Completely Bombed Phone Call to Discuss Purchase of Distressed Prop

[Stephen Seaberry]

Good morning BP,

So, I drive by this distressed property everyday on my way to work. It hasn't been landscaped in a while and there is a notice on the door from the county saying they need to upkeep their lawn. It is clearly distressed and, in speaking to a neighbor, they said its been abandoned for going on 2 years (no tenants to speak of). I did some research on it and found out it was purchased in the 80s for $85K and is comp'd at about $240K. It is in one person's name (this is important for where I'm going with this). I found out the owner's contact info and he is an out of state absentee. After a week of fighting off rejection fear (this is literally my first attempt to buy a house other than my own that I live in), I just called the number I had for the owner. A woman picked up (the owner is a male). The conversation went as follows:

Me: Hi, may I please speak with (owner)?

Woman: He's not available can I take a message?

Me: Yes, my name is Stephen and I drive past his property every day on my way to work. I noticed there was a for sale sign in the yard and wanted to discuss potentially buying it.

Woman: There was a for sale sign?

Me: Yes ma'am.

Woman: There shouldn't be a for sale sign, its not for sale.

Me: Interesting, well, do you  know if he'd be interested in selling it?

Woman: No, he's not!

I ended the conversation without leaving my contact info or gathering more information. My thoughts on it are that since she's not on the county records as the owner, her word is not the final say regarding selling or not selling. I don't want to necessarily call back (at least from my number), but I do want to talk to the actual owner per the property records. I do know that I should have just left a message and asked for him to call me back (hence, I bombed the call). And, I shouldn't have disclosed anything but general information as the reason for my call (i.e., yes, I wanted to discuss his property at 1234 Any Town Ave, can you please have him give me a call at his earliest convenience?)

If calling back is not the best approach, I'm thinking about sending a post card with my agent's card. Any best practiced verbiage I should include in said post card would be helpful. In a way, this is a good thing. If he's conveying to her that he doesn't want to sell it, I figure either that is the truth and no one is prospecting him or he does want to sell and he's just not telling her (assuming she's a confidant like his wife or common law).

BLUF: I'm looking for suggestions on how to follow up this botched call. Is a follow up from a different number with, perhaps, my wife the best approach? Or should I send a card to his out of state address?