Any luck with mailers here?

Question

I'm looking to send out a mailer to some multifamily properties in the Bay. Has anyone seen success with mailers? I'm just worried that buyers are too well-informed of price transparency and there won't be any worthwhile deals for sending out a janky hand-written letter.

What type of direct mail would you recommend sending? Hand-written vs postcard vs branded, etc.

Jill DeWit · Answer

@Dan Krupa

Happy to share our source. Going to individual counties is the wrong way because it is so expensive, not always inclusive of all the data one needs, and not delivered in the same format.

For over 10 years we have been using RealQuestPro. It is simply the best. We can access and download over 100 property search attributes including:

Ownership & Transaction DetailsAerial Maps with OverlaysForeclosures, Liens and JudgmentsProperty ProfilesDigital Street MapsAutomated Valuation ModelsNeighborhood InformationTransaction History with links to Document ImagesDocument ImagesAnd more

• Ownership & Transaction Details
• Aerial Maps with Overlays
• Foreclosures, Liens and Judgments
• Property Profiles
• Digital Street Maps
• Automated Valuation Models
• Neighborhood Information
• Transaction History with links to Document Images
• Document Images
• And more

Click to enlarge

Stats

97%match rate the assessor parcel number (APN)

97%of all U.S. real estate transactions

It is real/current data and always downloaded in the same format so easy to sort/merge for mailers.

No DFD. Why spend all day trying to find a handful of "maybes" when I can just send out offers to the whole neighborhood and sit back and wait for the serious/ready sellers to contact me?

And if I want more properties or different property types, I simply send out more offers.

No one believes me when I tell them about the assets we buy this way. There are plenty of homeowners, with no mortgage, thinking about selling and thrilled when they get a letter from us. "You mean I don't have to clean up and stage my house?" "I can sell that easy and fast?" You get it.

Happy to answer more questions.

-Jill

Jill DeWit · Answer

@Armand Farrokh

YES - we have had great success! Direct mail is what we do for all property types. We do not want to waste time chasing deals/sellers. We use data (direct, nationwide, county assessor access), scrub down to the exact property details we want, and send legitimate respectable offers. For vacant land, takes about 100 offers to buy a handful of good properties. For SFRs about 2,000 to 1. For multifamily even more.

This is the most efficient way to smoke out interested sellers. And we send formal, two page offers (mail merge), in a window envelope by a professional printer. No gimmicks. We are professionals and treat with respect and send good offers.

You can scrub for all property details/loan-no loan details/location down to an intersection, & more. And our mailers cost the price of a stamp.

Hope that helps!

Sean OToole · Answer

@Armand Farrokh - a lot of our customers use us for DFD, tax liens and code violations. Note we don't have data on the last two. For tax liens your best bet is your county tax collector - policies on providing the list vary by county and may require a freedom of information act request and payment for their time to pull the list. Code violations is more difficult. You may be able to do a FOIA request with code enforcement, a few offer a list, or for those properties in the late stages of enforcement you can find notices at the county recorder. Once our customers have those lists they use us to get the rest of the info - value, equity, owner name, transaction history, comps, etc.

Justin Silverio · Answer

I wouldn't be too concerned about your buyers being too savvy.  When it comes down to it, the people who are savvy and have no urge to sell won't be your customers.  Generally, I've found that seniors respond better to handwritten letters and younger, professionals respond better to professional letters.  However, that doesn't mean that each group doesn't respond to the other letter type.  DM is all about tracking the results and fine tuning.  I've been doing it for a long time and I've had the best results when you mix both letter types up throughout a campaign.

DFD = driving for dollars.  You drive around a neighborhood and write down the homes that look run down.  For tax liens/code violations, you want to call your town treasurer and ask them for the list.  They will likely tell you to submit a formal request.  Listsource wouldn't have any of the lists I mentioned.

Armand Farr · Answer

@Justin Silverio I currently have absentee owners with 30-100% equity in a very targeted area for 2-4 units.

My concern is that owners of MFHs will be more informed/educated on the market than SFH owners, so they'd be less likely to respond to mailers instead of listing them on the market. Moreover, I feel they'd respond better to a professional letter than a janky handwritten/fake handwritten font letter.

What are DFDs + what's the best way to get a hold of tax liens/code violations? Would listsource/property radar have that info readily available?

Sam Shueh · Answer

You target those who have the equity and want to cash out.  Non-owner occupied. High HOA due complexes because they get tired to paying steep dues while managing a property.  Skip those who bought in recent years, avoid realtors......  Once the list is out consistently target these people until recognize and realize you are a local neighborhood specialist.

Isi Nau · Answer

Thanks @Jill DeWit.  Sounds like a great service!  I'll definitely check them out and get a feel for the different search attributes.  Thanks again.

Jill DeWit · Answer

@Isi Nau

You can really dream it up here. You can search via parcel/property attributes, mortgage criteria (including no mortgage), seller details, and more. Once you get rolling you can quickly determine and adjust the criteria. Even before you download the records (and pay).

No such thing as too much data, right?

Isi Nau · Answer

Thank you @Jill DeWit for the details.  I have some questions about the search attributes.  I will be starting in my county, which I know pretty well as far as neighborhood data/stats.  In this scenario, which attributes would you recommend (if it's a lot, then just a few recommendations would be appreciated)?  Is there a point where too many attributes diminish the quality of the report (i.e. how many is too many)?

Thank you very much!

Dan Krupa · Answer

@Jill DeWit, excellent info. Thank you for sharing! Could you elaborate or PM me to expound upon the data you use? I understand the direct mail piece (DFD, listsource, etc...) but I am interested to know about nationwide and county assesor access.

Do you download spreadsheets from county assessor's office, pull the data for houes you are interested in, and mail them?

Thanks

Any luck with mailers here?

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