Interior Designer/Home Stager · Dallas, GA · Member since 2013 · 202 posts · 9 votes
Hi all, I am looking for updated information on list services. I have been researching the forums and see listsource, realtytrac, foreclosures.com, Melissadata, etc. My questions are:
1. Do you all obtain leads for both absentee owners and probates from these services? Can you get both? or can probates ONLY be accessed from your local court? Is there a way to differentiate between the two types of leads?
2. I've read some old posts, looking for the LATEST consensus on these listing services. At one point, listsource was great, now not so much??
3.Is there a way to pull pre-foclosures, absentees and probates from one source listing company?
I would appreciate EVERY one's input! Michael Quarles, Sharon Vornholt, @K. Marie Poe, What are you're thoughts! :)
Goshen, KY · Member since 2009 · 835 posts · 683 votes
13y
Nichole - Don't over think it. Get someone on the phone at listsource and talk to them. You will need to do that anyway to get them to plug in the equity piece. You don't have to commit to buying a list to talk to them.
-Ask how many contacts there would be for a list in these counties: then tell them the counties in your city with this criteria then lay out your criteria:
-Start with out of STATE absentee owners.
-50% equity or more
-I get homes with values between 50K and 225K. This will change with every area. My median house price is about 140K here. You will decide the range. You want mid range houses; nothing too expensive to sell easily.
-I omit bad areas by omitting zip codes in these areas.
Just make the decision to call them today. If you can get a list with 800-1200 names that is a good number to start with.
Lender · Greater LA/Orange County area, CA · Member since 2012 · 3k+ posts · 3k+ votes
13y
Every state has their own laws, court procedures and legal forms pertaining to how decedent's estate are handled, including creditors and heirs.
The rules vary widely, however you ought to decide if you are looking to buy the asset (real estate) from the person in charge or the interest of heir(s).
Generally speaking, you'll probably want to buy the real estate, so you'll be looking to contact the person who will be able to sell it to you, typically called administrator, or if named in the will, executor, or by the generic term, personal representative.
So, I suggest you ask the clerk at your probate court which document will contain the name and address of the person in charge. Scrub names of public admins and guardians, or those with mailing addresses the same as the attorney filing the document.
What most direct mailers do is to find the most recent cases, pull files, look for ones with real estate and tag those of particular interest.
Smart mailers launch a multi-sequence letter campaign with different USP's and offers. Dumb mailers mail an off-the-shelf, stock letter by someone else, and do it just once and no follow up. All you've got to do is one deal to pay for your campaign for the next year.
Interior Designer/Home Stager · Dallas, GA · Member since 2013 · 202 posts · 9 votes
13y
Ok! Thank you @Rick H. , I'm beginning to understand.. So, do people APPLY for this? I thought they had to be appointed to be executor or administrator? no? I see a whole lot of petitions to be appointed? :/
Interior Designer/Home Stager · Dallas, GA · Member since 2013 · 202 posts · 9 votes
13y
Ok! Thanks Sharon! I'm getting closer and closer @Sharon Vornholt ! lol! I think Ga may have different laws.. I have the county paper from Tuesday in front of me, I see:
1. notice of sale under power (TONS!)
2. Notice to debtors and creditors
3. Notice of Public Sales
4. Public Sales
5. Foreclosure notices
6. Delinquent Property Tax Sale
7. Petition for letters of administration notice
and 1 other notice for a list of family members of a deceased to file an "objection" to a petition. If not objection is filed, the petition will be granted without a hearing..
Does any of this make sense, or look like what you all get each month from your newspaper probates?
Lender · Greater LA/Orange County area, CA · Member since 2012 · 3k+ posts · 3k+ votes
13y
I see, so you're getting this information from a newspaper, are you?
Most legal pubs (at least the adjudicated publishers in CA) don't require the proposed exec or admin to provide their mailing address. That's a problem for you. How do you tend to reach them?
Assuming that you are willing to schlep down to the probate court and research files, you'll have a better chance of getting names and addresses.
Yes, anybody who can read could get the info from a newspaper. Only a small percentage will make the time and take the effort to pull files at the courthouse. Fewer still will be persistent after the first week or two. That's what makes it profitable; very few will be pulling this info and competing with you.
... I think Ga may have different laws.. I have the county paper from Tuesday in front of me, I see:
...
2. Notice to debtors and creditors
...
7. Petition for letters of administration notice
...
The items you listed originally, but that I excluded, are all some form of foreclosure notice IMO. Item 2 does occur with probate, but it also might occur in foreclosure (if law requires notice to junior lien holders for example). Item 7 is definitely probate related.
Interior Designer/Home Stager · Dallas, GA · Member since 2013 · 202 posts · 9 votes
13y
bank you Rick, Steve and David! I do plan in heading down to the. Outhouse to use their computer and pull cases, but I think I have to know at least names first? I can't know that if I can't even tell what's a probate or not.. Lol!! I think I will give no. 7's a shot though and see if get lead anywhere.. And I'll definitely take your advice as well David! Thank you! :D
Real Estate Investor · Corpus Christi, TX · Member since 2013 · 5 posts · 1 vote
13y
Do you all use these listing sources for most of your leads? I have had a hard time getting any motivated sellers on my list to even approach and thinking about spending money to get one of these lists. I am in the military and my free time fluctuates to deal with investing but am motivated, just wondering if the price of the leads are worth the cost of the list.
Listsource is the best place in my opinion to get AO lists. But you have to be in a position to mail consistently to these folks, and then take the calls and follow up. If you are too busy to do that then I wouldn't spend the money.
For the most part, I have found purchased lists to be terribly expensive for probates, and I am lucky I can get those leads easily.
I appreciate the input Sharon! Do these lists give you solid leads assuming you follow up? My brother and I have been pretty "cheap" with leads and I am thinking its time to take the next step and start spending money on marketing and leads than just perusing through criagslist adds.
Goshen, KY · Member since 2009 · 835 posts · 683 votes
13y
Douglas -
Any list is only as good as the parameters you set. And, there will be some "mistakes" on every list. Here an median sales price is in the 140K range. So here are my parameters:
Out of state absentee owners for the counties of ... You fill in the blanks. (I get two)
Value of 50k to 250K
50% equity or more
No corporate or trust owned (some people get trusts)
Leave out the zip codes for bad areas
You have to set your parameters for your area, but you want at least 50% equity. Listsource is the only company I know of that has that equity piece of the puzzle. There may be others but I am not familiar with them. I don't use the "owned for ... years" piece. Some folks pay cash on day one.
Interior Designer/Home Stager · Dallas, GA · Member since 2013 · 202 posts · 9 votes
13y
yep!! So, this is what I found out.. I was at the deed office today.. Hey sent me upstairs to the probate office first.. To look up the estates first, get a list, then come back down to the deed office to search those names to see if real estate was involved! Whew! Well, I visited both places, and still couldn't quite figure out how to print a list, the computer would only allow you to search a name.. There were also TONS of huge books there, but I have to figure out how to use those! :D
Keep plugging I love your attitude. So many people come on here, ask for help, then disappear only to never be seen again. You're actually taking action which is amazing and rare. I don't know you but I'm proud of you!!! KEEP PLUGGIN!