All Forum Posts by: Christopher Vaughn

PM sent :)

Hello fellow BP Members,

I'm a wholesaler in the Seattle area and focus primarily on homes that are in foreclosure. I'm curious if anyone uses the tactic of sending direct mail that is in the form of unsolicited offers to get distressed properties under contract. I'm talking about sending the actual purchase and sale agreement to the homeowner. IE (Release Form, Forms 21, 22D, 35, and 22J if the property is older than 1978). 

Do you do this or something like it? What have the results been? 

Any thoughts or info is appreciated so thank you in advance.

Cheers, Chris

I've used Godaddy for years one a few different businesses and personal sites. Probably not the cheapest anymore but I've always had an easy time creating sites with them and never have an issue with their customer support when needed.

My current capture page was made with them.

I do this if I'm not able to find a current phone number and haven't been able to make contact by knocking on the door. I always do it as a message during a friend request. Usually it looks like this:

"Sorry to reach out on FB but I've been trying to contact you and haven't been able to get through. I work with Capture Realty I noticed that (trustee name) is your trustee and I've negotiated with them for several of our clients. I'd be happy to do the same for you if you'd like. Feel free to contact me anytime. Cheers, Chris (phone number)"

And that's it. I never say too much about their situation and never say foreclosure or auction. It's 50/50 on if they respond but those who do usually will start a dialog and you'll likely get the working phone number that isn't listed.

I'm going to have them say that they won $250. It would be a cash reward that would only be given to them after the deal closes, if the deal doesn't close and falls apart for some reason the prize would be voided. It will definitely be an added expense that would come out of my commission in the end, but for families that are already struggling, that extra $250 after they have just gotten out from under a bad situation might be a big help (groceries, catch up on a bill, maybe do something fun to celebrate).  Plus, its a lot easier to ask for a good review when the last interaction you've had with a client is handing them $250 in cash lol

Hello fellow BP'ers! 

I'm planning on starting a direct mail campaign and was hoping I can get some input from those who have tried this. I'm looking at using a scratch-off style of postcard with an incentive to get the homeowner to bite at the call to action. I know lots of wholesalers use yellow cards, hand written letters, etc in their direct mailing and some with good results... but I haven't seen or heard of anyone using a scratch-off style of card. I like the idea of the potential client interacting with the mailer added with an incentive to actually take part in the call to action.

Anyone here on BP tried these? If so, how was the response?

I attached the mock up designs I made on Publisher for the front and back. 

I'm sure some of you may have heard of this but I know there are many who haven't looked into this yet.

Proximity marketing has been used by large retail stores for a couple years now. Walmart, Kroger, Rite Aid to just name a few. Using Google's "nearby" feature they have a notification appear on your phone when you are in range.

That technology is now available on a very mobile platform.

The Asirvia Go proximity beacon is about the size of a car key fob. It gives you the marketing power of a 40 character message and clickable link on EVERY Bluetooth enabled Android device within 300 feet.

Take it with you and passively generate leads. Get several and 10X your marketing reach without killing your budget.

At the moment Asirvia has their beacon priced 50% off, I'm not sure when that will change but those who join now will be grandfathered in at the current prices.

Speaking of which... they start at only $25 a month... That's roughly $0.83 a day per beacon to reach thousands and passively generate leads.

I have my own marketing consultancy agency and the Asirvia Go has quickly become my main product for my clients.

I use the Asirva 4 ways to generate income for my business:

1) marketing my own business

2) as a marketing tool for my clients

3) Asirvia' affiliate program 

4) leasing ad space on strategically placed beacons in high traffic areas.

Here's an example of how one of my clients is using her Asirvia Go

Message: "WHAT A VIEW!!!"

Link: takes them to a short walkthrough video of the property

If you'd like to explore using proximity marketing for your real estate business please visit the site or send me question

Http://www.asirvia.com/b2cninja

Sadly me being the newb and a little on the desperate side.... just got scammed a little. I was looking to purchase a rental property to produce some cash flow and was contacted on Linkedin by someone, Joe Hicks (https://www.linkedin.com/in/joe-hicks-b8a5a8133). we emailed back and forth a few times and I decided to give private lending a go. We agreed on a loan of $50k 25yrs @ 5%. Everything seemed good, then came the application fee of $940. I stupidly figured why not, $940 for $50k is worth it. Made the transaction and was told funds would be deposited... then this morning I woke up to an email stating that he needed a loan collateral fee of $1850 and that was the only thing pending for the deposit.

emailed back and forth and he came down to $650. I requested a phone call and finally got him on the phone, voice doesn't match his Linkedin photo. 

Start doing more digging and I'm seeing red flags. Like a person named Brian Darisay (https://www.linkedin.com/in/briandarisay) who happens to have almost the identical bio.

At least the damage is less than $1k but damn it stings, especially when you don't have a lot of money and now I likely will need to back out of the deal. 

I'm going to be in a similar situation with a rental I'm buying. Rent is about $100 below the area norm. I'd like to raise the rents to just below the norm to keep the current tenants if possible. Is it possible/wise to have a rent increase in steps? Maybe write in the new lease that rent will be raised $25 over four months to equal a total of $100? Just thinking it may not be as big a scare to the current tenants, especially if the area your rental is in tends to be lower income.

Thoughts?

@Akachi Azubuike

What management company are you using. I'm buying a rental in Flint and looking for a good PM