My Yellow Letter.. Please help me exam my letter

Rehabbing & House Flipping
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My Yellow Letter.. Please help me exam my letter

Frank L.
Temecula, CA · Member since 2012 · 16 posts · 0 votes

Hello fellow Biggerpockets members,

I am a new RE Investor and I have been sending out yellow letter to absentee owners with barely any calls and for the few that does.. It has been duds. I know its a number game but because I have never got any deals yet. I was wondering if what I have said in the letter is what people are staying away from calling me. Any advice would be helpful.

I have been using 'Josh Handwriting' as my font.

Here is my letter:

--------------------------------------

Dear Homeowner,

My name is blah. I'm interested in buying a property for myself real soon and I came across your property on:

<Property Address>

I can offer a fair ALL CASH for your property. I am even willing to pay all of the closing costs to complete the transaction. This means that you would not have to pay any fees whatsoever so you can get your cash in days! The best part is that you won't have to fix a thing! I will buy your property in 'As Is' condition. I will make selling your property as hassle free as possible. I will handle all the paperwork.

So if you are considering selling your property, please get a hold of me ASAP. Unfortunately, I can only buy one property at this time. So if you are interested and want your property to be considered in a quick sale at top price with no hassle, please call me.

Thanks for your time!

my name

my numbers

ps. In economics times like this, it's tough for many people finacially. By selling now, it would lift much unnecessary stress by paying off bills or just simply have extra cash for those rainy days. Again, by calling I can purchase your property ALL CASH so you can have cash in your bank in days!

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>In the p.s, section, I sum it up by making the homeowner realize all the things that they can use the cash with after selling...

>> Pls also tell me what font(s) I should use in my letters. Maybe it's part of the reason.. maybe it doesn't look personal. Should I make my letter have multiple fonts. If so, what fonts should I use..

>>> The reason why I decided not to use a simple.. "My name is blah and I want to $Buy$ your house at <property address>. Please call me at ....." To me, its to vague and it really doesn't sort out potential quality leads. To me, If I use it.. it's going to give me more of curious leads not quality..

>>>If any of members can help me by making any part better, pls do, so I can change it accordingly. Or if you guys can help me by letter use a proven yellow letter template that they use.. It would be very helpful!!

Thanks in Advance!

ps. If you guys asked about why I'm not outsourcing this.. it's because I'm low on funds so that's why I can't. Plus I don't mind doing the grunt work in the beginning of my business..

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Jimmy T
Flipper/Rehabber · San Francisco CA., CA · Member since 2009 · 23 posts · 7 votes
13y

I would actually go with a more simplistic approach. I find that it is generates a better response rate as it generates curiosity.

Your letter is a bit lengthy so I would recommend toning it down a bit. Go with something more simple.

Mines basically just says:

Mr/Mrs Seller,

My name is John Smith and my partner Amanda. And I would like to

$BUY$

Your property on:

123 Main st

San Francisco, Ca 94107

Please give me a call at:

415-888-8888

Please call!!

Thanks,

John

I generate somewhere on the neighborhood of 2-3% response rate on my letters. After testing several different types, I find this one to be the most responsive.

You will get duds. Those are a given, but as you know it's all a numbers game. The key is to get them calling.

Hope this helps!

Jimmy

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  • Frank L.
    OP
    Temecula, CA · Member since 2012 · 16 posts · 0 votes
    13y

    >>>> Lastly, which I forgot to mention.. Should I print both the letter and the writing on the envelope with the font 'Josh Handwriting'?

    0Reply
  • Frank L.
    OP
    Temecula, CA · Member since 2012 · 16 posts · 0 votes
    13y

    CORRECTION.. The letter above is the updated version from my unsuccessful previous letter. I haven't sent this mailing out yet

    0Reply
  • Jimmy T
    Flipper/Rehabber · San Francisco CA., CA · Member since 2009 · 23 posts · 7 votes
    13y

    I would actually go with a more simplistic approach. I find that it is generates a better response rate as it generates curiosity.

    Your letter is a bit lengthy so I would recommend toning it down a bit. Go with something more simple.

    Mines basically just says:

    Mr/Mrs Seller,

    My name is John Smith and my partner Amanda. And I would like to

    $BUY$

    Your property on:

    123 Main st

    San Francisco, Ca 94107

    Please give me a call at:

    415-888-8888

    Please call!!

    Thanks,

    John

    I generate somewhere on the neighborhood of 2-3% response rate on my letters. After testing several different types, I find this one to be the most responsive.

    You will get duds. Those are a given, but as you know it's all a numbers game. The key is to get them calling.

    Hope this helps!

