All Forum Posts by: Seth Williams

Hi Lance Miller, you are correct, there are a lot of variables in a successful postcard campaign. The content of the postcard is key - but it's just one of many facets.

A "good" postcard is relative to who is judging it - but I believe it has to do a couple key things:

1. Grab Attention (this doesn't necessarily mean being "flashy" - it just needs to look different than all the other garbage that people get in the mail every day)

2. The Message Needs to MATTER (You need to anticipate the needs of who you're mailing to. This isn't always easy to do UNLESS your list is targeted appropriately. i.e. - If you're blasting mail out to every single property owner in 12345 zip code - writing a meaningful an applicable message will be difficult, because there is nothing unique about mailing to everybody).

I use a few different formats for my postcards (depending on who I'm mailing to), but one of the most common formats I use is the double-sided template. One side of the postcard is the "Attention Grabbing" side, and the other is a "Personal Letter" side.

For example, on the "Personal Letter" side, I might say something like this:

*************

"To Whom It May Concern:

Last week Friday, I was doing some research in the public records and noticed that you were the owner of a property in <>, <>.

Have you ever considered selling this property? If so, I WANT TO BUY IT FROM YOU!

Can you relate to any of the following issues with your property?

? Are you behind on your property taxes?
? Are you having trouble selling it?
? Do you feel burdened by this property?
? Did you inherit it, but have no use for it?
? Did you expect a “boom” in this area but it never happened?
? Does selling it seem like a hassle?

If you want to sell your property, call me anytime or visit our website at www.*******.com. We can pay you CASH and close quickly!

Sincerely, <>"

**************

I also have some graphics and hand-drawn arrows that I created, which go on both sides of the postcard (and they really make the mail piece POP).

It's worked pretty well for me so far - but again, the copy is only part of the equation. The way my lists are targeted is probably the most important factor. If you're not mailing to the right people, it doesn't matter what you say. The message really needs to apply them - if it doesn't, you'll just be throwing money out the window.

Hope that helps.

Thanks for your ideas Paul Falbo and Will B., those are great questions to help dig even deeper. Being property managers, it's good to have insights from the people who know WAY more than I do about what to watch out for.

Kelly G. - I honestly don't even know what my property manager carries... those are issues I didn't even think about until I saw that question suggested in this thread. I guess I'll have to get them a call this morning and find out!

And thanks Ali Boone! I love reading your stuff as well - you have a great blog going. If I can help you out with anything, just let me know.

Hey Joe Delia, I hear ya. It's amazing the kind of shift we've seen in Michigan over the past 12 months. Pretty exciting to see this kind of activity after working in a depressed market for such a long stretch of time.

I've got family in Rochester Hills and Utica, btw. Both nice places.

Thanks for pointing that out Brian Hoyt - let me clarify that a bit.

The words "at a discount" don't appear on my mailer - but neither do the words "fair offer". My postcards talk specifically about the ways I can help the property owner with a number of possible scenarios that they are likely dealing with (I can do this because my lists a pretty targeted, and there are some known facts about the people I'm contacting).

The words "at a discount" ARE mentioned specifically in my voicemail message (which is what I was referring to above - sorry if I was too vague on that). So before a prospect even has a chance to leave me a voicemail (and before I spend any time talking to them), they already know that if we end up doing business, I'm not going to be sending them a FMV offer.

Does that make sense?

P.S. - I've bought somewhere in the neighborhood of 50+ properties using this kind of communication in my postcards and voicemail system.

Finding the right property manager is a big decision that will have a HUGE impact on the success (or lack thereof) of your rental business.

In my conversations and experience with a number of property managers, I've found that some of them are EXPERTS who are very good at what they do, while others are total amateurs... the kinds of people you should be afraid to do business with.

So how do you find the right property manager?

When I first got into rental properties, one of my colleagues (her name is Renee) shared a system with me that she developed for finding and screening property management companies. It boils down to a series of informative questions that reveal how qualified a management company really is, and how effective they are likely to be at managing your particular property.

I used these exact questions to find my current property manager, and they worked like a charm. I was able to screen them and thoroughly understand who I was dealing with, and I couldn't be happier with the result.

If you're looking for a property manager and you don't know where to start, I'd suggest contacting a few different property managers and asking them the following questions...

General Background:
• What type of properties do you typically manage? (single family homes, apartments, commercial, etc.)
• How many units does your company currently manage?
• How long have you been in the property management business?
• How many rental properties do you own personally?

Regarding the property you intend to purchase:
• What areas of town are good rental markets that seem to have a low vacancy rate?
• If you were to invest in a property right now, what areas/neighborhoods would you focus on and what type of properties would you go for? Why?
• What is the average vacancy rate in this area?
• What is unique or special about this area? Are things getting better or worse? Does this strike you as a good investment property?

Management Related:
• How many people are on your staff? Describe how your company’s work is divided and/or the number of units each person manages.
• Describe your tenant screening process.
• Describe your eviction process from the first day rent is late.
• What is defined as the tenant’s responsibilities in the lease agreement? (cleaning, furnace filters, yard care, etc.)
• What limit is set for your property owners to approve expenditures?
• Are repairs/maintenance paid at cost, or at cost plus? (marked up)
• Describe the ways you are able to improve an owner’s profit. (increase rent without losing tenants, share late fees, etc.)
• Describe your fee structure and what is included or excluded. (advertising, leasing fees, etc.)
• Can I see a copy of your paperwork/reports/lease agreements?
• Request 3 references.

Frank Geneski, if you're trying to weed out the people who want top dollar for their property, I'd suggest eliminating any talk about giving them a "fair offer".

