What differences to keep in mind for Direct Mail to 2-4 Multies

[Brandon Heath]

Hello BP,

Current Situation: I currently rent 3 bedrooms from a family friend. This was supposed to be a short term way for my wife and I to save money while she finished school. A few years and one kid later, we are still here! We will be moving in the next 6-7 months and planned on buying a house. We think this would be a great time to house hack a small multi-family rather than paying extreme rents or carrying a complete mortgage ourselves.  

Intentions/Goal: I would like to find a 2-4 unit multi in my local area where we can Owner Occupy. I plan to use an FHA loan putting down 3.5%. Though I would be living in the property for a few years (most likely more than 1 year) I still want the property to be a legitimate deal that could cash flow after we leave. The problem is I would have to search for off market properties in order not to over pay. So i'm going to attempt a direct mail campaign to hopefully locate this 1 property for me and my family.

My actual Question: With all the reading I have done on BP about direct mail marketing, I'm wondering what I should change for my specific situation. I feel that I could have a better chance of cutting through the junk mail with a legitimate personal story. Things that I think might help would be:

• I am NOT a real estate investor yet. I thought some owners might willing to call an actual person interested in their property rather than a company.
• Maybe using family photos in the marketing materials. I know people already kind of do this but my secret weapon is this..Don't lie, you basically want to sell me your property for 30% arv right now! (i am joking)
•  I have not decided what marketing material i'll use (yellow letter, postcard) but from what it looks like it more important to make any move rather than stress over these details (at this stage in the game)

Can anyone offer any other perks that I may have missed? Should everything else be the same as if it was SFRs? I know there is more than enough info here on the site, just looking for specifics.

Thanks for your time and help!

Extra info: just in case you are wondering my list came to almost 600 properties.