Help! How do I qualify Drive for Dollars leads to receive a letter?

Question

Good evening. Glad to be a new member of BP and I'm learning a lot from previous posts. I haven't yet found some info I'm looking for, and I'm hoping some of you could share your suggestions with me. I am starting out learning how to wholesale properties, and I started Driving for Dollars last week. So far I have identified 585 potential homes that appear vacant or distressed. I am following the formula below and am kind of stuck on #2.

1.Find distressed properties

2.Research and identify those with real potential vs no real potential at this time.

3.Mail property owners with specific letters

Essentially, I am not exactly sure what I need to be researching in order to qualify these properties to remain on my Driving for Dollars mailing list and actually receive a letter. How do I narrow in on those properties that have real potential (equity) vs those that don’t at this time? What are others using as selection criteria for their mailings?

I have looked up each property on the County’s Appraisal District and have captured the following:

1.Owner name/mailing address

2.Estate, Corporate, or Individually Owned

3.Unpaid taxes

What other criteria should I be using to rank them? How do I identify the ones with real potential? I'm excited to get started but don't want to waste money/time mailing to the wrong people.

Sorry for the long post... and thank you for your help.

Taylor Jennings · Answer

@Jennifer C. You go girl! 585 houses is awesome! Here is what is worth sending mail to... Would you feel comfortable walking the dog around the block around dusk? (The dog is a Dachshund...) FILTER All the rest should be good to go =) Don't spend too much more time filtering other than that. The way I see it, it will take you less time to disqualify somebody that calls than it will disqualifying them before you send a letter. We saw between 13%-18% call backs and about 80% of those calls came within 48hrs of sending the letters. That being said, I would recommend you send about 100 at a time or split them up to 50 every other day. Get your feet wet with screening callers. Here is my layout in Podio... I recently submitted the app to be shared so it's still pending, but hopefully this will help you with your questions! • Subject Address • Date Lead Received • Seller's Name • Phone Number • Email • Bed • Bath • SqFt (Most sellers don't know this. You can find this on zillow after call.) • Basement NONE Finished Unfinished Crawlspace Cellar • NONE • Finished • Unfinished • Crawlspace • Cellar • Garage • Units Occupied • Situation ("Why are you looking to sell?") Inherited Pre-Foreclosure Tired Landlord Moving Short-Sale Absentee Owner • Inherited • Pre-Foreclosure • Tired Landlord • Moving • Short-Sale • Absentee Owner • NOTES (Anything seller says pertaining to property or why they are selling) • Repair NOTES (Find out if the ceiling is leaking anywhere!)(I always ask, "If you had a $20,000 gift card from Home Depot what would you update or fix up on the house?") PS Don't say Home... A home is more valuable than a house =) • Roof Condition ("When was the _____ last replaced?") < 10yrs > 10yrs Some Leaking Doesn't Know REPLACE • < 10yrs • > 10yrs • Some Leaking • Doesn't Know • REPLACE • Water Heater < 5yrs > 5yrs Doesn't Know REPLACE • < 5yrs • > 5yrs • Doesn't Know • REPLACE • Air Conditioner < 5yrs > 5yrs Doesn't Know REPLACE • < 5yrs • > 5yrs • Doesn't Know • REPLACE • Furnace < 5yrs > 5yrs Doesn't Know REPLACE • < 5yrs • > 5yrs • Doesn't Know • REPLACE • Mortgage Amount ("Is there an existing mortgage on the house? How much is left?") • Liens/Taxes Owed • Asking Price • Asking Price Flexible ("If we could pay cash and close in two weeks is that price flexible?") YES NO MAYBE • YES • NO • MAYBE • Asking Price NOTES • RENT RATE (Check Rentometer.com) • Made an Offer (Making an offer over the