Direct Mail - Seattle

[Jack Perkins]

Hi BP! First post here from a new investor in the Seattle area.

Wondering what successes/lessons learned others have had with direct mail over the past few months.

On the open market, we're looking at super limited inventory right now with many places closing $100k+ over list price. As a new buyer using financing, it's been difficult to rise to the top of the offer pool on listed properties. Pretty tough to get a good deal right now going the traditional route.

Instead, I'm turning to direct mail for duplexes in south Seattle/Renton in hopes of going seller direct. Pulling duplex data from ListSource or city planning offices, then writing personalized letters and mailing them out to the owners. I'm expecting my rate of return to be around 2-3%. So, if I send mail to 400 owners, maybe I get interest from 10 and write offers on 5.

Would love to hear if anyone else has been doing this, and what your experience has been.

Thanks!

[Michael Haas]

@Jack Perkins we haven't seen 2-3% response rates since 2012-2015, before the market got really hot. Now we're seeing about 1%, maybe 2% when using handwritten letters, brightly colored envelopes, pictures of you or your family (bonus points if you have a dog), etc to grab attention. Besides revising down your expectations a bit the strategy is sound if you can execute it consistently for 6-18 months!