Direct Mail success in SoCal???

[Alex Bejenaru]

I wanted to get feedback if anyone is having any success with their mailering campaign in Southern California. It seem that the area is so over saturated with other investors sending yellow letters and other types that response rates are ridiculously low (acquisition rates much lower). The few that do call want close to retail making it impossible to flip with any margin. The consensus is that absentee w/ equity mailers (regardless of how good the mailer) is a waste of resources and wondering if there is a more effective strategy to using Direct mail in SoCal. ( ie probates, pre foreclosure, owner occ, etc) I'm not trying to sound like a "Debbie downer" but wanted some advice as to what direction would make more sense while being more efficient. Am I really to expect that each property I acquire to flip from direct mail will cost me about $4k-$8k to acquire? I understand many parts of the county may not have the same difficulty but right now I'm only focused on SoCal.