Investor · Los Angeles , CA · Member since 2014 · 132 posts · 25 votes
I recently discovered BP, and decided to join. Over the past few years I have been able to acquire properties through the MLS, rehab and resell them. This is no longer the case, as the market in Los Angeles has been on fire for about the last year especially distressed properties. I have done considerable research on direct marketing and it seems L.A. along with other big cities is a very tough market. I would be very interested to hear from anyone who has been doing (or has done in the past) any sort of direct mail marketing in Los Angeles or surrounding areas over the past couple years. Successful or not I would like to hear peoples experiences advice and insights.
What were you sending. yellow letters? Postcards?
Who were you mailing Absantees? Probates? Notice of Defaults?
Flipper/Rehabber · Arlington, TX · Member since 2013 · 1k+ posts · 2k+ votes
12y
Hi Mike. We're doing direct mail in that market and it is VERY competitive. I need to avoid talking about a market-specific strategy, but in general we like BRANDED postcards (not generic "I buy houses" cards) because we can mail them for half the cost of letters. We go for the maximum list and the maximum exposure - i.e., AT LEAST 6 touches with our message. We like absentees.
You need a good budget to market out there. Don't be surprised - at least at the beginning - if it costs you $200 to $300 per phone call for qualified leads. So, your marketing cost per deal can easily be $4,000 to $6,000 -- which is table stakes for guys that can make $50,000+ on a rehab flip.
Investor · Los Angeles County, CA · Member since 2012 · 962 posts · 279 votes
12y
I have Mike. I haven't gotten many results. I basically have been doing door knocking/ driving for dollars (under 100), dropping off letters and business cards locally in Los Angeles mainly the south bay and Long Beach (dropped off about 300 business cards, post cards and letters to doorsteps/mail boxes), sending some yellow letters (about 300 mailed), mailing postcards to absentee landlords (about 50 sent).
In my letters I just tell them the generic letter- "I'm a direct Cash Buyer/ Investor looking to purchase several houses in ___ area" "No obligation offer" "Can make Cash offer in as little as 10 days"
A lot of driving for dollars, which also allows me to get to know neighborhoods.
So I've had over 1000 contacts and about 50 repeat letters. I haven't had any good leads yet but put about $1100 into it so far. I likely need to up my amount of contacts and spread a larger net.
Also, I own several houses in the LA area and I receive about 5 letters and post cards from "We buy houses"-type investors as well as many solicitations from Real estate agents/brokers. If I don't open my PO box for a couple weeks it's packed with "I want to buy your house" post cards and letters.
I think this market is a bit saturated, but seeing I have the cash, I'm going to keep hitting up home owners directly. Who knows, maybe I'll get a good aquisition
Investor · Virginia Beach, VA · Member since 2013 · 84 posts · 26 votes
12y
Dev Horn - going the branding route, how much are you varying your post card creative / messaging from send to send?
I like the branding strategy as well, but trying to figure out that balance between CONSISTENT messaging while still having FRESH messaging...
Rental Property Investor · Glendale, CA · Member since 2013 · 685 posts · 334 votes
11y
I have been considering doing direct mail to absentee owners and was wondering if anyone had any updates?
I just feel like with all the other direct mailers, I highly doubt I could do anything much different to distinguish myself from the rest. I'm sure there is a small chance I may be the lucky one who gets the phone call, but is it really worth dropping a few thousand in such an over saturated market?
I was curious if anyone had anything they could add after so long.