All Forum Posts by: Jeff Warner
Jeff Warner has started 19 posts and replied 483 times.
Post: FSBO'S?
- Real Estate Investor
- North Central Arkansas
- Posts 509
- Votes 178
Originally posted by Scott M.:
3-4% is pretty rare and not really sustainable.
So assuming a 1% return isn't the waste of time that you might think it is - what can be a waste of time is:
- dealing with homeonwers who are not really motiveated to sell
- homeowners who are talking to 100 of yoru competitors
- homeowerns who lie to you (tell you there isn't a second but you find one - what else are they lying about?)
- homeowners that are getting divorced and they care more about hurting each other then working out a deal
- tracking down an absent homeowner (meaning spending hours and hours and hours on this)
- lonely people who just want to talk
And on and on and on - lots of time wasters in this biz but 1% isn't.
Use the letters that Jeff posted - make your own - use a combination - and test test test - see what pulls better for your area. Send out 4 different letters and see which one gets the best response rate.
Post cards are a double edged sword - I have had many complain to me about their privacy - but they are the cheapest - so it is give and take.
One more thing I want to point out is that Scott's success rate above is accurate and seems to be a pretty typical response rate.
The numbers I posted are real (4 letters sent, 2 replies) but not likely to continue. I feel that my success rate with these letters is not a matter of luck but a matter of how I came about the homes in which the letters we're sent. They we're all sent to homes that have been vacant for a long time (one of them has been vacant and boarded up for at least 3 years, another one more then 5) and 2 of them had owners out of state (my favorite).
I think my letter, if used properly could give other people success as well but it is by no means the only letter you should be sending. Even with the success I've had with it, I still continue to try other methods to find something that works better.
Jeff
Post: FSBO'S?
- Real Estate Investor
- North Central Arkansas
- Posts 509
- Votes 178
David, I don't mind as long as Josh doesn't. Go right ahead and give it a try.
I agree with Scott, there are a lot of time wasters. I have never used post cards but I have considered them because of the cost.
I gotta say I don't think any one letter is going to always work and I agree that you need to test multiple letters and find what works best for you.
Anyone else care to share a sample letter that is working?
Jeff
Post: FSBO'S?
- Real Estate Investor
- North Central Arkansas
- Posts 509
- Votes 178
Originally posted by nationwidepi:
Basically they stated that the letter called the homeowners home a "fixer" and implied it was in run down shape. While that may be so, it may not be the opinion of the homewoner and therefore they could take offense.
Now, that said, I have no idea what percentage of homeowners who would take offense to that, but I thought it was noteworthy. What do you all think?
Will,
I agree that some people will take offense to it. I think the reason it is working for me is because these are homes that I have seen and verified that they are in really bad shape. I don't think this letter would work well if sent to a list of homes that you have not seen. The homes that I'm marketing to right now are eyesores to say the least.
That said, some people may still take offense to it so choose your words carefully. I have a deal in the works with a lady that is out of state and has not seen the home in a few years. She knew it was bad, just not sure how bad. They had tenants that did not pay rent for 9 months and thrashed the place. Fortunately she did not take offense to it and just wants to sell.
Jeff
Post: FSBO'S?
- Real Estate Investor
- North Central Arkansas
- Posts 509
- Votes 178
Originally posted by Joshua Dorkin:
Thanks Josh, I'm happy to help.
Jeff
Post: FSBO'S?
- Real Estate Investor
- North Central Arkansas
- Posts 509
- Votes 178
Originally posted by Justin Schnettler:
Its probably not that far off, but that doesn't mean you should avoid them. FSBO are a great way to do creative deals, like sub2, lease-options, owner financing. Present them with multiple offers and you'll have a better success rate.
That's a great point. They may not be good deals for a typical wholesale but they can be good deals with other techniques.
Jeff
Post: FSBO'S?
- Real Estate Investor
- North Central Arkansas
- Posts 509
- Votes 178
Originally posted by Joshua Dorkin:
Thanks Josh, I don't mind at all. The letters I send are all hand written (in my sloppy writing) on yellow notepad paper, the envelop is handwritten as well. I tested out sending a picture of their home with the letter and that did not work, I guess they thought it was weird? My thought on that was to show them that I've actually seen the home and not obtained their info from a list source. You can try it and see if it works for you, I only sent a handful of those but I thought I'd mention it because I was somewhat surprised that it did not work.
