Delegating Deal Hunting the Right Way

As a flipper, your highest-value activities are:

• Analyzing deals

• Managing renovations

• Raising capital

• Closing transactions

What isn’t your highest-value activity? Spending 5 hours a day clicking through Zillow or driving neighborhoods.

That’s where a trained virtual assistant (VA) can be a game-changer.

If you train them right, a VA can:

• Feed you qualified leads daily

• Build and manage a pipeline of potential flips

• Run repeatable systems so you don’t miss a deal

• Save you 10–20+ hours per week

This article will walk you through exactly how to do it.

Step 1: Define the Type of Flip You’re Looking For

You need to start with yourself before you train someone else.

Ask yourself:

• What price range do you want to stay in?

• What areas or ZIP codes are you targeting?

• What exit strategies will you consider (e.g., resale, rental, novation)?

• How big of a rehab are you comfortable with?

Create a one-page criteria sheet. Include:

• Buy box (max price, min ARV spread, ideal bedrooms/sqft)

• Target ZIP codes or neighborhoods

• Red flags to avoid (e.g., flood zones, busy roads)

• Your preferred acquisition types (MLS, off-market, wholesalers, etc.)

Give this to your VA as their "hunting guide."

Step 2: Choose Their Main Hunting Grounds

Where should your VA look?

Here are the most effective platforms VAs can scan for flip deals:

• Zillow, especially FSBOs, old listings, and fixer-uppers

• Realtor.com, to spot price reductions and stale listings

• Craigslist, for FSBO and rental leads

• Facebook Marketplace, for distressed owners posting “as-is”

• BatchLeads or PropStream, for absentee owner lists, pre-foreclosures

• County or city code enforcement websites, public record violations

• Wholesaler lists or Facebook groups, deal trades and assignments

• Google Maps, for spotting visible distress through Street View

Your VA should build a system of daily scanning, lead tracking, and reporting.

Step 3: Teach Them What a Good Flip Looks Like

You can’t expect your VA to spot flip gold if they’ve never seen it.

Here’s how to train them fast:

• Show them 5–10 past flips you’ve done. Point out what made each a deal.

• Highlight typical features: outdated kitchens, vinyl windows, roof age, etc.

• Explain why cosmetic distress is often better than structural problems.

• Walk them through how to calculate:

  • ARV (After Repair Value)

  • Rehab budget (basic vs. full gut)

  • Your MAO (Maximum Allowable Offer)

Pro Tip: Create a folder of screenshots titled “Yes Deals” and another titled “No Deals.” This visual training tool helps them learn judgment faster.

Step 4: Build a Deal Intake Sheet

You need a consistent format to evaluate the leads they bring in.

Your VA should fill out a basic spreadsheet or Airtable form with:

• Address

• Link to listing or data source

• Price

• Estimated ARV

• Estimated repair cost (if possible)

• Listing date

• Days on market

• Seller contact info (if available)

• Notes (e.g., “seller says roof is new,” “tenant-occupied”)

This makes it easy for you to:

• Sort and prioritize

• Filter by neighborhood or urgency

• Decide what to offer and when

Step 5: Create Message Templates

If you want your VA to do outreach (which you should), create scripts they can follow.

Here are a few starter templates:

FSBO Initial Message (Craigslist/Facebook):

Hi [Seller], I saw your listing for the property at [Address]. Is it still available? I’m an investor looking to purchase in the area and can close quickly.

Follow-Up Message (if they reply):

Thanks for the quick response. Just curious, any repairs needed? Also, are you open to a cash offer with a quick close?

Wholesaler List Inquiry:

Hey [Wholesaler], do you have anything available that meets this criteria?

• Price under $200k

• Needs light to moderate rehab

• Strong comps in the area
  Happy to move fast if it fits!

Make it easy. Tell the VA exactly when to use each message.

