If you've run a bunch of searches with BirdDogBot and seem to keep coming up empty-handed, then this could be caused by a few different factors which we'll go over in this article.
To narrow down the problem, start by doing the following:
Examine Your Search Projects
- Login to your account.
- Go to Deals > Search Projects.
Are Your Search Projects Initialized?
First, make sure your search projects have completed initializing. For more information about search initialization, check out the "What Is Search Initialization?" article. For the purposes of achieving the goal of this article, all you need to do right now is check the colour of the run buttons for your search projects.
If the run button(s) for your search project(s) are orange, then this means your search project(s) are initializing. If this is the case, you need to wait for the initialization process to finish.
If and when the run button(s) become green, then the search has initialized and you can continue on to the next step.
Are Any Properties Being Analyzed?
To find out, do the following:
- Run your search projects(s) manually by checking the checkboxes. Then, from the "Actions" button, select "Run".
- In the output table, examine the "Properties Analyzed" column. Don't worry about the other columns for now...
This number can vary depending on any combination of factors including the number properties for sale in the area that BirdDogBot is monitoring, your price range, or any of the other filters you've specified. As a result, there's no way to determind if this number is sufficient or not.
If the number of properties analyzed is 0 or a really small number, then there's likely a problem with your Search Filters.
If some properties are being analyzed, then there's likely an issue with your Analysis settings; however, now would be a good time to check your filters as well.
Check Your Search Project Filters
To check the Search Project Filters, do the following:
- Edit one of your search projects by clicking on its "Search Project Name".
- Ensure that your price range is inline with your market and the types of properties you're looking for. For example, if you live in a large metropolitan area, it's unlikley that you'll find 3 bedroom homes for $30,000. Make sure what you're looking for actually does exist!
- Go to the Filters tab and keep the following few things in mind:
- Over 80% of the property listings BirdDogBot finds have a listing status of "For Sale" so make sure this is selected. Even if you only want "For Sale By Owner" deals, these often get lumped into the "For Sale" status depending on the site advertsiing the property. Make sure the "For Sale" status is turned ON at a minimum.
- Over 80% of the property listings BirdDogBot finds are Single Family Homes so make sure this is also turned ON. If you're not interested in Single Family Homes, then you'll have to expect a smaller set of properties to be analyzed.
- Save your search project.
- Repeat this process for all other search projects you've created. If you have many search projects to update, check out the "Updating Multiple Search Projects At Once" article.
- Wait for the search initialization process to finish. In other words, wait for the run buttons to turn green again.
- Once your search project(s) have initialized and the run buttons are green, try running the search project(s) again.
After making changes to your filters, if you're still getting 0 properties being analyzed, then you need to keep adjusting your filters until something gets analyzed. Otherwise, no deals can be found if there's nothing to analyze.
Assuming you now have some properties being analyzed, proceed to checking your analysis settings
Check Your Analysis Settings
If properties are being analyzed, but you're not finding any deals, then this is most likely an issue with your Analysis settings. Please review the "How To Fine-Tune Your Analysis Settings" article for a detailed explanation.
The "How To Fine-Tune Your Analysis Settings" article will walk you through the process of tweaking your "Analysis" settings and show you how you can dial-in the right settings for your market so that BirdDogBot returns the most optimum set of deals for you.
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