    Jimmy

    3Reply
  • Frank L.
    OP
    Temecula, CA · Member since 2012 · 16 posts · 0 votes
    13y

    Thanks Jimmy for your input! After thinking about it. You are correct. The key is getting them to call. My previous thinking is to already qualifying sellers with my letter in the beginning so I can deal with motivated sellers. But after looking over, my letter seems lengthy and because of that, i might lose their focus and immediately throw my letters away.

    I will take your advice and use the simple approach to this.. Once they call because of curiosity. I will let my VA/Receptionist jot down their info and qualify them and send them to me.

    Question 1 - When sending out your mailers.. What font(s) do you use for your letters/envelopes

    Question 2: I was thinking of adding my website as well on the letter or do you recommend adding my business card into each envelope..

    0Reply
  • Jon H.
    Investor · Birmingham, AL · Member since 2013 · 51 posts · 9 votes
    13y
    Hey Frank, I agree with Jimmy. Your letter is definitely too long. You don't want to come across un-professional either. Leave out "you are willing" and explaining what the homeowner will get. (they will expect you to handle everything). If it were me i would make it short and sweet. Hello, I'm Frank - lastname. I am an investor in the area. I pay cash for homes. If you are in risk of foreclosure, need to move fast, need cash for bills, want to relocate in town..... please give me a call. I will make you a fair cash offer for your home. Also if you know of someone needing to sell there home fast, please give me a call. Thank you and God Bless. Also i read another post on here where the Wholesaler drove around neighborhoods in his target marked looking for overgrowth and distressed property and mailed to them directly. You can get the owners name from the county tax records. Just a thought since your trying to save money. Best of Luck - Jon H.
    2Reply
  • Frank L.
    OP
    Temecula, CA · Member since 2012 · 16 posts · 0 votes
    13y

    Thanks Jon H. Great info! Much Appreciated

    0Reply
  • William Strong
    Bellevue, NE · Member since 2013 · 72 posts · 29 votes
    13y

    @Frank L. I don't have any experience with these types of letters, but I would check the grammar of your letter. When reading it through some things didn't sound right, this might scare people away. As an example:

    "I can offer a fair ALL CASH for your property."

    It should say " I can offer a fair ALL CASH offer for your property."

    My grammar isn't good either, but I find it helps to have some one else double check my work.

    0Reply
  • Jody Young
    Real Estate Agent · Owensboro, KY · Member since 2013 · 126 posts · 28 votes
    13y
    One thing that stood out to me is that there are a lot of I's and me's in the body of your letter. Just my opinion, but selling isn't telling so maybe more focus on the benefits to the seller?
    1Reply
  • Jimmy T
    Flipper/Rehabber · San Francisco CA., CA · Member since 2009 · 23 posts · 7 votes
    13y

    Hi Frank,

    I use the "never say never" font from Dafont.com.

    (here is a video with detailed instructions - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zw9-6s9C21k )

    Unless you want to look like a "big house buying" company, there is no need to leave your website or business card. The curiosity alone will get the seller to call to want to find out more.

    Hope this helps bud and best of luck

    Jimmy

    0Reply
  • Frank L.
    OP
    Temecula, CA · Member since 2012 · 16 posts · 0 votes
    13y

    Thanks @William Strong, @Rich Henry, III and @Jimmy T for your great advice and input! Very Much Appreciated. What's great about Real Estate Investing is that we are selfless in regards to teaching other investors to be better in their career so I really appreciated.

    I have another question.. I am following up on a lead and doing some comps on the property. My question is that I seem to can't find at least 3 comps within the 1 mile radius and within the 3 months (90 days) back to compare.. I want to know to find more comps, should I expand my radius from 1 mile out? If so, How far out? Or should I go back further than the 90 days or by doing so, the comps would not be relevant at all.

    Thanks!

    ps. have anyone used RealQuestExpress paid service? If so, worth it or better off using their free service in running comps

    0Reply
  • Jimmy T
    Flipper/Rehabber · San Francisco CA., CA · Member since 2009 · 23 posts · 7 votes
    13y

    Hi Frank,

    Do you have access to MLS? If not, I would say the best tool to use is Redfin.com.

    It allows you to look up comps with a map radius of the area. My criteria when pulling comps would be properties that have sold within the past 3 months, .5 mile radius, within 300 sq ft of the subject property that you are comping.

    There will be occasions when you cannot find something within these parameters, so you can adjust accordingly. Such as going 6 months instead of 3 or moving it to 1 mile radius instead of .5.

    The dangerous thing about moving your search parameters to 1 mile instead of .5 would be in some markets, the sales prices could change dramatically within a matter of a few blocks. So it's imperative that you know your market to determine whether or not the comps you are looking at are the same based off of neighborhood.

    Hope this helps!

    Jimmy

    0Reply
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