Underprepared to answer calls from people responding to my letter

[James Dean-Howell]

First I want to say that I appreciate all of your help and answers in advance! Thanks for your time!

I started writing letters to a list of people in my area. Off market properties. I'm a newbie and I asked one pro when I should start writing letters to look for my first deal and they said "TODAY!"

So I did. I started writing letters but now I'm actually getting calls and I have to talk to people and make offers for their houses since my letters asks them if they are looking to sell.

I am definitely not as prepared as I could be for this. I'm making mistakes but learning at the same time. Last night a caller hung up on me because I asked her for her address. Lesson learned.

So I guess I'll ask specific questions to help in my learning process.

I'm going to try letting all calls go directly to voice mail so I can at least get their name and address before I talk to them. Does that sound like a good idea? I work a full time job so It's not like I can pick up the phone every time it rings.

How do I get numbers on the typical downpayment amount and general loan terms of financing I'd potential use? I'd be buying my first house using financing and even though I've read a few books on Real estate investing including Brandon Turners' guide to real estate investing, I learned very quickly that I don't know much about loan terms, Downpayment amounts, etc.

What should I know about owner financing? Where can I learn more? What is the typical downpayment on owner financing? Where do I get these documents for owner financing? A title company?

How do I make offers to these home owners who could just sell their homes for higher on the MLS? What beneifit could I offer them as a person who called them attempting to buy their property off market that would make them want to avoid listing their property on the MLS? I'm only interested in win/win deals so I'm not looking for a deal where they could have just put it on the MLS. Especially since I'd probably offer lower than what they could get just listing it.

I know why that pro told me to start TODAY but I also wanted to wait until I was a bit more prepared. Still, now that I'm getting calls I'm in the thick of it so I need to learn fast.

[Jeff Robertson]

@Dave Hutson  Get in touch with @Ramon Huerta. He is involved in everything REI Related in Kalamazoo. Also, go to meetup.com and sign up for the Property Krawl, Kalamazoo REIA, and Kalamazoo Real Estate Meetup Groups. They will send you notifications on the meeting times. I just started going myself last month. The meetup is the first Tuesday of each month. The REIA meeting is the last Tuesday of the month I believe. The Property Krawl is a Saturday somewhere in the middle of the month.