phone is tough depending on what market you're in and if it's a FLIP lead or a Buy & Hold) YES NO ACCEPTED REJECTED MAYBE • YES • NO • ACCEPTED • REJECTED • MAYBE • Accepted Offer • Seller's Schedule to Visit (Notes) • Date to Visit Property • Who is Going to Property • Estimated Rehab • MAO (Maximum Allowable Offer) • Sent Purchase Agreement • Lead Source Driving for Dollars Bandit Signs Prospecting Wholesaler Probate Absentee Owner • Driving for Dollars • Bandit Signs • Prospecting • Wholesaler • Probate • Absentee Owner Date Lead Received Date Lead Received Seller's Name Phone Number Email Bed Bath SqFt (Most sellers don't know this. You can find this on zillow after call.) Basement NONE Finished Unfinished Crawlspace Cellar Basement NONE Finished Unfinished Crawlspace Cellar Basement • NONE • Finished • Unfinished • Crawlspace • Cellar Garage Units Occupied Situation ("Why are you looking to sell?") Inherited Pre-Foreclosure Tired Landlord Moving Short-Sale Absentee Owner Situation ("Why are you looking to sell?") Inherited Pre-Foreclosure Tired Landlord Moving Short-Sale Absentee Owner Situation ("Why are you looking to sell?") • Inherited • Pre-Foreclosure • Tired Landlord • Moving • Short-Sale • Absentee Owner NOTES (Anything seller says pertaining to property or why they are selling) Repair NOTES (Find out if the ceiling is leaking anywhere!)(I always ask, "If you had a $20,000 gift card from Home Depot what would you update or fix up on the house?") PS Don't say Home... A home is more valuable than a house =) Roof Condition ("When was the _____ last replaced?") < 10yrs > 10yrs Some Leaking Doesn't Know REPLACE Roof Condition ("When was the _____ last replaced?") < 10yrs > 10yrs Some Leaking Doesn't Know REPLACE Roof Condition ("When was the _____ last replaced?") • < 10yrs • > 10yrs • Some Leaking • Doesn't Know • REPLACE Water Heater < 5yrs > 5yrs Doesn't Know REPLACE Water Heater < 5yrs > 5yrs Doesn't Know REPLACE Water Heater • < 5yrs • > 5yrs • Doesn't Know • REPLACE Air Conditioner < 5yrs > 5yrs Doesn't Know REPLACE Air Conditioner < 5yrs > 5yrs Doesn't Know REPLACE Air Conditioner • < 5yrs • > 5yrs • Doesn't Know • REPLACE Furnace < 5yrs > 5yrs Doesn't Know REPLACE Furnace < 5yrs > 5yrs Doesn't Know REPLACE Furnace • < 5yrs • > 5yrs • Doesn't Know • REPLACE Mortgage Amount ("Is there an existing mortgage on the house? How much is left?") Liens/Taxes Owed Asking Price Asking Price Flexible ("If we could pay cash and close in two weeks is that price flexible?") YES NO MAYBE Asking Price Flexible ("If we could pay cash and close in two weeks is that price flexible?") YES NO MAYBE Asking Price Flexible ("If we could pay cash and close in two weeks is that price flexible?") • YES • NO • MAYBE Asking Price NOTES RENT RATE (Check Rentometer.com) Made an Offer (Making an offer over the phone is tough depending on what market you're in and if it's a FLIP lead or a Buy & Hold) YES NO ACCEPTED REJECTED MAYBE Made an Offer (Making an offer over the phone is tough depending on what market you're in and if it's a FLIP lead or a Buy & Hold) YES NO ACCEPTED REJECTED MAYBE Made an Offer (Making an offer over the phone is tough depending on what market you're in and if it's a FLIP lead or a Buy & Hold) • YES • NO • ACCEPTED • REJECTED • MAYBE Accepted Offer Seller's Schedule to Visit (Notes) Date to Visit Property Who is Going to Property Estimated Rehab MAO (Maximum Allowable Offer) Sent Purchase Agreement Lead Source Driving for Dollars Bandit Signs Prospecting Wholesaler Probate Absentee Owner Lead Source Driving for Dollars Bandit Signs Prospecting Wholesaler Probate Absentee Owner Lead Source • Driving for Dollars • Bandit Signs • Prospecting • Wholesaler • Probate • Absentee Owner

Samantha Lotti · Answer

@Taylor Jennings

Well I love food... therefore I love your thought! :) I truly appreciate your input. That so much helps me out and HELP is what I need. lol.

