All Forum Posts by: Sharon Vornholt

This is one of those cases where it will cost you a whole lot more down the road if you get it wrong.  Have an attorney look at it.

Sharon

Adam -

Direct mail is an ongoing process.  I mail to AO's every month until one of 3 things happen; I buy the house, someone else buys the house or they are removed from the list. They might ask to be removed or I might remove them if I am no longer interested in the house.  That's it. 

85% of your DEALS will come at or beyond the 5th mailing. Check out this article. 

http://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/2012/12/04/how-to-use-direct-mail-successfully-in-your-business/

Sharon

That's good to know @Michael Quarles 

Sharon

I don't know what Michael's minimum is but you can check with yellowletters.com.

Why don't you just print 100 or so from your datatbase on your own printer and have someone hand address them for you?  

You can find someone for $10-12 a hundred that will fold, stuff and hand address them.

Put an ad on Craig's List for someone in your neighborhood.  When they're done have them bring them back to you and you put the stamps on and mail them.

Sharon

Jeff -

I don't think direct mail is really the best way to go. Why don't you network where the people that have properties are like your REIA? You might also join your local Apartment Managers Assoc.. In my area, many of the investors that are in that organization also have single family homes. They aren't always happy with the company they are using. Get to know the people that have multiple properties.

Sharon

Sorry for missing this one guys. I was out of town. Why reinvent the wheel? I would look at some PC's that are already done like from yellowletters.com. I use them. Just tell them I sent you.

Sharon

I used to rehab properties myself and either keep them for a rental or sell them to a retail buyer. In 2008 when houses were sitting on the market for what seemed like an eternity, I decided to try wholesaling a property. It was just a matter of making a phone call to one of my REI members. Because I knew my numbers (including how much is was REALLY going to cost to rehab the property), I found wholesaling to be really easy.

As the market changed, I had to change. The folks on my buyer's list added an additional buying criteria themselves; if the house didn't sell once it was rehabbed they needed to have a house that would cash flow as a rental. My buyers educated me on this new model they were following.

A rehabber is only going to pay in the range of 70% less repairs for a house they didn't have to look for. So what that means is that the wholesaler has to buy it cheaper than that. Like other folks have said, it's a numbers game.

Before I ever add someone to my buyer's list, they have to show me how they intend to pay for the house. I close all my deals in 7-10 days with my end buyer. If they can't do that then they don't get on my list. The same 5 or 6 "A list" buyers buy all my properties. A good wholesaler with great deals only needs a handful of serious, qualified buyers.

There are only a few things you have to be good at to succeed as a wholesaler; marketing for deals, the numbers and building the "know, like and trust" factor with sellers. Doing business in an ethical way is a given.

Sharon

@Chavel Diaz Jr -

Thanks so much for that. You are a good student so that makes everything easier.

Sharon

@Josh Justiniano - They are in the newspaper in some areas. In other areas they are online. But in a lot of the markets you have to go to the courthouse. You will need to figure that out.

The inventory is lower in many areas around the country, and response rates are down for direct mail in general. You have to add different niches to the mix or use different marketing strategies. You can make money in any market though.

Sharon

@Josh Justiniano OK. That's different. How do you get probate leads in your area?

Sharon