All Forum Posts by: May Emery

@Mike S. Complete Mailing Lists (CML) has lists of licensed professionals - including realtors. This is based on the state board data so they don't have email for everyone. It's not cheap, but worth a try.

ListSource in an online tool so you need to know what you want. Lots of people have had very good luck with it.  You might think about working with a list broker who can guide you through the process and make suggestions for your market. DC is a pretty competitive market - you won't want to be mailing to the same people that all the other investors are sending offers to.

Also, check that the list you get has been run through the National Change of Address (NCOA) so you aren't wasting postage.

@Emil Harjic It is just as good an idea to mail motivated sellers for your own house as it is for investors. I have worked with people buying a big list for their investment business then really narrowed in criteri to fit just the house they personally want.

As for the letter, I think that it is creepy and risky to put in an asking price. The Zestimates don't know what shape the house is in. Maybe they have great kept up on maintenance and put in a new kitchen. Maybe they need a new roof and have ceilings that are falling down because of the leak.

Think about focusing your letters to certain segments of the population. One good one is Seniors with Long-time Ownership. With a list, you can specify home value, purchase date, equity, bedrooms etc.

Good luck!

@Aaron Peterson I agree with all of the above. Be sure to give the recipient every opportunity to contact you. 

Your name on the return address can make it more personal, even if you have a PO Box instead of your house. 

What list are you sending to?

@Nakia Jay It can certainly be easier to work in your backyard. Think about working with a list broker who can work with you on finding a list that isn't getting hit by every other investor in your market. LA is both competitive and expensive.

As Sean mentioned, if you are going with Absentee Owners, you want more motivating factors than just hoping they are tired of having the property. Out-of-area owners can tend to have more motivation than the ones next door.

That said, Absentee Owners, no matter how motivated, are getting a lot of offers in their mail box. In fact I heard of one response where the owner was having a special open house for just the investors who were sending her mail!

You might consider working with a mailing list broker instead of going to an on-line system. They can help tweak lists for your market. There are some owner-occupied segments with people who share motivating factors for selling their home.

Seniors with Long-time Ownership: often ready to downsize or transition to assistance.

Homeowners with Low Financial Stability Scores (FSS): Struggling financially and likely ready to cash in on their asset.

Both these categories have additional advantages in that they probably don’t haven’t been updated and may have deferred maintenance. They won’t be expecting the same money as their neighbors with the shiny new kitchen and fresh paint.

Both lists can be mixed with Absentee Owners if you don't want to put all your faith in owner occupied - and can be customized with property type and home value along with other limiting factors.

Good luck!  

@Jeff Erlewine - Great feedback!

Are you planning to repeat to the same people ? or do you have additional names on your list?

Have you thought about Seniors with Long-time Ownership or Owners with Low Financial Stability Scores?

@Alex K. If you are thinking about mail is effective, you should consider mailing to people who aren’t in every other investor’s site. Absentee Owners have been popular for a long time, and are apparently still somewhat effective (people are still mailing to them).

There are some owner-occupied segments with people who share motivating factors for selling their home. You might want to work with a list broker who can help you tweak criteria to optimize for your market.

Seniors with Long-time Ownership: often ready to downsize or transition to assistance.

Homeowners with Low Financial Stability Scores (FSS): Struggling financially and likely ready to cash in on their asset.

Both these categories have additional advantages in that they probably don’t haven’t been updated and may have deferred maintenance. They won’t be expecting the same money as their neighbors with the shiny new kitchen and fresh paint.  

@Wes Evans You should consider mailing to people who aren’t in every other investor’s site. Absentee Owners have been popular for a long time, and are apparently still somewhat effective (people are still mailing to them).

There are some owner occupied segments with people who share motivating factors for selling their home.

Seniors with Long-time Ownership: often ready to downsize or transition to assistance.

Homeowners with Low Financial Stability Scores (FSS): Struggling financially and likely ready to cash in on their asset.

Both these categories have additional advantages in that they probably don’t haven’t been updated and may have deferred maintenance. They won’t be expecting the same money as their neighbors with the shiny new kitchen and fresh paint.

A mailing list broker can help sort out the list criteria to optimize for your area.

@Jordan Feiner I agree the the folks above - when you have just a few, go knocking on doors. However, don't expect "just a few" or even 50-100 turn into much success. Marketing is a numbers game and good deals are hard to find especially in a market like Los Angeles where property is expensive and investors are prolific.

Really consider doing a full mail campaign to find off-market leads. Work with a list broker to get some potential sellers that aren't already getting a lot of offers from you competing investors. Absentee Owners is a popular list - but that means that lot of people are mailing to them. Consider alternatives like Seniors with Long-time Ownership and Homeowners with Low Financial Stability Scores.

When you send a letter - make it benefits oriented. "selling your house isn't as much work as you might think it is". Then list the advantages of working with you instead of the traditional route. 

• They don't need to get caught up on repairs
• No need to fix things up
• No need to have the house ready for strangers coming through to look at any time
• You can help suggest movers/ packing/ yard sale facilitators
• You can do the final clean-up and disposal of unwanted items.

Good luck. 

@Emma Bennett You started with a statement of "spending a lot on Marketing". Not all marketing is equal - not even all direct mail.

How are you targeting sellers and what sort of message are you sending?