All Forum Posts by: Joey Budka

Anyone care to share direct mail templates? I'm targeting multifamily, retail and office property owners; however, we also intend to incorporate single family lists into our marketing campaign at some point.

Also, if anyone has any advice on creative design or copywrite language, that would be greatly appreciated too!

Thanks!

Getting a head start on 2017 investing creating a SUPER AGGRESSIVE MARKETING PLAN! 

One technique will involve approaching apartment owners who recently evicted tenants. I've learned eviction information is actually publicly accessible. 

So, my questions...

• Are there lists you can buy that target landlords who recently evicted tenants?
• If yes, what service provides these lists and how accurate and recent is the info?
• If no, how can I obtain info about which properties recently had evictions?

Also feel free to mention any other innovative approaches or ideas about compiling unique marketing lists targeting commercial or apartment owners.

Thanks in advance for the feedback! 

All depends on your current financial needs, your future financial goals, and risk appetite. If you're ok with management and a little risk, I would find an off-market apartment deal (you'll need to network with apartment brokers) in the East Bay in C+ or B- neighborhood, lock in 10 year debt, and stabilize the property to maximize the pro forma potential. Or, if you're more risk averse, you can buy a NNN deal with a strong investment grade tenant, with 10-20 remaining on the lease, and cashflow stress free. You can do hard money too, make some quick profits, and wait until the market softens to buy better priced apartment assets for the long term.

@Joshua Sclafani Highly unlikely it'll pass. The idea of closing the 1031 loophole has been proposed in Congress and the Senate for decades. Never goes anywhere. The reality is it would halt real estate transaction volume, causing a stagnant market which both party's constituents don't want.

Try not to victimize yourself here... After all, are we landlords really the benevolent people you describe as "providing housing," as if we consciously prioritize the service over the profit? We do this for the money, thats the sole motivation. Unless you're running non-profit homeless shelters ;)

@Joshua Martin Thanks for the feedback. Full disclosure of licensees with regard to marketing is paramount in the state of California. Its a very litigious state. 

But I think we're on the same page. I can approach the sellers first as a cash buyer. Then, if they decline the offer, depending on their motivation and based on their feedback I can constructively guide the seller toward listing on the open market. 

Just a side note... Good work on the cold calling!!! Certainly helps to increase your conversion rates. Most BPers seem to believe that simply sending mail will get the phone ringing: the shotgun approach. But the reality is property owners are being bombarded with mail marketing all the time. Differentiating yourself with a friendly call is the difference between a 1% conversion rate and 3-5% conversion rate, which probably equates to thousands or millions more in profits. If YOUR phone  isn't ringing, make THEIR phone ring!

Here's an agent-investor marketing issue...

I'm a licensed agent and a principal. I'm getting ready to launch a direct mail marketing campaign targeting ugly properties and apartment buildings. The ultimate goal would be to acquire or flip, but inevitably circumstances will likely end up presenting themselves as opportunities to either wholesale or list properties as an agent. 

Does anyone have a similar predicament, wherein you may be able to offer multiple solutions to property owners as a buyer, wholesaler and/or agent? 

Considering operating in full disclosure as an agent: 

1. How do I approach this from a marketing standpoint? 
2. Do I need to include any info about my RE license in direct mail marketing materials? 
3. When I meet with potential sellers, how do I present myself and what do I disclose and what do I refrain from disclosing?

Thanks in advance for all the feedback!!!

@Chris Kirk No problem. Happy to share. You can get very reliable and accurate contact info for principals using LexisNexis or TLO. Do some A/B testing with the approach and let me know how it goes! 

For bigger accounts- for instance, if you're marketing to large apartment operators- I would send them the type of Fedex envelope that is guaranteed to have been received. Next day or 2nd day delivery really works. When you follow up with a phone call to the decision maker, and if the info delivered is really relevant, then I would say you have a solid chance of getting their business. I tried this approach in commercial brokerage. Although its more expensive and takes more effort, you definitely get a high ROI on your marketing compared to the "shotgun" approach. Works like a charm IMHO.

For bigger accounts- for instance, if you're marketing to large apartment operators- I would send them the type of Fedex envelope that is guaranteed to have been received. Next day or 2nd day delivery really works. When you follow up with a phone call to the decision maker, and if the info delivered is really relevant, then I would say you have a solid chance of getting their business. I tried this approach in commercial brokerage. Although its more expensive and takes more effort, you definitely get a high ROI on your marketing compared to the "shotgun" approach. Works like a charm IMHO.

I would recommend using Benchmark as your email vendor. Once you're setup, take some time to learn about email marketing techniques and best practices. I would recommend Digital Marketer as an invaluable resource for email marketing. I do online marketing professionally for a startup, and I refer to their content all the time to help me increase my email marketing skills.