We send a two page document. Page 1 basically says who we are (wholesalers, etc.), how I got their info, and a nice welcome to put them at ease about us and our business.
Page 2 is a simple Purchase Agreement with the exact details of that parcel and an offer price. At the bottom of the agreement is a place for them to sign and send back. Also on the PA are all the conditions that have to be verified and accepted by me (buyer) to complete the transaction. (I.e. Taxes/hoa situation confirmed, parcel size confirmed, good & marketable title...)
Basically things I want to confirm during my due diligence now that I know seller is motivated. It is a MUCH better use of my time to only research the properties AFTER I know the seller is interested.
Oh boy - are you on the right track, @Perry Mcintyre! Data & direct mail is the key. We use the title agent version of what you have (TitlePro247) because we need more features.
What kind of deals are you trying to smoke out? We send specific offers (with a dollar amount) to thousands of targeted property owners and wait for them to accept or reach back out to us. Much easier than chasing "potential" sellers.
Are you deliberately trying to work with the most headache inducing properties? :)
Here is our strategy: Send out a ton of offers to everyone and smoke out a "situation". Once I have a response from someone that wants to sell and they like my price, THEN I fully research the property and decide if I really want to buy it.
I don't exclude things like back taxes or absentee owners, but I don't only mail to them either.
We have years of experience with thousands of completed transactions to prove that even though the owner lives there (not absent), and has been paying their taxes (not delinquent), they might be willing to sell at my price.
I just found them at the right time. (aka the situation)
@Jill DeWit - When you say you send specific offers with price, you're using a fully executed sales contract? Or just throwing a number out there? What kind of letter or greeting do you include to introduce yourself as a buyer? What types of criteria do you use to qualify something as a "situation?"
We send a two page document. Page 1 basically says who we are (wholesalers, etc.), how I got their info, and a nice welcome to put them at ease about us and our business.
Page 2 is a simple Purchase Agreement with the exact details of that parcel and an offer price. At the bottom of the agreement is a place for them to sign and send back. Also on the PA are all the conditions that have to be verified and accepted by me (buyer) to complete the transaction. (I.e. Taxes/hoa situation confirmed, parcel size confirmed, good & marketable title...)
Basically things I want to confirm during my due diligence now that I know seller is motivated. It is a MUCH better use of my time to only research the properties AFTER I know the seller is interested.
We don't send less than 1,500 offers to test an area. And we have our printing/postage down to $0.49/unit plus data. (so 1,500 mailers only cost me $735 which is CHEAP)
I would hold off until you can budget more and do this right.
@Perry Mcintyre great question! I have been researching direct mail as well and I will follow this post to see what other lists people use to get the best response rate.
@Perry Mcintyre What is your area? Depending on the county, you can get a good deal of marketable material out of public records, then use that to tailor your lists. Instead of just absentee owners, for example, you could hone in on absentee owners who are at least 2 years back on taxes who own homes with at least 1.5 bathrooms. It takes some doing and there are some firms out there who can help you with it.