When it comes to real estate investing, there are countless strategies for sourcing potential clients and properties to work with. One of which is driving for dollars — a strategy that can turn wheels into wealth.
Essentially, driving for dollars is the practice of cruising around neighborhoods, looking for distressed or undervalued properties, and communicating with the owners in the hopes of finding potential investment opportunities. It’s like an easter egg hunt, with the streets as a map and homes as the prize, and it’s a crucial part of knowing how to find leads in real estate.
This hands-on approach can offer numerous benefits to investors. The main upside of driving for dollars is that it empowers professionals to uncover those all-important hidden gems that might not be listed on mainstream platforms, leading to profitable transactions and a strong reputation. The process is about discovering opportunities others have missed and capitalizing on them, helping to diversify and maintain a steady income stream.
While the concept might sound simple, it can be highly time-consuming and difficult to do properly. Thankfully, with the advent of technology, the process has been streamlined and elevated. With numerous driving for dollars apps flooding the market, it’s become possible for investors to utilize features that can make your hunt more efficient, organized, and lucrative. But with so many options out there, each claiming to be the ‘best’, how do you choose? Especially if you’re budget-conscious?
We built this article to delve into the top free and cheapest driving for dollars apps, breaking down their features, comparing their offerings, and illuminating their potential. So, buckle up and let’s drive right into it!
This section requires something of a disclaimer – there aren’t any driving for dollars apps that are totally free forever. Even the cheapest apps require some sort of subscription fee after a certain trial period. However, having access to driving to dollars apps without investing any money for even a short amount of time can be a great asset, offering you a window into their operating systems.
We’ve curated a list of some of our favorite driving for dollars apps that offer free trials, highlighting their standout features and the potential they unlock for users.
DealMachine is one of the world’s leading driving for dollars apps, with over 150,000 users worldwide. Presently, they offer a free 7-day trial, before jumping to $79 a month for their most basic plan.
Features: DealMachine’s basic version offers MLS comps, space for up to 10,000 leads, and a simplified map interface that tracks your movements and the properties you’ve visited. You can even drive virtually using Google Streetview, along with searching for properties based on more specific criteria. Moving up the levels allows for route-planning, direct mail templates, and even automated marketing capabilities.
Benefits: This app offers a simple stepping stone into the world of driving for dollars, making the process of locating potential deals a lot easier.
Success Stories: Ryan, a former Footlocker employee, found success as a real estate wholesale investor with the help of DealMachine, changing his career and life trajectory within a stunning 30 days.
The Driving for Dollars App is free to download, offering free functionality for the first five properties that you save to your database, before charging $19.99 a month.
Features: As the name suggests, this app focuses solely on the driving for dollars strategy. It comes with a basic property details lookup and an interactive map that can be used for finding and tracking properties that you’re interested in.
Benefits: For novices in real estate, this app offers a straightforward approach to understanding the concept and starting their journey within a tight budget.
Success Stories: A Google user testimonial cited their experience of using the app as “Constantly upgrading”, stating “Once you get hooked, you can’t go back to pen and paper”.
LandGlide, while not an entirely focused driving for dollars app, is one of the most popular GPS based real estate investment apps on the market. They offer a 7-day free trial, with their personal subscription costing only $9.99 a month thereafter.
Features: LandGlide allows users to access the parcel data of properties and owners in over 95% of the US.
Benefits: The app’s comprehensive database can drastically enhance your driving-for-dollar experience, providing insights into vast geographical areas, perfect for scaling your business.
Success Stories: D. Parker manages 4,000 properties in their county from this app, stating that the GPS and parcel data provided have made it much easier than ever before.
The modern age has truly revolutionized the age-old strategy of driving for dollars. With these free trials for apps, you can access crucial data at your fingertips and gain a valuable understanding of what the right app for you might be moving forward. While a free trial might not offer the best driving for dollars app, this unpaid period can still boost your chances of finding and capitalizing on hidden gems.
In the market of real estate apps, affordability is just as important as a feature-laden platform, especially to investors in the early stages of their careers. And while free trials can still offer users a plethora of benefits, there comes a time when investing a modest sum becomes necessary – providing the chance to drastically amplify your outcomes.
