Completely Bombed Phone Call to Discuss Purchase of Distressed Prop
Good morning BP,
So, I drive by this distressed property everyday on my way to work. It hasn't been landscaped in a while and there is a notice on the door from the county saying they need to upkeep their lawn. It is clearly distressed and, in speaking to a neighbor, they said its been abandoned for going on 2 years (no tenants to speak of). I did some research on it and found out it was purchased in the 80s for $85K and is comp'd at about $240K. It is in one person's name (this is important for where I'm going with this). I found out the owner's contact info and he is an out of state absentee. After a week of fighting off rejection fear (this is literally my first attempt to buy a house other than my own that I live in), I just called the number I had for the owner. A woman picked up (the owner is a male). The conversation went as follows:
Me: Hi, may I please speak with (owner)?
Woman: He's not available can I take a message?
Me: Yes, my name is Stephen and I drive past his property every day on my way to work. I noticed there was a for sale sign in the yard and wanted to discuss potentially buying it.
Woman: There was a for sale sign?
Me: Yes ma'am.
Woman: There shouldn't be a for sale sign, its not for sale.
Me: Interesting, well, do you know if he'd be interested in selling it?
Woman: No, he's not!
I ended the conversation without leaving my contact info or gathering more information. My thoughts on it are that since she's not on the county records as the owner, her word is not the final say regarding selling or not selling. I don't want to necessarily call back (at least from my number), but I do want to talk to the actual owner per the property records. I do know that I should have just left a message and asked for him to call me back (hence, I bombed the call). And, I shouldn't have disclosed anything but general information as the reason for my call (i.e., yes, I wanted to discuss his property at 1234 Any Town Ave, can you please have him give me a call at his earliest convenience?)
If calling back is not the best approach, I'm thinking about sending a post card with my agent's card. Any best practiced verbiage I should include in said post card would be helpful. In a way, this is a good thing. If he's conveying to her that he doesn't want to sell it, I figure either that is the truth and no one is prospecting him or he does want to sell and he's just not telling her (assuming she's a confidant like his wife or common law).
BLUF: I'm looking for suggestions on how to follow up this botched call. Is a follow up from a different number with, perhaps, my wife the best approach? Or should I send a card to his out of state address?
#4 Marketing Your Property Contributor
- Lender
- Greater LA/Orange County area, CA
- 3,531
- Votes |
- 3,846
- Posts
#4 Marketing Your Property Contributor
- Lender
- Greater LA/Orange County area, CA
Regarding your head: Shut that thing off!
Send a simple letter to the principal, nothing cheesy or fancy, and inquire what his plans are for the property. Offer to be helpful, perhaps be his local contact.
Don't leave detailed messages with non-principals. A principal, of course, is someone who has the ability to conduct business with you. A spouse, while potentially influential, is a 3rd party unless on title.
Don't over-think this, which you are doing. He may or may not want to sell now, or even later.
Don't get attached to this opportunity. I believe there are other properties.
Do get over the phone conversation and do move forward.
Do send a second letter if the first one doesn't elicit a response. Do start a list of other property owners to prospect. Do follow up with phone calls.
It's like when you were 15 and may have called a girl and reached her Dad. You don't want to leave details, but it's ok to let them know you called. Some will be interested, some not.
I would send a hand a written letter to his out of state address if you have it.
That was a good kick in the butt, I appreciate it. I want to believe I'm not attached to this property, but I can't for the life of me figure out why they'd let the prop fall into so much distress, have that much equity, and not want to cash out.
Back to the grind, I'll update with how it plays out.
I don't have any great advice but wanted to share that I have a similar property that I have tried to inquire about. I sent a letter but got no response. Honestly this property has been vacant for ten years and it is such a shame. How did you find the phone number to call?
@Shawn Root I got the owners name from the county records. Did a Google search and he's one of the few remaining people in the world that is listed in the white pages lol. It didn't work twice though, attempts to repeat this process hasn't worked out since. I'll be sending him a letter this weekend and following up win a phone call mid next week.
Stephen, some people are just plain weird, so you have to be ready for it. It's not illegal for an owner to mismanage a property and keep it vacant instead of selling it and putting their equity to better use. I knew of similar house that was run down and vacant--had been like that for years. Neighbors said the owner would stop by every couple of months then leave. He was grumpy and anti-social. Mostly likely he was mentally ill, or incapacitated in some way that prevented him from making good decisions about the property. Stay off the phone and resort to sending a series of letters and postcards every few weeks. Let him read and think about your interest at his leisure. Your phone call could have been poorly received simply because of bad timing. And many people just don't like cold calls because it puts them on the spot and forces them to think about something they may not want to think about. good luck.
Theres a house on our street which would be worth well over $1M fixed up that is also vacant for a long time. You never know what people are thinking.