1st Time Mailing

[Brandon Schweinler]

Hi everybody. First time posting here....I'm working on my first direct mailing campaign. I've listened to podcasts and read quite a bit. What suggestions/strategies would you give for targeting homeowners (i.e. should it be absentee, vs late mortgage, etc.) and determining what particular neighborhoods to market towards? 

[Hattie Dizmond]

Brandon...Texas is a non-judicial foreclosure state, so the first time there is any reliable, public notice that a mortgage is delinquent is when the auction notice is filed. By that time, it's too late for direct mail. It isn't necessarily too late for a deal, but you don't really have time for a direct mail campaign. You would have to act much quicker. 

There's no one way to select a list. You can slice and dice it a million different ways. Each segment, whether it's absentees or whatever will produce results..eventually. The key is persistent consistency. Be there after all the other investors stop mailing. Commit to a list and then hit every name at least 6 times over the next 6 months. 

As for areas...again, there's no right or wrong answer. I suggest picking an area you're familiar with that isn't too far, so that you're not going to skip inspecting houses, because it's too inconvenient. There are a lot of ways to do it. Select 2 of the best elementary schools and target the feeder neighborhoods. Pick not more than 3 zip codes. Whatever it is, just stick with it.