For our choice of the cheapest (or at least best valued) driving for dollars app, we’re focusing on REsimpli. With a highly affordable starter price of just $99 a month, packaged with a massive variety of wider CRM features, REsimpli offers the most bang for your buck with its dedicated driving for dollars app.
Features:
REsimpli offers a range of features within this function of the app:
Route History:
REsimpli will track and record all of your movements while driving, so you never cover the same ground twice.
Property Details:
With every property that you view, you can access all the necessary property information that you need to make a decision. Better yet, it also shows marketing history, so you can focus your future efforts more effectively.
No Duplicates:
This application also ensures that you never save the same property twice, so you never waste time or resources on repeat marketing.
Skip Tracing:
REsimpli’s driving for dollars app offers skip tracing, so you can access all of an owner’s contact details at the push of a button.
In-App Direct Mail Campaigns:
You can reach out to property owners directly through the app, along with designing a range of your own templated mailers.
Benefits:
The comprehensive property information provided with REsimpli ensures you’re not just finding potential deals, but are equipped with pertinent data to make informed decisions. This can be pivotal when trying to negotiate a favorable price with the homeowner.
Along with this Its route tracking minimizes time spent on the road and maximizes encounters with potential gems, while the direct mail features and marketing history features make it easier to market yourself to homeowners you’re interested in working with.
PropStream is often regarded by many as one of the finest real estate apps in the industry, boasting extensive features, with the same price tag of $99 for its basic version. While PropStream is a strong driving for dollars app, REsimpli is a more comprehensive complete CRM system, giving you more for your money.
Another high-tier option, BatchLeads (with a basic plan of $82 a month), offers integrations with various CRM tools and advanced analytics. Yet, when considering value for money, REsimpli’s essential features and streamlined functionality make it a worthy contender for those at various stages of their careers.
The issue is with comparing driving for dollars apps on price alone, you aren’t really getting the full picture of what you should be looking for. Some will market themselves as full-range CRM solutions, which can be useful but come at a higher price, while others, such as DealMachine, are more focused on driving for dollars alone.
When it comes to driving for dollars apps, both free trials and cheap options offer unique advantages tailored to varied user needs, so we’ve broken down some of the features and benefits of the trials we’ve focused on today.
Side-by-side Comparison Chart:
| Criteria/ App | REsimpli (Paid) (Free) | Driving for Dollars (Free) | LandGlide (Free) | DealMachine (Free) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Property Lookup | Comprehensive | Basic | Comprehensive | Strong |
| User Interface | Super Easy | User-Friendly | Detailed | Simple |
| Custom Routes | No | No | No | Yes |
| Direct Communication | Yes | No | No | No |
| Tax & Lien Data | Yes | No | No | No |
Pros:
No *Initial* Investment Required: Being able to try an app out before putting any money down is a great way to get your bearings with the technology, before deciding on which one to stick with.
Easy to Use: Free trials of apps are designed for ease of use, making it simple to understand how to utilize the system.
Cons:
Limited Features and Data: The free trials often only provide the most basic features, lacking the advanced capabilities of more expensive plans. Free trials might also not provide as in-depth information on properties.
Pros:
More Features: Once you upgrade to a better plan, while more expensive, you’ll be offered more features than a free trial.
Advanced Data: Paid plans will generally provide in-depth insights, improving decision-making.
Cons:
Investment Required: While many apps are reasonably priced and affordable, almost all of them will still require a reasonable degree of investment.
Learning Curve: With more features comes more to learn as an investor, which is worth keeping in mind as you upgrade.
Real estate is all about finding opportunities and using a driving for dollars app is a great way to discover more potential clients. While there may not be any permanently free driving for dollars app options, you can leverage free trials to gain valuable insights into the technology and your own needs.
However, it’s important to note that any worthy driving for dollars will require investment sooner than later, so you should use as many free trials as you can before choosing the app for you in relation to your budget. Once you’ve considered how much you’re willing to spend, along with your wider CRM requirements, it’s time to make an investment in yourself and your career
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