Ok, enough rambling. Here is a sample of the letter that is working for me:
Dear Property Owner,
We are Real Estate Investors in the -(insert your area)- area and we buy houses for CASH! We noticed your property located at 123 XYZ St. and wondered if you have considered selling it?
We are not some giant corporation with an 800# that forwards to some other state. We are residents of the (insert your area) and we're looking to buy a few homes in the (insert your area). We've seen the home and we know it needs work, which is just fine. In fact, fixer uppers are what we're after.
Like I said we can pay CASH so there is no time wasted waiting for bank approval. We are genuinely interested and are eager to speak with you. Please call TODAY! We look forward to talking to you.
Sincerely,
Your Name
Your #
Keep in mind that I use my cell phone #, not an 800# and I answer my phone: "This is Jeff", not "Thank you for calling ABC Corp." The reason I point this out is because the content in the letter doesn't support a BIG company approach. In my opinion, the key to business is to be consistent with your message and how you present yourself. You need to find what works for you, for some people having a GIANT image works great, for others being the small guy is better. I've done both in business and I honestly don't have a preference. For Wholesaling, it just seemed like being the small guy would be better.
BTW, that letter is word for word and not modified in anyway.
Jeff
Post: FSBO'S?
- Real Estate Investor
- North Central Arkansas
- Posts 509
- Votes 178
Originally posted by Rudy Centeno:
I hate to throw a generic statement but it depends on your area. For example, in my area at the moment I'm not mailing to a list (which can be VERY effective if you buy the right list) I'm driving around and finding vacant, boarded up distressed properties. To find those types of properties you may have to drive an hour or more out of your area as lots of parts of the country don't have neighborhoods with boarded up houses everywhere. I'll spend a couple hours a day and write down addresses as I go, then when I get back home I go on the county site and figure out who the owner is, when they bought and the details of the house.
With that info I'll figure out comps and pick the absolute best deal and send them a letter. I'll send letters to the other ones too, but I send a different letter. Everyone goes about things differently and you will to once you find what works for you. In the last 2 weeks I sent out 4 letters, not 400 but 4. Of those 4, i've already received phone calls from 2 owners. Of those 2 I will get one deal which I'm VERY happy with.
Another option is to buy a list (list source dot com or other sites have them). With that list you can send them a letter or postcard and try to find a deal. The key is to hone in to a list of sellers that NEED to sell. Out of state owners with boarded up properties NEED to sell in most cases while out of state owners with average homes that are vacant may not NEED to sell, but may call anyway to see if your deal is worth their time. By sticking with distressed properties I find that the level of motivation is much more real and the sellers NEED to sell asap.
Sorry for the long answer to your short questions, hope that helps.
Jeff
Post: Video: The Bummer of '09
- Real Estate Investor
- North Central Arkansas
- Posts 509
- Votes 178
That was funny, good find Richard.
Jeff
Post: Estimating Rehab Cost Per SQFT
- Real Estate Investor
- North Central Arkansas
- Posts 509
- Votes 178
Originally posted by Tom Tarrant:
Tom,
That's encouraging for a guy like myself that has not done a rehab yet, especially after looking at your site and seeing the finished product. I'm very impressed, you have flipped some nice looking homes. Good work.
Jeff
Post: Real Quest - Anyone using it?
- Real Estate Investor
- North Central Arkansas
- Posts 509
- Votes 178
Originally posted by Louis Bergman:
We were able to come up with a lot of useful info while on the phone with the sellers. That allowed us to ask some pretty pertinent questions, like "How does your house differ from the in located on number 57 down the street from you?".
As with every tool you have to learn how to get the best mileage out of it. But if you combine it with what is available on Zillow and if you're lucky some pictures on windows live, you have a pretty good idea of values.
Temi is right of course, but it won't be easy to find a competent realtor every time who is willing to perform the services for free.
So I think you'll be just fine. :cool:
Thanks for the info. I think I'll see if I can get them to pull comps on a property I already know the value of so I can gauge their accuracy. Seems like a pretty nice service.
Jeff