Comin' Straight Outta Austin

[Nicholas E.]

Hello everybody!

My name is Nicholas and I am a new investor/agent based in Austin, TX. I'd been on the fence about getting into real estate for some time now, and have been lurking on BP for sometime - mainly to find answers to questions which have already been asked by numerous others. I finally decided to get after it after being laid off in January.

I spent a few months researching, building a mailing list, driving around town, and meeting with some professionals in the area. I also become a licensed agent (haven't yet paid the fees to become a Realtor) and got sponsored by a killer brokerage in the area, the owners of which have been instrumental in helping me get started. My plan is to do several creative deals, then move on to rehabbing before landlording and development.

In April I sent out my first round of direct mail. I received 2 or 3 responses to that campaign, 1 of which converted into a nice wholesale deal which closed this month. 

That deal was big for me (and well-timed) but I want to be sure to use this feeling of momentum that I have right now. I'm working on a more focused, aggressive marketing plan to try and get deal number 2 (which I think can be argued is a more "important" deal than deal  number 1!). Still have more time than money to use at this point, so I'm attacking it from that angle. If anybody has any suggestions about what I could do next, that would be awesome. Obviously as much as possible I want to get the coverage without spreading myself out too thin. 

Current general marketing plan: I've mailed out each month beginning with April (1 paragraph on plain white paper), and am now cleaning my list before July's mailings. I am also starting to do more D4D and reaching out to those owners using a property-specific mailing, and I want to try out postcards. After I clean my current list, I want to utilize more sophisticated list-building techniques for the campaign beginning in August or September. 

Sorry if that was a lot! I just wanted to introduce myself to everybody and share what I'm doing in case anybody had any words of wisdom. I'm looking forward to becoming more familiar with the site, and the business, and potentially even working with some of you in the area. Thanks!

- Nick