BiggerPockets

I recently discovered a house while I was driving around that from its appearance could be an excellent wholesale/rehabber deal. I have found the owner's name and address. The owner lives in the house. Below is a copy of a letter I set to her recently and would appreciate any comments.

Dear Home Owner:

I was driving around in your area and noticed your house and was wondering if you might be interested in discussing selling your house. One of the areas we work in is buying houses that need some repair and rehabbing the property to improve its appearance and value.

I am local real estate investor working with a group that buys properties in the greater metropolitan area. We are able to buy properties quickly for cash and usually can close within 30 days or less.

The typical process is that we start with a preliminary discussion over the phone to obtain some basic information. If that conversation is mutually agreeable that we arrange for me to come by and take a look at your home to get a better understanding of its condition and what repairs might be needed. Then we can work toward a fair selling price for your home.

If you are interested you can either provide me with a phone number where you can be reached. Or if you prefer you can call me @ 225-555-5555 or email me: ibuyhouses@cable.com

Sincerely,

Bob Burns

Robert, maybe it's just me, but I do not like the words "we" and "group" when someone communicates to me. I would rather receive a letter where you write as if you are the direct buyer, you have the cash, and you can close fast. (Assuming you can do all that, of course.)

Whenever I see a post on this site or elsewhere from someone representing an "investors group" or some other group, I just assume they have no idea what they are doing and are probably just going to get my information and send a bunch of emails to some list that they have. I tend to ignore such communications.

Why do you feel the need to state that you represent a group of buyers?

I don't know if this will help at all but I just started printing a picture of the house I'm asking about and next to it printing:

TIRED OF THIS HOUSE?

CALL 541-555-5555 FOR A CASH OFFER TODAY!

There is no letter, just that message. Today is my first day sending these out so no data to share yet. People react differently so ultimately you'll have to try multiple things until you find something that seems most effective for your area.

As for your letter, I would shorten it up a little and I also like Vikram's comment about you being the principle buyer as opposed to a "group". In my opinion it will make you sound like a decision maker that can buy on the spot.

Jeff

Originally posted by Trish Saunders

If a property is truly "abandoned" how do you contact the owner? I had one property that I sent a letter to, had been vacant quite a while according to neighbors and it was listed in a primary residence according to the state tax assessors, and the letter came back "no forwarding information" What would your next step be in this case?

Trish

Trish,

Did you look at your tax assessor online? They should have a current address because someone needs to pay the property taxes. If not, try this link:

http://sdatcert3.resiusa.org/rp_rewrite/

I just did a quick google search but I think that link is correct. There are other ways so post back up if that doesn't work.

Jeff

Originally posted by Trish Saunders

That's the problem Jeff - the property address is the owners address according to the tax assessors website. It is listed as "owner occupied" so I am at a loss. Tried running a google search on the owners name to see if there was an obit or anything, and zip. Guess I keep checking the assessors website for updates.

I would call the Tax assessor and ask if their property taxes are up to date...i bet they are behind in payments. If you really want the deal and you have the money to invest you might want to look into buying the Tax lein. I know pretty much nothing about this but there are people on this site that do.

You could even look them up on Face Book, you never know who you'll find on their. There is also skip trace services but again it depends on you bad you want it, you'll have to spend money for them to track the people down.

Jeff