Step 6: Use the Right Tools for Tracking

Let your VA plug everything into one of the following:

• Google Sheets, simple, accessible, and easy to share

• Airtable, cleaner UX with automation potential

• Trello, good for visual pipelines (e.g., “New Lead,” “Contacted,” “Hot”)

• REsimpli or Podio, if you have a full CRM

Use conditional formatting to highlight:

• Leads with 60+ days on market

• Properties priced under 70% of the estimated ARV

• Properties with clear signs of distress

Step 7: Set Clear Daily and Weekly Tasks

A successful VA doesn’t just work, they work on the right things.

Daily Tasks:

• Search [3–5] platforms for new listings

• Fill out the intake sheet for any leads

• Send [X] outreach messages (Craigslist, Facebook, etc.)

• Flag urgent responses for your review

Weekly Tasks:

• Update the status of all leads in the tracker

• Follow up on older FSBOs

• Track price drops on properties they’ve already entered

• Log all responses and flag for next steps

Give your VA a checklist so they can self-manage.

Step 8: Set Expectations Around Lead Quality

Every VA makes mistakes early on, wrong ARV, too big of a rehab, etc.

The key is feedback. After each batch of leads:

• Give quick yes/no feedback with short explanations

  • “Yes, great comp set.”

  • “No, rehab is too high for our buy box.”

  • “Maybe, run by me if you get the seller on the phone.”

  • Praise good judgment, so they double down on it

  • Ask for clarity if they missed something obvious (e.g., “Was there a photo of the kitchen?”)

Your feedback loop turns a generic VA into a deal-sourcing machine.

Step 9: Build Automations to Save Their Time

You don’t want your VA doing 100% of the work manually.

Once you’re confident in their workflow, layer in automations:

• Use Zapier to auto-add Zillow FSBOs to their spreadsheet

• Have Craigslist search alerts emailed to them daily

• Set up keyword alerts on Facebook Marketplace

• Use tools like DealMachine’s AI to suggest hot leads based on past activity

This creates leverage: they do less clicking, more qualifying.

Step 10: Train for Growth (Not Just Tasks)

A rockstar VA doesn’t just follow orders; they take initiative.

Once they’re comfortable, train them to:

• Spot patterns, “We’re getting better leads in ZIP 78240 than 78250”

• Proactively add to the SOP if something works

• Notify you when something feels “off” about a lead or seller

• Ask questions that show they’re thinking critically about the market

Consider offering bonuses or raises tied to deals that close from their leads.

Optional: Hire More Than One

As your business grows, you can divide VA responsibilities like this:

• Lead Sourcer VA. Focuses on finding and logging deals

• Outreach VA. Messages sellers and wholesalers

• Follow-Up VA. Manages the CRM and updates leads

• Analyst VA. Starts running quick MAO/ARV checks to prioritize

You don’t need all of this at once. But knowing the future structure helps you train today’s VA in a scalable way.

Red Flags to Watch Out For

When managing a VA for flip lead sourcing, watch for:

• Copy-paste spam that gets flagged on Facebook

• Submitting leads without verifying recency or contact status

• Failing to check comps or neighborhood value before flagging as a deal

• Lack of curiosity or learning from feedback

• Not tracking outreach (you’ll get duplicate convos and wasted time)

Always audit their first few weeks closely, then reduce check-ins once they prove consistency.

Real Example: What a Great VA Can Deliver

Let’s say you have a VA spending 3 hours a day sourcing leads.

In one week, they might:

• Scan 7 platforms

• Log 15–20 properties

• Contact 10–12 sellers or wholesalers

• Deliver 3–5 properties that meet your criteria

• Flag 1–2 for immediate analysis

That’s a pipeline you didn’t have to build yourself, and a compounding effect over time.

Multiply Your Time, Multiply Your Deals

Hiring a VA isn’t about saving money. It’s about multiplying your most valuable asset: time.

The flippers who scale to 10+ deals a year?

They don’t find every property themselves. They:

• Build systems

• Train talent

• Let go of low-value work

Start small. Hire one VA. Show them how to find the kinds of flips you would buy.

Then, step back, and let the leads come to you.