All Forum Posts by: Shane Foster

Hey,

Do not get discouraged. It's not a failure, you just found a new way it did not work out. Everyone starting out struggles with talking to homeowners,  especially if you have no sales experience. Just be natural and try to figure out how you can help them solve their problem (they do not know you're a newbie)

Just keep on trucking, call upon FSBO's and keep marketing. Talk to as many sellers as possible to gain experience. You will find yourself getting closer to that first deal sooner, rather than later.

Good Luck,

Shane

 No worries.. Probate is a great list to keep in the tool belt. Good luck and if you need help with anything please feel free to ask.

I would not worry to much about scrubbing the list. You're just wasting time and money worry on such little things.  And while you are doing that, others will already be in the seller's ear on why they can help. You need to be in their ear first and then until they sell. Not everybody will want to sell the day they got your letter. Some just can't cope with the stress and bury their head in the sand until the state calls coming for their tax. 

When I first started with probates. I went a whole year back.  I removed the ones who lived in retirement homes and just sent the letter. Yes, some have already sold.  But surprisingly enough, the older probates are most motivated. They did receive others' marketing, but nobody followed up (huge key there). 

Do not mix your letter up. I tested this with my marketing and others in their market. We saw we had a much better response rate and closed more deals with the standard "I want to $buy$ your house" message on the first go around. Why? My theory is the people did not think we were sleazy. Mentioning the death and showing condolences is just a terrible idea, you do not want to turn off any recipient's. They do not care you're sorry, and let's be honest- you are not sorry. When they ask how we got their info, we respond the same way as always "somebody from our team was in the neighborhood and it seemed like this would be a great house for us. so we looked your information up in public records." Then they tell us why they are selling.

Do you mean yellow letter? If so, do not change your letter at all on your first go around. The "I want to $buy$" message is tested and proven. If your direct mail campaign fails miserably, or goes BOOM, you will not know what caused the outcome because you had too many variables. Instead of having one variable (your list), you now have two and it becomes much harder to gauge what went right or wrong. 

On your second go around with the list (I suggest every 6 weeks), then you can change your copy up to a longer format, postcard, professional. 

The best thing you can do is create a system for direct mail. Mail to the same list 6 times every 6 weeks. If you do short YL, Long Yl, PC, PC, PROFESSIONAL LETTER, PC just make sure you keep it the same for every list. Each list gets tracked through a call tracking software.

The worst number in marketing is one, You need to have at least two list and be consistent. then 6x6 the list (mail to it for a minimum 6 times every 6 weeks).

The best list are the ones that are hard to come by.  You will see from the list I market to, there is  a similar theme.

List:

1. Probate- get from county or state (just google what court handles these cases and call to find out)

2. Evictions

3. 2 or more years late on taxes, then run it through my software to find the vacants. Find who handles your the taxes and then file a Right To Know (if applicable)

4 60, 90 days late on mortgage

5. Notice of default (foreclosure).. constantly stay in their ear , from start to finish.

6. discharged/dismissed bankruptcy cases (get from pacer)

7.Tax lien sale- published in legal news papers when auctions come up

8. Divorce- get from court

9. 25+ years owned or more for owner occupants with equity (list-source)

10.  Code Violations

11. Vacant properties (drive for dollars)

12. absentee owners 3-5 years owned (most landlords sale after the first 2 years, and with prices climbing its a perfect list)

13. inherited properties: some states do not require heirs to go through probate if the will was recorded prior to death. these properties are sold through under a special deed

14. Expired listings.

what do you number say? Plain and simple, give him your best offer that you're comfortable with and move on. Do not get caught up in bidding war/ego match.

Give highest and best and let him know he has 24 hours, since you are looking at a few other projects. 

You can not get mad because he wants to make more money. When you relist the property, you are going to do the same (highest and best).

I got bombarded by a lot of your emails, and I am getting in touch with all of you now. I just wanted to be a little bit more specific to help everyone out. Hope this helps.

Q: What all do you need from me?

A: The only thing we need is your list, we handle everything else and your letters are mailed at our local post office in 3-4 business days. If you do not have a list, we can help you get one through one of our brokers. We are investors ourselves and can help you with every aspect.

Q: Is $0.55 the "out the door price?

A: Yes, the only additional charge you may have is if you would like to like to upgrade to first class ($0.19). You will need to supply your own list, or we can get one for you but this will be an additional cost. To see the difference in mail class please checkout yellowletterservice.com/prices

Q: Are these printed or handwritten?

A: We use real legal pad paper (not yellow stock paper with printed lines) and then we print out custom handwritten font. If you would like to view or have the samples mailed to you, please check out website out.

Thanks,

Shane

The most important process in any direct mail marketing is the list. Everyone focuses on which vehicle will win them the race, but they lack on directions to the finish line. Your list is your directions. The harder the list to acquire the better it will be.

Send two list each month and be CONSISTENT. Look into probates, code violations, late real estate tax (you can get this from your county under a right to know request), and evictions. 

Once you have a list figure out how much you can afford/handle. Do not send more than 500 letters out at once. Since it sounds like you are just starting out you will not be able to handle 75+ phone calls at once.

As for the message, stick to the oldie but goodie "I want to $buy$ your house". This will allow you to gauge how effective each list is.

Last but not least, the money is in the follow up. You should market each list 6x6 (once every 6 weeks for 6 times. Only remove them if they sold to your or somebody else.

Best of luck,

Shane

Listsource.com.. Use the equity feature. It is a great list if you are targeting those who have owned for 20++ years.

You are going to probably have to dig further. If the county does not have a tax bill mailing address there is a good chance the the owner is MIA and way behind in taxes (at least in my cases). These are very good leads as long as the tax bill is not crazy high.

Your best bet is to get a legit skip tracing software. Findtheseller, tlo, and microbilt are the ones I use.

Good Luck.