All Forum Posts by: Dev Horn

Hey Sean Katona - how's it going? Most investors we work with avoid manufactured & mobile homes unless the land itself is of value (which does not apply in a mobile home park).

Now California is different, so I hope you will get some local perspective - and it may differ from mine which is fine. But, in principal, most investors would avoid going down that trail...

Interesting point Jenkins Ramon. We're actually working on a postcard that presents two options: (1) Buy your house FAST for CASH, or (2) List your house to get TOP DOLLAR -- as we have licensees that are both investors and brokers. I'm not sure how that piece will look yet, but I'm intrigued by the challenge of presenting both options in a direct mail piece....

EVERYONE markets to absentee owners. Definitely recommend it, as they are great leads, but if they are your ONLY leads just know the audience will be getting a lot of materials other than yours. How will you stand out? How will they remember you after receiving a few of your cards or letters?

It could be branding or messaging or appearance or some combination of those things that makes your piece memorable. Could be a tag phrase like "I Buy on the Fly!" (just made that up for illustration) and you always put that on every piece, in the same font, in the same color, and you also snag IBuyontheFly.com so you can tie things together.

It could be a visual image, like your pieces always have a pic of an eagle on them or whatever. Just think about how to be unique when you are executing a strategy that MANY others are doing with almost the exact same message....

This is a very broad question, almost like asking "What food do you like?"

Probably the cheapest, most effective, and most potentially illegal form of marketing for RE investing is BANDIT SIGNS. Love 'em or hate 'em, they work. But these days, you're likely to get a code enforcement violation and possibly a fine. But some people take that risk.

Direct mail is used by most investors and there is debate about which is best - postcards vs. letters, etc. The most important elements are your LIST (people with equity, absentee owners, etc.) and your messaging. Direct mail works, but you need to think of it as a campaign, not a one-time event, or otherwise you can lose serious $. At around 50 cents (loaded cost) for a large color postcard and around $1.20 for a letter, it's not cheap. But it works IF you stick with it over time.

There are many more techniques for marketing. You are welcome to look at the marketing site we provide for our licensees - might give you some good ideas:
http://marketing.webuyhouses.com

What a ridiculous comparison of apples and oranges. Like spending some time thinking about your identity, and $10 at Vistaprint to get some cards, is what is preventing you from making offers. Makes absolutely no sense.

Identity is important, unless you will play the "I'm just a dude looking for a house" game in your marketing (which generates the WRONG kind of calls).

Are you creating a business here? Then RUN IT like a business. I can tell you from working with MANY successful investors throughout this country - the successful ones treat this like a business. With a name. And - GASP! - they have BUSINESS CARDS! What a WASTE....

Hey Brian Porter - I'm wondering if you might want to remove some of the RE investor "lingo" such as "fix and flip" and "rehab". You don't necessarily need to explain your plans - why would they care? Just explain what's important to them. "I'm am looking to purchase a house in your area. Are you interested in selling?...". Just a thought.

My other thought is, how are you coming up with your list? Are you targeting potential motivated sellers? I wouldn't want to waste much time talking to unmotivated sellers that might expect full price of their house.

You may want to consider an out-going message that is more specific to the motivated seller - "Need to sell your house fast? Does it need repairs that prevent you from selling it? NO PROBLEM! My name is Brian, and I buy houses as-is, for CASH...."

RUN FOR THE HILLS!

But seriously, it just sounds way too complicated. I think, as an investor, you want to be careful not to try to solve every problem. If I were you, I would make a cash offer, put a time limit on it, and let them accept or reject it. It doesn't make sense for them to go get another mortgage (with closing costs, etc.) just so they can sell the house.

Hey Justin Silverio - check out this blog that Danny Johnson (BP member) did on the "script" for the call - it's pure gold:

http://www.flippingjunkie.com/2012/15-essential-questions-you-should-be-asking-sellers

Absentee owners is a great list, but it also is heavily marketed to (in most areas). It's still probably the best list to use when you're just starting out and if you have a limited budget. Like probates, you want to stay in contact with absentees over time as they may not be immediately motivated.

Beyond that, and to expand your target market, you can go after owners with equity. For mailing lists, Click2Mail has a "loan to value" filter you can use for the this. Listsource.com has "% Equity" - that filter costs an extra 10 cents per record there, but they claim their data is the most accurate.

I took a call in our office last week from someone in a very similar situation that said "I'll sell it for a $1 just to get rid of the headache" (which in this case, was the annual TAX BILL, in addition to the other holding costs & need for repairs).

These deals are out there. "Marketing" puts you at the right place at the right time to find them. Congrats on yours, Ezinwanne Hawkins!