All Forum Posts by: Kyle B.

Yes, really. Not sure what's so hard to believe about that. Anyways, I still plan on heading out to Elmhurst on February 7th so I will see you there.

I recently decided to focus on this area after talking with a family friend who actively invests in this area (primarily acquires SFRs, rehabs them, and then rents them out). This person is willing to help out/partner on deals I come across, hence my decision to focus on this area (plus the fact that my wife is from here).

I was interested in hearing from other BP members who are active investors in this area. How are people coming across deals in this area (bandit signs, direct mailings, foreclosures, etc.)? Are there any specific areas within NW IN that are seeing a lot of investor purchases? Are investors holding properties as rentals or rehabbing to sell at retail (assuming there is a mix, but is it weighted in a particular direction in this area)? How does Lake County, IN compare to Will County (IL) and south Cook County?

Hopefully some of these questions can spark a good discussion.

Thanks,

Kyle

Wayne - with click2mail, are you outsourcing all the work of putting and sending out the mailings? Also, are postcards cheaper to send out then standard yellow letters in an envelope? If so, do you know what this service charges for the latter? I assume it would cost more than a do-it-yourself approach since you are paying them to do the work for you.

Apologize in advance if these questions sound juvenile. I don't have much experience with direct mailings.

Thanks,

Kyle

Wayne - thanks for the detailed explanation. Just to make sure I understand this correctly, you're assumptions are that 2.5% of the letters sent out will result in a call back. And of those 2.5% that call back to inquire, 5% of those will result in an actual deal? I'm not questioning your assumptions, just wanted to make sure I'm following your train of thought.

Also, how did you come up with the letter cost of 44 cents? Isn't that the cost of the stamp alone. And then you would need to factor in purchasing an absentee owner list (or something similar) as well as envelopes and letters? Am I thinking about this incorrectly?

Thanks,

Kyle

Perry - I'm new to RE investing as well (and also from Chicago), so take my advise with a grain of salt, but I would try to hook up with an established wholesaler and offer to assist in their marketing efforts. It seems that successful investors are always looking to outsource these more repetitive tasks. Not only could you get paid for these efforts, but more importantly you could learn a whole lot about RE investing along the way.

However, it may be easier said than done to find an investor to work with. Will require a lot of networking.

Kyle

Dan - as someone who is preparing to start a yellow letter campaign, your success is very encouraging. For the absentee owner list, did you purchase these leads from Listsource? That seems to be the source of choice for a lot of wholesales on BP.

Also, how did you estimate the repairs on the properties you have under contract (and hence the price you contracted the house for)? Do you have a background in this or did you have someone help you out in this regard.

Thanks,

Kyle

Wayne - how do you know?

I imagine to get that type of return on your marketing you would have to development a very proficient yellow letter campaign. What techniques/strategies are you using? Would definitely be interested in hearing.

Thanks,

Kyle

Michael - quick question for you. What was the cost of the 500 addresses you received from Listsource? I'm assuming the cost per address goes up/down depending on the quantity you're purchasing?

Brian - your story gave me a laugh, thanks for sharing. I'm not sure everyone has this opinion, but I've always thought of hedge funds as pretty sophisticated investors. So it's interesting to hear how some are entering into the RE market with little knowledge.

Do you happen to know what size of funds are targeting these auctions? I would imaging they are much smaller ones (sub $50mm) as I can't see it making economic sense for funds larger than this spending time snatching up individual residential properties (as opposed to purchasing units in bulk).

I don't have any personal experience with hedge funds so I may be completely off base though. Brian - would be interested in hearing more about your opinion of this trend.

Thanks,

Kyle

Sadim - welcome to BP. I am fairly new to the site as well, although you have a leg up on me as I have yet to complete any deals. From my month on the site, I've already received a lot of great input from other Chicago investors so make sure to be an active poster and you will be able to make some solid connections.

Whereabouts in Chicago are you located?

- Kyle