Investor / Lender · Seattle, WA · Member since 2014 · 1k+ posts · 730 votes
I was driving around the neighborhood the other day and saw several crappy homes. I decided to take a picture of each one.
I have a photo printer at home, so I'm just planning on printing a picture of their home on a 4x6, flip it over, write a message, write their address, stick on a stamp and send.
I don't see a legal problem with it, but I think I see a practical problem.
I don't think it's going to help you achieve your goals. If I got such a postcard, I'd probably feel like you were rubbing my nose in my own problem and be less inclined to work with you, not more. If by some chance, I were inclined to work with you, I'd tend to smell "motivated buyer" which would hurt you slightly in negotiations.
Really? I was thinking it would be more effective because it has more of a personalized touch. If it helps, here's the message we were going to write on the postcards:
Dear <Seller Name>, We saw your house in the neighborhood at <property address> and are interested in buying it. Please give us a call at <phone number>. Best, Sara & Nghi
Actually, I think this is a great marketing strategy. In fact, I've done the very same thing myself although I just pull the image from Google Street View. My hope is not so much the personal touch as it hopefully is enough to make them stop and turn the thing over when they see a picture of their own property on the card.
If you are sending these to that address and the homeowner is your potential seller, I wouldn't be too concerned with the "motivated buyer" thought. The reason I say this is that your average Joe out there probably doesn't have a clue about REI. Let's face it, the people who respond to this are probably going to be motivated sellers and while they will want to get as much as possible either they are motivated or they aren't.