All Forum Posts by: Eric Clifft

Same problem as above. I’ve been banned. Possible to help with this? 

Thanks for the insight, Ellis.  I do think I'd be more likely to respond to a piece sent directly to me at my home address vs. forwarded to me from another address and without my name.  I realize though that my intuition may not be of much use here.  Perhaps if people are motivated to sell a property and like my value proposition, I will be contacted either way?

Kevin, that really is the heart of the question.  If that does happen reliably in practice, option 2 would be the way to go for me.  I just don't have any sense for how it will work out in real life.

Hi All,

Well, I've put together a great CRM with Podio, hired a VA in India, outsourced my mailing, budgeted thousands for direct mail, and am all set to target inherited property in the Austin, Texas metropolitan area. Pretty exciting. I have a tough decision to make though regarding my data and marketing strategy and just don't have enough experience to make it intelligently. Thus, this post. Hope someone experienced in this type of prospecting can shed some light on the matter.

Option 1:
Travis County probate data is online in its entirety. I have trained a VA in India to research these cases and input data into my CRM, which automates workflow / followup. The process of research is cumbersome and time consuming; however, it results in address and phone numbers for living family members. Often the addresses of administrators is different from the property of the deceased.

Option 2:
I have recently come across another method of acquiring data that would encompass a larger number of properties: those in probate but also those where someone has passed with a living trust or in a situation where there is joint ownership of a property.  Unfortunately, only the property address of the deceased is available in this data set though, so I would not have phone numbers and effectively be sending mail to family members (without their name on the letter) at the address of the deceased.

My question: What can I expect, in terms of response rate to direct mail, from option 1 vs. option 2?  In other words, will there be higher rates of response mailing to someone at their home address vs. mailing to them (without their name) at the address of the deceased person?  If rates are similar, option 2 would allow me to increase the potential number of deals while decreasing complexity.  If rates are higher with option 1, perhaps it makes sense to stay in this niche even with the greater hassle of acquiring the contact information.

All thoughts greatly appreciated although this doesn't seem to be the sort of thing that can be reasoned out.  I really need to hear from those who have experience running direct mail campaigns for inherited property.  Thanks!