit issues is my specialty.  Own a home even if you need some time to improve your credit.  STOP RENTING!  There are no fees to you for my service. Wendy at Keller Williams Realty, you can email me at wendy@wendypatton.com – You will need a minimum of $10,000 to get into a home with this type of transaction.  I look forward to working with you soon to buy your new home.

Ad 2:

$1695/3 BR – 3/2/2 in Great Area – Lease Option (Clifton)

Clifton great home with 3 bdrms, 2 baths, and a 2 car garage.  Nice area.  Lease to own with $7,500 down.  Credit problems ok.  My specialty is working with buyers who have less than perfect credit There is no fee to you.  Email me today, Wendy at Keller Williams, wendy@wendypatton.com

Do you see how those ads can just be generic?  They might be for a specific house or they might be representative of houses in a particular area.  This way if you don’t actually have a listing you can still find some buyers, then find them a lease option home and get paid.

Whether you are a home seller, a real estate agent or a real estate investor you should be using Craigslist to advertise your home as a lease option or rent to own.  I do almost all my advertising exclusively on Craigslist now and generate tons of good rent to own buyer leads.

It’s free, it’s easy and the competition (at least in my area) is low.  Buyer’s look here though and it has served as a powerful lead generator.

Here are two sample ads I have used:

Ad 1:

$2195/4 BR – Great Home on Rent to Own (Wayne)

A great home in Wayne on a Lease Option/Rent to Own.  Call today to find out more how I can help you.  I help buyers find lease options or contract for deed homes.  Working with buyers that have credit issues is my specialty.  Own a home even if you need some time to improve your credit.  STOP RENTING!  There are no fees to you for my service. Wendy at Keller Williams Realty, you can email me at wendy@wendypatton.com – You will need a minimum of $10,000 to get into a home with this type of transaction.  I look forward to working with you soon to buy your new home.

Ad 2:

$1695/3 BR – 3/2/2 in Great Area – Lease Option (Clifton)

Clifton great home with 3 bdrms, 2 baths, and a 2 car garage.  Nice area.  Lease to own with $7,500 down.  Credit problems ok.  My specialty is working with buyers who have less than perfect credit   There is no fee to you.  Email me today, Wendy at Keller Williams, wendy@wendypatton.com

Both of these ads have drawn solid responses from lease option buyers.  If you are a real estate agent or a lease option investor you can use these ads even if you don’t have a lease option home available yet.  Once you get the buyer leads then you can find a lease option home that works for them.