Help Marketing Letter for Vacant Houses

[Romane Tate]

hello i a new wholesaler and i recently found a couple vacant houses in my area and i found the owner of the properties can any one send me a marketing letter that they send to owners

[Dawn Anastasi]

Maybe it would be easier if you posted the contents of your letter and we'll critique it.

[Romane Tate]

[PROPERTY OWNER NAME]
[PROPERTY OWNER ADDRESS]
[CITY AND STATE]
Dear [Property Owner Name],

The Orange County (NY) property records show that you own property at xxxxxxxx I am interested in purchasing a properties in the orange county area.
If you are interested in selling this property and would like to discuss the specifics of a sale, please call me for more info.
I look forward to hearing from you.
With thanks, I remain

Very truly yours,
xxxxxxx

[Brandon Turner]

Hey Romane Tate - seems alright to me - but I'm not a direct mail kinda guy. Perhaps Michael Quarles or Sharon Vornholt will have a better idea?

[Sharon Vornholt]

I think you might want to put in some problems you can solve, and some benefits to the seller too for using your services.

[P.J. Hankins]

I'm nervous to share this, for fear of being scolded :) and also remember i'm a *NOOB* , but this is a sample that I've actually had positive response to....

I'm not sure how risky it is to actually put a dollar amount offer in the letter, but in each case that I used this I've had a response and the owner understood that my offer was tentative and not solid. I'm actually going to look at a property this weekend that is a lead from this

While were at it, I'd be open to any critique from anyone on this. Is it problematic to send something like this to a potential seller?

***********************************

Home owner:

My name is P.J. Hankins. I am an individual who specializes in purchasing distressed and vacant homes and properties in Mucnie, IN.

A distressed or unwanted property can drain you financially! Even if you don’t owe the bank for it, it can still cost you tons of money in property taxes and maintenance costs. These costs can rob you of living expenses, especially if you are on a fixed income. If maintenance issues aren’t dealt with right away you can lose the home to weather, insects, rodents and other things. If taxes aren’t paid the house can actually be taken from you and given to the lowest bidder.

I am aware that you may owe back taxes on in Mucnie, and may need to sell your home so the bill can be paid and you can get rid of the burden of this house.

Today, I am prepared to offer you a tentative price of $X,XXX for . with a closing in 60 days.

Please keep in mind that this initial offer is a drive by offer, based only on the county tax records, a general estimate of the after repair value of the home and a very rough estimate of what it will take to renovate the home. As an investor I would need to gain access to the house to look at it, inspect it and to rule out any unseen issues that may need dealt with to come up with a more firm offer. In many cases the initial tentative offer can be negotiated higher if the property is in better shape than what can be seen from the outside.

Please don’t let the weather, rodents, or the county take your home. This is a serious offer, but you need to call me today!

CALL ME at XXX-XXX-XXXX

Sincerely,

[Romane Tate]

Thanks ill use your instead

[Michael Quarles]

P.J. go stand in the corner, you have fifteen minutes of time out for sharing your letter.

The reality is that the longer the copy the fewer calls and the better quality of calls.

The other reality sending something is better than nothing.

I have even tested sending a letter and purposely putting the wrong property address within the letter. And still got calls. They all started with that's not my address but I have a house at xyz for sale.

[Arktavious Sally]

WOW PJ... That letter is way too long jmo.. But as long as your getting a decent response rate, keep it up. Lol..

[Gary Parker]

I like P.J. Hankins letter. I like the distress points, but I would add a bullet point list of benefits to the seller if it were me. I dont have enough direct mail history to have tested all the alternatives; but for me, as Michael Quarles says, the longer copy with specific benefits to the recipient has worked for me. That being said, I started to use yellowletters.com to send postcards to one of my lists on the 4th mailing and beyond after a full page letter the first 3 mailings and have had success.

[Brian P.]

Actually I used a letter similar in tone to PJ's but only a quarter of his in length and got a good response. I ended the letter with if your plans are to keep the property I would appreciate your letting me know, so please call and I can take you off my followup list and not bother you anymore. If you are considering selling the property maybe we can meet at the property and after I see the inside I can make you an offer right then and there. Of course if I didn't get a call I went to step 2. And many of those calls to let know they planned to keep the property were a doorway to a future deal.

[Nancy Brook]

Hi all - Just want to thank you for sharing your ideas! I am also going to send out some letters to property owners of vacant houses.

[Kedrick Thornton]

These are all great tips. I'm looking to send letter to the owners of a few vacant properties in DC. 

Although my verbiage will  be a bit different because I'm not an investor with the tons of cash, this is a good launch pad for me. Thanks so much for this.

[Account Closed]

Originally posted by @P.J. Hankins:

...Please don’t let the weather, rodents, or the county take your home. This is a serious offer, but you need to call me today!...

 lol... was this meant to scare the seller?

[Daniel Wampler]

Hey P.J. Hankins, I like your letter and will try using it.  Thanks for sharing.  

[Sjalin Lathan-Sims]

Nice letter P.J. I will be using some of your content but just shorten it a bit! Thanks. Do you handwrite yours or type your handwriting on the paper?? just curious.

Also, how many do you send a month?

[Mark Scott]

Thanks @P.J. Hankins for posting this letter and everyone's comments. I have found a few properties in my area by driving around neighborhoods in the price range I would like to own rentals and have been looking for a good letter. This will be a great starting point. 

[Account Closed]

@P.J. Hankins - everyone has to believe something. I believe that your letter is damn good! In fact, if you don't mind, I'd like to use it for my own ends (I'm in Kansas City, MO, so I won't be competing with you at all). I'd like to tweak it a little bit, here and there for flavor, and I mean very small tweaks. Even if you don't want me to use it, I appreciate the inspiration. Good Luck.

[Andrew Syrios]

I've heard a P.S. line is effective for direct mail, especially if it has a call to action (i.e. ..."please call me to today"), so you might want to add that.