The best list to mail to
If you are considering starting a direct mail campaign in order to find leads and create deals then hopefully this will help you.
You need to drive for neighborhoods that you want to buy in and look for properties that will be tough for the owner to sell if they ever need to sell. You are there as an investor to help them sell their house as is and take the stress and uncertainty away by offering to buy.
Look for houses with deferred maintenance such as bad roofs, peeling paint, an old driveway, original 1950s windows are great targets. This tells you from the outside that there is opportunity to add value in updating the property, but also, the inside may match the outside (original cabinets, pink tile in bathroom etc.)
Aside from deferred maintenance, look for properties that are on busy streets, next to a gas station, or has any challenges to them. It just means you buy them cheaper perhaps, but there will always be a margin on the resale. If you can help someone make it super easy to sell their house, you can create an opportunity. Obviously you have to do your due diligence and offer the correct amount in order to make money on it.
My frustration comes when people saying that you need to buy a generic (absentee for example) list first. That is the easy way and I am sure everyone else is buying that same list (and sending the same stupid yellow letter). Create your own and you will be unique in the marketplace (and create a unique letter or postcard!!). A lot of times when you buy a list, you are filtering out a lot of potential leads.
For example, when I drive for dollars, I will hit up every single street in my farm area. Honestly, every time I drive down a street that seems "expensive" where all the houses are impeccable and maintained, there is always one at the end of the street that has something going on with it! You could buy it, fix it and increase the value to match the neighbors. Your purchased list would probably have filtered out that price range and thats what I am talking about.
Your list should contain ALL properties where there is an opportunity to buy a property that needs work. Whats the point of mailing to a higher equity owner when a lot of those houses have granite and new windows, siding and roofing. Wasting time sending those mail pieces and on the phone when they call you.
After you gather your list, try to niche it down to 15+ years of ownership, then you can bank on it having equity.
I started in November 2014 driving every street in my local area and have continued to expand my farm outwards. I now market to around 1700 addresses. They all have equity and all are considered fixer upper/opportunities to me where I can improve the value.
That list is worth a lot to me! I am getting leads and deals from it. Every time my phone rings, I know its a house that I would buy and could make money. If you are getting started, don't buy some big list on listsource, create your own! Over time as you continue to mail to these people, more leads will convert to deals. It's whats currently happening to me so I thought I would share what I did! Hope it adds value to the BP community.