All Forum Posts by: Chrissy Parsons

EDDM can save on postage, but you will be mailing to EVERYONE! Homeowners and renters with all types of property. Because there are no filters, you can expect calls from people who might own homes that you wouldn't want to buy.

MD is a pretty competitive market, so the Absentee Owners might already be getting several offers every month from other investors. If you want to stay local, you might consider working with a list broker who can offer some suggestions. 

If as @Russell Brazil says that Preforeclosure is off limits for MD, then a good alternative is people with low Financial Stability Scores (FSS). These are not credit rating derived, so there are no restrictions to their use. Of course, as with all mail campaigns, you should never have wording in your mail piece that indicates that you have personal information about them or what you used to pull the list. 

@Jacob K. What sort of direct mail leads are you hoping to get? MD is a pretty hot market. You might consider getting in touch with a list broker who can make some suggestions - and won't get you tied up with a subscription.

You might consider splitting things up so you have more flexibility. Work with a list broker who can help with several segments and a separate printing/mailing company that has options with several different mailers.

@Venesha Bowden You might try mixing up your target audience. If your market is competitive, the same absentee owners you are mailing to might already be getting several offers a month. Consider working with a list broker who can suggest segments like Seniors with 20+ year Ownership. They are very often ready to downsize or transition to assistance.

Who will you be mailing to? Chicago is a pretty crowded market. You might split your list in a couple segments - perhaps Absentee with high equity, Seniors with 15 year ownership and Homeowners with Low Financial Stability Scores.

@Seva Chilinciuc - You are in a pretty hot market. It could be that the same Absentee Owners you are mailing to are getting plenty of offers.

@Michael Quarles - Do you only mail to the absentee owners or do you also look at targeted owner occupied, such as seniors with 20+ year residence or homeowners with low Financial Stability Scores.

It might make sense to get a brand new list. In addition to property sales, you have the issue of owner moves. Not all list vendors run their data through the National Change of Address (NCOA).

@Brett Michael direct mail can be a good way to find deals, once you get the list right. Seniors are a good target because they can be ready to downsize or transition to assistance. However, as you can see from the multifamily house you found, that quite often a family member might live  in the building. This can detract from the motivation to sell.

In general I don't recommend owner occupied multi-family as their monthly cost of living might actually go up when they lose the rental income and start paying rent.

Consider working with a list broker who can make suggestions for alternative lists rather than going on to an online system and getting the same list that everyone else is getting.

Sounds like you are in a competitive market. It's quite possible that some of the Absentee Owners could be getting multiple letters every month (sometimes weekly).