All Forum Posts by: Colby Hager

@Shawn Ackerman

Thanks for the post.

I think sub2 should be quite lucrative in the next few months for those who understand how to properly execute.

@Michael Steele

When it comes to driving for dollars specifically, once you have your properties that you have found, you are correct, you need to contact the owners. There are many ways to do this. You have to find the way that works best for you. Once you have their contact information, you need to reach out to them.

There are many ways to contact the homeowners. Yellow letters are popular, any form of mailing with the exception of postcards in this instance. Also, you can call them directly if you have obtained their phone number. You can also email if you have gotten their email address. Likely you will want to use a combination of all these methods. Persistence is probably more key than anything. I have written several blog posts on this exact topic. You can see where to find them in my profile.

Good luck!

@Will Barnard

Couldn’t agree more. Well said

@Shane Colar I use my favorite list, appended with data from Cole Realty, have someone calling using mojo triple line. Callback number feeds into CallRail for people who text back etc.

@Trustcia Cogdell have you called them? You can get access. They do have strict requirements. They will tell you what they are and they include an on site visit to your location. Additionally you have to be ok with not disclosing your true intentions as for the use of the information. If you are ok with that, then you can peruse their site and determine how you are going to position yourself in terms of your need for their services.

@Erica Gregory

Can you back out? Sure why not?  But you will likely lose your deposit.  What do the documents say?  With most wholesalers in my experience, the deposit is non-refundable.  Due diligence should have been done prior to signing a contract and making a deposit.

If this is your first deal and you have these concerns, maybe purchasing from a wholesaler isn't the best option.  It can be a good option if you are confident in your own numbers, not the wholesaler's numbers.  A good wholesaler will provide you with good numbers but that is the exception and not the rule.  

@Jessica Holman honestly, the best yellow letter is the simple one. I’ve mailed thousands of yellow letters. You can jazz them up all you want. There’s really no need. Just a simple my name is jessica, my husband and I drove by your house at whatever address. We want to buy your house. Is it for sale? Please call me at phone number.

I’ve split tested that exact verbiage against almost anything you can think of. Nothing beats it. It’s so simple, you probably won’t use it.

Even if you do though, yellow letters aren’t the magic they used to be. They used to be almost guarantee a deal. Now they pretty much guarantee a low response rate.

You’ll be tempted to blame it on your copy. And if you don’t follow my advice, it may be your copy. But the truth is, too many of your competitors are sending out some iteration of the same thing. Postcards that are made to look like yellow letters.

Someone should come up with the 2020 version of the the 2002 yellow letter.

As a side note, the envelope is almost as important. Your letter has to get opened right?

Sending it to the right people is probably more important than the actual copy. A real motivated seller that you catch at the right time isn’t going to care much about your phraseology.

Best of luck!

Best of luck.

@Ryan Ray I use them. Pixel as well. Have had good success with them. However after learning all I could, which is what I like to do, I turned everything over to a professional to manage in a way better than I have time for.

@Ryan Janssen

I don’t know if I totally agree that you have to mail thousands of letters to get a deal. When I first started this business I worked super specialty lists and probate was a part of my efforts.

I’ve also mailed thousands of postcards per week to lists that I paid thousands for. I don’t love that method but at this point, I don’t have the time to manage the specialty lists.

You can have success mailing 70 letters, but the HAVE to be the right letters. And what has to happen before anyone ever sees any letter?

They have to open the envelope.

So the envelope is equally as important at the letter. Open rate is key. So get that down. Make it so the is NO WAY and I mean NO WAY that envelope goes unopened.

70 probate leads also leaves me lacking enough information to know if they are the right 70.

Generally speaking, a small segment of the population is ever going to sell to you anyways. The fact that they are in probate DOES NOT mean they are pre-disposed to sell to an investor.

So...

You need to further sift your probate leads.

@Neil Schindel sounds like you are going above and beyond. If you are concerned(I dont think you should be) get an attorney to create an addendum stating you are buying under value, plan to make money, and seller could get more by selling on mls. That should take care of that. Hope it’s a good deal for you. Sounds like seller is getting exactly what he wants/needs