Proprietary deal flow

Definition

Deals found by approaching owners before a broker lists them.

Why It Matters

Reaching owners before they list means less competition and better prices, but it is bought with months of unglamorous outreach for every deal that lands. Most serious searches run both channels at once, using brokered listings to learn a market while off-market outreach works the targets nobody else is talking to.

In numbers: A searcher mailing 200 owners a quarter at under $1 a letter might earn a few real conversations a month; deals sourced this way rarely appear on a listing site, so few other buyers are bidding.