Yellow letter "issues"

[Jessica H.]

We just sent out our first batch of yellow letters to absentee owners that i hand wrote, basically saying " we noticed you have a house at 123 Main street, if you would consider selling please call us, we pay cash". So far we have gotten 4 calls and I sent them out 2 days ago so i thought that was pretty good!! However 3 of the calls have been people asking how we got their info., and a little disgruntled once they found out we would not be paying retail. So is this par for the course for letters to absentee owners? Or should I somehow in the letter be letting them know that we are looking for distressed properties or looking to buy properties cheaply? I guess that is the hard thing with mailing to absentee owners you never know why they might be motivated to sell , it is not always because the property is in disrepair so that was why I didn't include anything along that line in my letter. So do we need to just let this roll off our backs and say "next" or is there something wrong with the wording that makes people think we are somehow looking to buy for retail??? Thanks for any insights!

[Derek W.]

When I get a call I start out with right away answering the most common questions people have before they even ask. It gives me a chance to immediately build repoir and let them know I will be easy and unthreatening to talk to. It sounds something like this:

"Hi, this is Derek"

"Uh, yea, I just got this post card in the mail..."

(Interrupting I say...)

"Oh, you're the one! Haha. Thank you for calling. Let me explain really quick why I sent you a post card. I am a local land lord and I am looking to buy another house. I drove around to my favorite areas and wrote down addresses of two types of houses; ones that I wish I could own, and ones that need me. So you either have a pretty house that I would be proud to be the owner of, or a house that's needs lots of work that I feel may need me. I then searched the public records at the tax assesses office to see who owns the house. Then I sent you a post card. Let me ask you, is your house one of the pretty ones I wrote down, or one that needs my love?"

Then I shut up and listen.