Your Best Lists, what are they?

Question

I swear in the last month I've marketed to every list imaginable and I've gotten nothing. Just this past *week* I did MF & SFH high equity landlords, pre-foreclosures, and FSBO's. What are your best lists that produce the best returns? I'm looking for MF to keep, SFH to flip, and SFH to get in with creative financing or to wholesale.

My brain is out of ideas.

Account Closed · Answer

Been wracking my brain and all that i can come up with is:

Advertising:

Appraisers/Attorneys/CPAs

Bandit   Signs

Being   Transferred

Best   Offer

Billboards/Bus   bench or stop

Bird Dogs

Brainstorm   with Team

Bring All   Offers

Brochures/Flyers

Bulletin   Boards

Business   Cards

Car Signs   - Magnetic

Career   attire

Desperate   - Must Sell

Direct   Mail

Door   Hangers

Drive the   Area

Finder's   Fee offerred

Friends -   Tell all you Buy!

FSBO ads   & signs

Home   Inspectors

I Buy   Houses Ads

Magnetic   Car Signs

Market   Conditions - Unaware

Media -   Radio/TV/Paper/Mag

Mortgage   Banker/Broker

Moving -   Estate Sale

Negotiable

Neighborhood   Farm

Network   with professionals

Network   with service people

Newspaper   Ads - Tuesday

Owner   Will Carry

Open   Houses

Postal   Workers

Post   Cards

Quick Sale - Fast Closing

Radio/TV   Spot ads

RE Agent   Ads/Expired MLS

RE Agent   - No Equity Prop

RE Agent   - Stale/Junkers

Referral   Fee Offerred

Rental   Ads - Over 2-3 Wks

Run your   own ad - I BUY…

Sell Your   Home in 24 Hours

Signs/Shirt   Ads

Specialize   in hard to sells

Title   Company

Utility   Workers

VM-I   Buy/Rent-to-Own

Wholesalers

Yellow   Pages - Full Page Ad

Account Closed · Answer

Oh wait, I came up with another one or two:

Absentee   Owner/Mgr

Assemble   lots

Assumable   Loan

Boarded   up Property

Bought   other Property

Burnt Out   Landlord

Buying   New Home

Condemned   Property

Competitive   Property

Deferred   Maintenance

Delinquent   Mortgage

Development   Ready

Disappearing   For Sales

Economic   Problems

Fire   Damaged

For Rent   Signs & Ads

FSBO   Signs

Good Area   - Ugly Home

Hard   Money Loans

House   Smells Bad

Inexperience   - repairs

Investor   - No Upside

Lack of   Concern

Landlord   Problems

Location   is bad

Low   Equity Property

Management   Problems

MLS-Expired

MLS-Junker   Properties

MLS-Listed   too long

MLS-Motivated   Seller

Negative   Cash Flow

Neglected   Property

Non-Qualifying   Loan

Old   Property

Over   Priced Property

Owner   Will Carry

Private   Mortgage

Property   near yours

RE Taxes   too high

Restrictive   Covenants

Rundown   property

Sell   personal property

Seller   worried - taxes

Subdivide   - sell part.

Tenant   Problems

Time   Constraints

Title   Problems

Ugly   Property

Used   Mobile Home

Vacant   Property

Zoning   use changes

Braden C. · Answer

@NaDean Bowles I've been sending direct mail for nearly a decade and yes, the list is really important, but there's a lot more to it. I just got off the phone with a lead and his exact words were "I get letters all the time but nobody ever answers or calls me back." This is a huge mistake new investors make by either trying to outsource the answering process or simply not having a good system in place before they spend money on mailers.

How comfortable are you on the phone when it does ring? Most of us were very nervous when we started which is completely natural, sellers hear that in your voice. As you take more calls your confidence will grow.

Another issue is just timing. Sometimes you just hit the right person on the right day, more frequent mailings to the same list will increase this chance.

What does your letter or postcard say? Could it need some tweaking to make the phone ring more? Multi family has been a very strong list for us recently, but my market might be different than yours.

There are several other factors to consider as well. If you'd like, shoot me a PM and I'll try and help you if I can.

NaDean Bowles · Answer

Thanks Account Closed  So which are your favorites?  Which are the top 3 that give you the most return on your money?

NaDean Bowles · Answer

Thank you!  Yes, this is my 6th year.  I've done several deals, just hitting a dry spell.  Landlords have historically been my best.

Rick Pozos · Answer

@NaDean Bowles you are not going to be a millionaire overnight.

It takes plenty of time to start and keep a business going. It is a business, not a get rich quick thing. If you get a deal in the first 6 months of sending out mail, you are VERY lucky.

If you do 1 rehab that you MAKE MONEY ON in the first year you are VERY lucky.

Lots of hard work and perseverance will yield you 1 deal. After the first one, it gets easier. After that, you dont sound so desperate to close a deal. It will probably take several $Thousand$ to get the first deal. Then they will come easier.

NaDean Bowles · Answer

@Avery Gilmer THANK YOU!!  I only ran a code violation once but got exactly zero calls from it.  I sent out I think three times to that one.  Compiled it up myself sitting in the city office so I know it was a good list.  I'm about to run Probates again.  I might add Vacants on there.  So do you work multiple markets?

NaDean Bowles · Answer

@Rick Pozos, I'm getting calls but no deals.

Avery Gilmer · Answer

Code Violations, Probates, Back Taxes, Vacants, liens etc... Sometimes you may see leads that have all those issues at the same time. Most leads that I see in my county that are late on taxes are vacant and have code violations.. so the more leads you have the better.. I get the best returns from cities where investors are looking to buy at.

Rick Pozos · Answer

@NaDean Bowles you mentioned that you got no calls last month? There are some times where I get no calls either, but I keep doing it. Most of the people that call me tell me that they have gotten 5 or 6 postcards from me. Stick with several lists and keep on sending out the mail!!

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