As I mentioned, I have a list, so Ill just go ahead and get started on it and see what happens.

Couple questions... looking for your opinion/advice...

What is your thoughts on mailing to divorcee's?

*Do you mail them before the divorce date or after it's disposed in court?

*Which person do you mail to... husband/wife/both?

*What is the best way to find these people... County Records?

What is your thoughts on probates?

*How do you contact the family about their loved ones home?

*How long do you wait to contact the family after the passing?

Taylor, thanks for you time and again, your input. I truly appreciate it. No worries if you don't have any advice on my questions.  Never hurts to ask. :)

Samantha

Taylor Jennings · Answer

@Samantha Lotti If you drive past a house that looks distressed or vacant, DO NOT filter that house!

Send them a letter.

If it cost you $1/ea letter then it is worth the gamble to see if they are motivated!

You'll spend $1+ of your time just trying to filter through the leads.

D4D is a numbers game, just like all direct mail campaigns are.

Here are a couple of things to value into your $1/ea letter:

• If the person calls and tells you to bug off, then is that worth the $1 to practice phone etiquette?
• If the person calls and tells you they are interested in selling, but after you have the chance to screen the caller you know that the deal doesn't fit your criteria, was $1 worth the experience?
• If 5,000 letters were sent to people you feel you should have filtered at $1/ea for a total investment of $5,000 over 6 months and on the 5000th letter sent you received a phone call from a house you thought should have been filtered and it turned into a $10,000 deal... was it worth the 5,000 unfiltered letters at $1/ea?

Food for thought!

Happy hunting =)

Samantha Lotti · Answer

@Taylor Jennings

Great list you have came up with... and helpful for a guideline. Thanks for sharing.

I too am stuck on the filter part. I dont have a long list, but I do have a few to stat with and these are just from me driving around in a couple neighborhoods. Got the owners addresses and will be giving it a shot.

Again, thanks for sharing your information and if you have any other great tips... please share those as well.

Drew Clements · Answer

A bit of an old thread, @Taylor Jennings, but really appreciate your detailed insights! I'm working on importing my D4D lists into a Podio account I'm setting up today and your app details are very helpful! One Podio question for you - do you treat properties and sellers as separate items in Podio and just link them with a relationship? I'm trying to create and end-to-end workflow and I'd like to treat properties as inventory... currently "theirs", soon to be "mine" ;D then to be sold, etc. Would you be willing to give me a broad overview of how you structure your workflows? What has been working for you?

Rick H. · Answer

I suggest that you filter for high equity deals (maximum 50% loan to value now).

Eliminate marginal deals. Let the pros and time wasters work in those. You want opportunities where you can buy equity at a discount.

Yes, it's true that others may turn deals that you don't pursue into profits. As you're starting out its important that recognize what makes a deal and then as your skills levels improve due to your greater experience, investment in additional training and education, and your association with successful peers, you'll be able to work on and profit from opportunitues that don't appear to have merit.

Also, you may have to "touch" a lead numerous times before they show any interest and respond. That's where direct response marketing campaigns employing multiple mailings and multi-sequence letters can make a lot iof difference.

Lastly, as you filter your list(s) and vet callers who respond, you'll discover that you can improve your sales conversions by targeting better qualified leads if you take the time to look for triggers that motivate them to do business with you. Remember that, to an owner, their house doesn't need a new roof if isn't raining.

Taylor Jennings · Answer

@Brandon Hughes yes.

If you download Podio you can create your own app.

I'm working on getting my published as you see it listed above.

Brandon Hughes · Answer

@Taylor Jennings

Did you say this was a app?  What's the status?

Wes Brumit · Answer

appraisal district is a good place to start. Make note of the mailing address. If it's different, then it might be an opportunity, especially if the property is distressed. My next step is the county clerk's office. Looking up the owners name for the deed. They will usually have information there regarding the note; i.e. How much the loan was for and when purchased. This isn't necessarily what they paid for it but it's a good start.

You might then get some good comps around the area that are similar to your home. From there you'll be able to calculate ARV. This will help when you start negotiating.

Welcome to BP and good luck.

Help! How do I qualify Drive for Dollars leads to receive a letter?

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