All Forum Posts by: Patrick Milia

Thanks Michael, that makes sense. Overall, what kind of response rate were you getting from that list? I have a list of about 500 absentee owners who live out-of-state only. To me, this seems like a small list, but I intend to mail 100 per week for 5 weeks and then repeat.

Hello All,

I'm compiling an Absentee Owner List, and I have access to the owner purchase date, so I was wondering what the standard was on who to eliminate? Anyone that has purchased from today back 3 years, back 5 years, back 7 years, etc?

I can't imaging the response rate is going to be great from someone who recently purchased, but just not sure of the cut-off date to use. 

I'm interested to hear what other's are doing and the thinking behind it. Thanks.

Hello All,

Earlier this year, I decided that I was going to start mailing probate leads every other month. I've been building my list consistently every week, with a goal of finding 25-50 leads per week and sending out new letters every week. I have no problem with the initial letter, because at most I'm sending out 25 new letters twice a week, which doesn't take too much time to print, label, stuff and stamp.

When I got around to the 2nd and 3rd mailings, I dropped some leads for various reasons (asked to be removed from list, house was listed with an agent, ect), so even though it was 100+ all at one shot, it was still manageable.

Now that I'm on the 3rd and 4th mailing, even with a few leads dropping off for the same reasons as above, it's quickly becoming way too time consuming. This is only going to get worse for me, as I intend to mail these leads for a least one year, all while continuing to add new leads to the mix. I'm getting phone calls and appointments, so I know it's working, so I'm looking to outsource the printing/labeling/stuffing/stamping. It's exciting to know how much business is going to come from this, but at the same time terrifying because I feel like I'm not going to be able to continue at this pace as the quantities get larger. 

Does anyone have any recommendations on direct mail companies? I'm looking to just send the direct mail company my letter and contact list, and have them do the rest. I've also considered hiring someone local to come into my office and take the follow-up mailing off my plate, but I wanted to compare the costs of just outsourcing the whole thing to a direct mail company before bringing on an employee or independent contractor.

Thanks in advance for your suggestions.

I too am an agent in PA who was looking for a way to legally save on taxes, and reduce some of my liability when I hired an employee to assist me. A few years ago, I created an LLC and then applied to the PA state real estate commission for what's called a "qualified association". The LLC gave me the liability protection I was looking for, but there wasn't any tax break in doing it. It wasn't until this year when I switched accountants, and my new accountant recommended I create an S-Corp, then apply to the state real estate commission to have the S-Corp placed into a new "qualified association." I am currently in the process of doing that. The S-Corp offers tax breaks (I was told the annual commissions have to be over $150k for it to make sense) as long as you are paying yourself a reasonable salary ($40k-$50k). I'd be happy to recommend my accountant if you'd like.

Cynthia Robertson I too am interested in the probate niche and would like any sample letters you have. Thanks in advance!