All Forum Posts by: Chrissy Parsons

I think that your approach can depend on your location. I've been watching a TV show about a NYC doctor moving to a rural southern town and the hardship of fitting in. My point is that culture can make a big difference. Some areas will thrive on the personal approach - hand written letters. Others want to see just the facts and want to deal with someone who looks efficient.  

In any case, you want to make a statement of some value proposition that can make someone who might be on the fence to say - "okay, this will be easy!" Even if you are doing a hand note, think about adding a printed piece with your value that is targeted to your audience. If you are mailing to seniors, this might include: 

Get out from under on-going responsibilities and expenses of homeownership. Sell as-is, no need to repair or remodel. We can arrange for moving service to help the move. We can do the home-cleanup and arrange for someone to help sell unwanted items. 

I agree with @Eric James that if you have the time, a hand written envelop will always have a better chance of getting opened.

What sort of list are you mailing to?

Do you have a full time job? As you mention, searching out individual properties can be very time consuming. You can purchase a list where you can mix and match search criteria such as:

Absentee and/or owner occupied, purchase date (length of ownership), equity (loan to value/LTV), home value, number of properties owned, owner age (think seniors), home value and single, multi, condo.

This can save time and help you reach motivated sellers that you might not come across on your own.  

@nina vill A good alternative to bankruptcy is Homeowners with Low Financial Stability Scores (FSS).

as @Chris Seveney and @Lauren B. mentioned, owners with properties tied up in bankruptcy tend to be tied up with all sorts of legal options. Also, there are quite a few areas where the bankruptcy data is not available or next to impossible to mine.

Low FSS can be applied to a list along with property attributes so you would only be mailing to owners with property you want to buy.

@Pratik P. and @Jorge De Jesus If you want to step up the numbers on your mailing, you might consider working with a list broker to find some of the alternative lists. Seniors (ready to downsize or transition to assistance) and Homeowners with low Financial Stabilility Scores (FSS) are 2 that haven't been over-used.

Good for you starting up on your own. 

I agree with @mike debuccio that Tampa is a very crowded market and that there should be more opportunity in Cleveland.

Have you considered doing a mail campaign to find off-market leads? I ran a couple quick reports on 2 good list segments for Cuyahoga County.

ABSENTEE OWNERS with HIGH EQUITY

3,036 available

Property in the county, home value up to $250,000, single and multifamily, high equity, 5+ year ownership, one per owner

SENIORS with LOW FINANCIAL STABILITY SCORE (FSS)

1,428 available

Age 50-89, 15+ year ownership (ready to downsize or transition to assistance), owner occupied, single family home home value up to $250,000 with Low FSS.

@Grant Stucki and @Levi Lanzrath Have you thought about doing some direct mail to the off-market deals? These would be finding people who haven't listed their property but likely just need the easy button and a nudge from you to make their decision to sell.

Moving outside the city to some surrounding counties can help as well.

2 good targets for you to Consider: Absentee Owners with Equity and Seniors with 15+ year ownership.

Here are some suggestions for your area counties,

Absentee Owners: 13,256

Home value up to $300,000, single and multifamily, high equity

Senior Homeowners: 9881 available

Owner Occupied, age 60-89, single family homes, High equity, home value up to $350,000, 15+ year Ownership AND Low Financial Stability Scores (FSS)

@Jennifer White, I would reiterate @Antoine Martel 's comment. Direct mail is a good way to find properties before the owner lists the property.  There are a couple types of lists where you can choose the property characteristics you are interested in AND specify owners who share the characteristics of motivated Sellers.

Seniors with 15+ Year Ownership are often ready to downsize or transition to a living situation with assistance

Absentee Homeowners have property that they don't live in. There is a traditionally high burn-out rate as people want to get out the responsibilities.

@Pratik P. What are the lists you are using for direct mail?

@Jeffrey Crocker Do you have a plan for finding the properties? Many investors swear by direct marketing. You can combine Absentee Homeowners with Equity and Seniors with 20+ Year Ownership to find off-market leads (people who haven't put their home on the market, but are likely to be ready to)