Stuck at home all week? Let's do some lead gen! Ideas?

[Adam Tafel]

Social distancing can be a struggle, especially for an extrovert with a mild case of ADHD. If you're anything like me you're already going insane. Day 2 in my home office - showings, inspections, open houses, it's all coming to a standstill. Perfect time to buckle down, drink a pot of coffee, and find some leads. Deals, sellers, buyers, management clients - I'll take whatever I can get this week. Here's how I'm spending my time:

1. Vacant property lists: I pull addresses on the city website, find tax records on the MLS, and then contact info via Whitepages premium.

2. Registered rental properties: in St. Paul they are called "certificates of occupancy", and it's all public data on the .gov page. Same system of tracking down the owner.

3. Handwritten letters: people are home all week, with nothing better to do than actually open their mail. I'll pick addresses close to my primary residence and introduce myself as their neighbor. A few words about being stuck in my office writing letters, who do you know who might be selling/buying, and some words of optimism regarding the economic future. 

4. Following up: seller leads that have gone cold might be heating up this spring. Touch base in a non-invasive way, I think email is best for this. 

5. Driving for dollars: It's finally in the 40's (I know, MN...) and I've got a few motorcycles collecting dust in the garage. Might just cruise around my target areas and jot down some notes, why not?

6. Get organized. It might not be a good day to call on most people, but I can pull addresses, compile lists of numbers, and strategize. 

7. Media! Beef up my online presence, work on some facebook ADs and LinkedIn connections. 

Here are some things that I'm NOT doing:

1. Cold calling residential owners, asking if they'e had thoughts of selling or buying. I think it's bad timing in bad taste, who wants to use a Realtor who bugs you at home during a quarantine?

2. Fostering fear-based motives to sell. Sure, many landlords might be sweating right now - they don't need investors looking to leverage their concerns. There's no harm in touching base to ask if I can help, that's my tactic.

3. Encouraging nervous buyers to make offers. We've waited this long to find a smart investment, it'll likely still be here next week. I might buy a deal in a few days, but it would have to be a home run for me to commit today. I'd like to see the economy stabilize a bit, in order to get a better idea of what the future holds. I'd advise the same for my clients. 

We can get through this together! What are you doing to find deals this week? How are you scheduling your days, in order to be healthy, safe, and productive?