Best way to approach a SELLER?

[Lyle McCartee]

Good afternoon colleagues, I've subscribed to list(s) and sent a small batch of direct mail to potential sellers. My next move is to knock on their doors (at least those that are local) about their properties in default. Is there a "best practices " approach to this method?  I would love hear from those of you that do this regularly.

[Dev Horn]

If you go to houses of people in default, you might not want to mention that.  Just knock, introduce yourself as an investor interested in their home, give them your business card, see if they'd like to get an offer ASAP.

My concern about anyone in financial trouble is you need to make sure they have equity in the house (assuming your strategy is a cash purchase at a discount). Simply knocking on doors of people in default could be a huge waste of time if none of them can sell you their house at 60-70% of ARV.

I prefer to mail to absentees that I know have at least 40% equity (using Listsource.com).

Door knocking is fine to get some practice, but it's a tough way to find deals.  It's better than doing nothing, but there are likely better uses of your time (at least only going to talk to people with equity)....