All Forum Posts by: Matthew B.

@Nick G. 

I've been mailing to Lake County + Deland. 

I purchased my one deal last October and I'm just about to list on the MLS. It was occupied by a tenant who had a lease, so we had to wait him out and eventually evict him. The seller lived several hours away in Florida and sold just because she didn't want to deal with the tenant any longer. They were once friends and things went bad.

I bought it for $70,000. It's a 3/2, 2,000 sq. ft. with 2 car garage in Sorrento. We rehabbed pretty much everything. I think we've spent about $40,000 on it. I comped it out at $150,000 - $160,000, but we're in the process of having it appraised to be sure. Should be on the MLS sometime next week.

@Michael Quarles 

I was actually just listening to you on the podcast, which made me think of this. Would your list criteria be the same for absentee owners and owner occupied properties?

Today I was thinking about my direct mail results for the past 9 months:

14,000 pieces mailed = 1 deal

I've been mailing to absentee owners. They seem to fall into one of several categories.

(1) Snowbirds (because I'm in Florida) - they have no interest in selling, although they always respond and ask how much I would give them. 

(2) Other investors - they do not want to sell unless they can get twice what they paid and would rather hold the house and collect rent.

(3) Lunatics.

I rarely ever come across a house that is run down. They all seem to be in very good shape. Everyone also tells me they routinely receive direct mail from dozens of other investors.

So I'm thinking, why not mail to owner occupied properties? It seems like it would be worth a try. I know every area is different, and in my area the absentee owner pool seems to be suboptimal. 

Any thoughts?

Someone else posted just recently saying he had the cops called on him for sending a letter...

People have WAY too much time on their hands. Seriously.

Like @Cal C. said, look at it as entertainment. Direct mail is a numbers game. The more you send, the more deals you'll get, and the more crazies you'll talk to. Enjoy!

@Jolynna Mccune 

Cover the windows so that no one can see inside and see that the house is empty. Get some lights and set them on timers to go on and off throughout the night. The type of timers that people use for Christmas lights work great. Get an old boombox and set it on a timer as well, day and night. Be sure to turn up the volume so it can be heard outside the house. Find an old tube TV with an antenna and let it run. If you have blinds covering the windows, the flickering of the TV will make people think there is someone inside. Security system signs work as well, whether or not the system is actually installed.

Also, make friends with the neighbors and ask them to keep an eye out for your house. I trimmed a neighbor's trees for her and told her I just wanted her to watch my house when I wasn't around. She repaid me by calling the police on my electrician when she wasn't able to reach me on the phone! Better safe than sorry I guess.

@Kelly Miller 

I have no idea how your state and county works, but this is how I do it in Lake County, Florida.

My county allows you to access court records via their website. I can see the date the probate case was filed, the deceased person's name, the name of the personal representative, etc. What I can't see is the contact information for the personal rep. You actually have to go to the courthouse and log in on one of their computers to see the PDF files that contain that information. It cannot be viewed over the internet.

I cross reference the deceased names with the county property appraiser's website prior to going to the courthouse. Once I have a list of all the probate cases with real estate, I go in and find the PR addresses and enter them into my database. It takes some time, but they can be higher quality leads than what you get with the oversaturated absentee owner lists.

Hopefully this helps you somewhat!

What are the police gonna do? There's no crime to charge you with. Unless asking people if they would like to sell their house is a crime. 

Most of the airheads that cause these problems have entirely too much time on their hands and they use it to inconvenience other people.

Don't sweat it. You're gonna run into a lot of ignorant people, especially in this business.

Unless you're not telling us something, you're not doing anything wrong. I wouldn't worry about it. Although you are in the strange land of California...

@Nathan J. 

Don't go very far to find your first property. Maybe after you have some more experience, but not now. The reason I say this is because your first couple deals are going to be the trial and error ones. It's a learning experience, and learning becomes a bigger hassle when it's further away. Get some local experience, then as you start to figure things out and understand how everything works you can look for deals in other areas.

On their website, Zillow admits that their Zestimates are within 5% of market value only 50% of the time. You could direct sellers there.

When sellers are so fixated on a number like that, I just tell them to take a week and do some research. Ask some real estate agents, etc. If they're really motivated they will, and they'll realize their property isn't worth as much as Zillow says it is.