What's "fair" in their eyes will probably be completely different than what's "fair" in your eyes. I used to say this kind of thing in my letters too, until I noticed that A LOT of the people calling me were expecting a full market offer from me (which I had no intention of giving).

The truth is, I'm trying to get their property for as cheap as freaking possible - so in my letters and voicemail message, I take every opportunity to come right out and tell them, "I'll make your life very easy IF you're willing to sell your property AT A DISCOUNT." Don't hide the fact that you're looking to pay a very low price for their property (this is one of the first things I tell people on every phone call).

I don't want any misunderstandings, ever. If they have unrealistic expectations of what I'm trying to do, it will end up wasting a lot of my time and get their hopes up for no reason (which will leave them angry at me in the end).

Remember, your service will only strike a nerve with a small segment of the people you're mailing to - so don't be bashful about steering the wrong people away. The people who do need your service won't be scared off when you tell them that you intend to buy for cheap.

I've been using a service called AgentPro247.com for the past few years now. It's not perfect, but it's the best solution I've been able to find. In addition to allowing you to pull lists (for direct mail purposes), you can also pull up parcel maps in most counties throughout the U.S.

Since I buy a lot of vacant land properties, parcel maps are EXTREMELY important to me, because without a parcel map - there is usually no other indicator as to where each property is (other than wild guesses). AgentPro247 has been a huge help in this area.

Essentially, it takes all of the GIS data from around the country and compiles it into one platform.

I think they've got a free trial, and if you want to use it long-term, the price is also pretty reasonable at $20/mo.

If it looks like something useful, I've got a coupon code you can use too (which will bring the price down even further). Just let me know if you need more info.

Nick Meister & Dawn A., tax delinquent owners aren't difficult to find if you're looking in the right places. Most of the properties I buy aren't listed on the MLS, and while it does take a little bit of searching to find them - they are a HUGE goldmine of equity when you do. The method I use certainly isn't the only way, but feel free to colleague me if you're interested and I can give you the low-down on how I do it.

Also - regarding the property manager issue, here is a short dissertation outlining my thoughts on that...

If I didn’t have access to a good, competent property management company, I wouldn’t have even considered buying rental properties in the first place, that’s the honest truth.

Knowing that I can pay someone a very fair portion of my revenue to handle ALL the headaches that rental properties are known for - is a total game-changer.

Here's what you have to ask yourself:

A. Do you want to create a job for yourself managing properties?

or

B. Do you want to build a significant portfolio of passive income from rental properties?

It's not easy to do both simultaneously, because both are time-consuming tasks (especially A). My goal is to do the latter (B) because I don't want the money to stop coming in once I stop working. I want streams of income for a lifetime.

I’ve heard the arguments that new investors make. They just buy their first rental house or duplex and they don’t want to give away 10% of their rent revenue to a management company.

I understand where they're coming from, but I think they're missing some very important points. Just consider some of the benefits that come with hiring a management company:

- You don’t have to deal with any of the tenant headaches. Most of the time, you don’t even need to know who your tenants are! My management company screens each tenant and makes sure they’re going to be a good occupant and make their rental payments, they handle the time-consuming parts of the job and they deposit money directly to my account every month. I spend about 2 minutes per month thinking about my rentals while the money builds up in my bank account over time. Showings, screenings, house visits and evictions are all handled by my property manager while I'm out living my life.

- You don’t have to be a handyman. Management companies are experts at repairs and maintenance. They know how to do these things quickly and inexpensively because they do these jobs every day. Generally speaking, your management company will know more about how to streamline this process than you will ever be able to learn on your own.

- With a management company running your rental business, you can invest in properties anywhere in the world! Logistically speaking, if you live in New York, there is no reason you can’t buy a property in California and turn it into your own personal cash cow. Just because you can’t drive by and see it every day doesn’t mean it can’t produce a significant stream of income AND be managed better than you could ever do it by yourself. The whole premise behind a management company is to allow you to go about your life without having to deal with the hands-on issues of managing real estate. With a management company in the mix, it makes no difference whether the property is across the street or halfway around the world.

- Management companies can bring a ton of value to the table and can actually help you make better investment decisions. They really are in your corner because if you do well, they do well. Every time I buy a new rental property, I have MANY ongoing conversations with my property manager, getting tons of free consulting from an expert who knows the neighborhood better than I do. They tell me what kind of rent revenue I can realistically expect to make (which coincidentally, is almost always less than what the seller told me), what kinds of issues and costs I can expect to deal with, what the neighborhood is really like, and if they think I’m getting it for a reasonable deal. This information, (coming from a credible source like my management company) is a HUGE benefit that I wouldn’t have access to if I was trying to manage this whole operation on my own.

- If you bought your rental property the right way, the monthly management fee is already baked into your cash flow. Each property should be designed to support the cost of a property manager (because SOMEONE will have to do the job, even if it's you!). Before you make any decision to buy, you should always make sure you can afford to cut out 10% for property management and still show solid cash flow.

Ryan Halverson - what made you throw out this listing? Do you have some inside knowledge about it or something?

I know the realtor on this deal, was just curious what made you take notice of it.

Most of my purchases have been from owners of tax delinquent property (which tends to make them VERY motivated to sell). No real estate agents involved. I buy properties for very cheap and then re-sell them a few weeks/months later for a nice mark up.

I own a duplex on the NW side of GR and it cash flows pretty well. We're in the process of buying a SFR house in Wyoming as well. Our rentals are managed by a property management company, so they handle 100% of the fix-ups that are required (a good property manager is worth their weight in gold).

I'm no handy man either, so it helps to have the right connections with people who can make that part of the job easy for me.