Direct Mail - Leave My Address and Works for Buy and Hold?

Oakland, CA · Member since 2016 · 7 posts · 1 vote

Hi Everyone,

I have a list of multifamily properties I feel meet my criteria and was hoping someone could help clarify a couple direct mailing questions for me.

1. What return address do you leave? Is it acceptable to leave your current home address? I've read some investors get a P.O. box specifically for this but I'd rather avoid that if leaving the home address is an acceptable option.

2. Most direct mail campaigns I've read are for flippers or wholesalers. Does anyone do it for a multifamily buy and hold strategy? Is the conversion rate much lower?

Thanks in advance,

Steve

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Davey Wilde

Real Estate Agent · Seattle, WA · Member since 2015 · 40 posts · 24 votes

10y

These are the observations we've seen up in greater Seattle and the surrounding counties: 1. I normally use a PO box but I don't see a problem with using your home address. If you plan to continue mailing (highly recommended) then it's worth the cost to get a PO box to keep all of your business mail going to the same spot. I personally haven't seen any statistics to back up using one or the other or not having a return address at all. 2. This has been our experience with direct mail overall and not just residential MF but for all of our mail. We've sent quite a bit direct mail over the years and continue to get a 1-2.5% response rate. The more motivated the list, the better the response rate. Our driving for dollars, evictions, inherited, probate tend to get close to 2% because there is some form of motivation for the person to sell. High equity, absentee owners, farm area (zip code), tend to get lower response rates because they don't always have a reason to sell. The more you mail, the better the call back rate. We just got 2 phone calls last week from a mailing we did 14 months ago. The calls tend to come in over time. You won't get a 2% response rate the first week you send out mailers. Pick a group you can mail to for 8-12 months and just keep hitting them every week/month. Numbers tend to average themselves out over time, just give it enough time. Here are the two options Id recommend: 1. Use 3-4 factors and expand your search radius to find 500-750 addresses for MF. Maybe high equity, owner occupied, last purchase date 5 years or older, and assessed value under X amount for that area. You won't get a killer response rate but you can keep mailing every month for 12 months. Let's say 1% call back rate off 6000 mailers sent over 12 months and you'd have 60 leads of possible sellers in the next year. :) you don't need many leads for multifamily to make it worth your time. And/Or 2. This ones a lot of work but I could see getting a good call back rate for it. Combine driving for dollars, evictions, probate, inherited, code enforcement, etc and only hand pick the multi family ones. This list will take time to build but you will be left with a motivated list after you're done. Plus nobody will have your exact list. I didn't mean for this email to be so long but I hope it helps. Send me a PM if you want to talk more shop.

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Brian Smith
Rental Property Investor · Shreveport, LA · Member since 2015 · 36 posts · 18 votes
10y
I just sent out my first round of 500 mailers (for personal buy and holds) and made sure to get a PO Box for a year. It was $70 for the box and I think it was worth it for the peace of mind. I'm also interested to know what kind of lead/conversion rates to expect from multifamily as I'm thinking I'll send to absentee multifamily next? Love to hear from an experienced direct mailer...
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Tim Lindstrom
Investor · Douglasville, GA · Member since 2014 · 313 posts · 181 votes
10y
I send out mailers for buy and hold as well. I mail to both Single family and multi's (up to 4 plex).
I use my home address. I toyed with getting a P.O. box, but decided it was easier to just have the returned mail show up in my mailbox. I don't think anything I'm sending out is going to anger anyone enough that they will show up at my door. time will tell.
I've only been doing it for a few months, so I'm not the expert. I only send out to properties I find driving for dollars.
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Danielle Fattizzi
Wholesaler · Saint Augustine, FL · Member since 2016 · 328 posts · 98 votes
10y
I sent out a direct-mail campaign in March. 500 yellow letters seeking buy and holds and wholesales. Got a P.O. Box at UPS for privacy and I'm very pleased with my success rate. I believe in the psychology of it. A potential seller is more likely to open an envelope that doesn't look as though it is part of a mass mailing. The less assuming it looks, the better. So, instead of writing "P.O. Box" on my return labels, I can write "1093 A1A Beach Blvd, #257" and it all gets to the same place. My address doesn't appear to be commercial, it just looks like an apt number. Good luck with your campaign!
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Davey Wilde
Real Estate Agent · Seattle, WA · Member since 2015 · 40 posts · 24 votes
10y
These are the observations we've seen up in greater Seattle and the surrounding counties: 1. I normally use a PO box but I don't see a problem with using your home address. If you plan to continue mailing (highly recommended) then it's worth the cost to get a PO box to keep all of your business mail going to the same spot. I personally haven't seen any statistics to back up using one or the other or not having a return address at all. 2. This has been our experience with direct mail overall and not just residential MF but for all of our mail. We've sent quite a bit direct mail over the years and continue to get a 1-2.5% response rate. The more motivated the list, the better the response rate. Our driving for dollars, evictions, inherited, probate tend to get close to 2% because there is some form of motivation for the person to sell. High equity, absentee owners, farm area (zip code), tend to get lower response rates because they don't always have a reason to sell. The more you mail, the better the call back rate. We just got 2 phone calls last week from a mailing we did 14 months ago. The calls tend to come in over time. You won't get a 2% response rate the first week you send out mailers. Pick a group you can mail to for 8-12 months and just keep hitting them every week/month. Numbers tend to average themselves out over time, just give it enough time. Here are the two options Id recommend: 1. Use 3-4 factors and expand your search radius to find 500-750 addresses for MF. Maybe high equity, owner occupied, last purchase date 5 years or older, and assessed value under X amount for that area. You won't get a killer response rate but you can keep mailing every month for 12 months. Let's say 1% call back rate off 6000 mailers sent over 12 months and you'd have 60 leads of possible sellers in the next year. :) you don't need many leads for multifamily to make it worth your time. And/Or 2. This ones a lot of work but I could see getting a good call back rate for it. Combine driving for dollars, evictions, probate, inherited, code enforcement, etc and only hand pick the multi family ones. This list will take time to build but you will be left with a motivated list after you're done. Plus nobody will have your exact list. I didn't mean for this email to be so long but I hope it helps. Send me a PM if you want to talk more shop.
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Rick H.
Lender · Greater LA/Orange County area, CA · Member since 2012 · 3k+ posts · 3k+ votes
10y
Never leave your home address.
Whether or not you have a family, you never know what kind of crazies you are contacting or who will read your letter.
For example - competitors!
Since we are often looking for property with lots of equity, these come with people with lots of problems. You are in the problem solving business (or did you think you are in real estate?).
The ideal return address is a business street address or a residential address that you do not live in. I've worked from my home office in the canyon for decades but have used a USPS P. O. Box in another city.
My market is attorneys and it's important to appear professional and business-like. You may wish to reach an audience that responds to a buyer who appears to be a mon-and-pop operation as opposed to a larger group.
Think through the audience you want to reach and what you think that they will respond to better.
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