First Time Direct Mail Campaign Questions

[Kirk Gore]

Okay so after listening to about a million hours of BP podcasts on wholesaling I've mustered the courage to take the plunge and start a campaign. 

I've bought my first list of 550 addresses (absentee owners out of state) in my city from Listsource. I realize the absentee owners list is considered low hanging fruit but I don't know of anyone else marketing in my area and I'm curious to see the response rate. I also wanted to start with something relatively simple.

Here are my initial questions:

1) I paid to have the equity $ and pre-foreclosure flag included in my list but the columns are completely blank in my spreadsheet. Does this mean that the information is just not available in my area or am I doing something wrong?

2) I'm planning on sending to all 550 in the next 3 weeks then repeating every 3 weeks for 6 months. Is the total number too insignificant to see any real results and should I ramp up my list number or frequency? My goal for now is to successfully close one wholesale deal but ideally I'd like to close 2 a month either as rentals or flips for myself or as wholesales to other investors.

3) I'm also a recently licensed realtor in the state of MS. I know the laws are pretty serious about full disclosure in marketing but since I'll be asking to buy the house as an investor will I be okay? I'd only plan to list the properties as a last resort if I couldn't purchase or wholesale the house in any other way. There really doesn't seem to be much of a difference between listing someone's property on the MLS for a commission and throwing it to a list of cash investors for a wholesale fee. Wholesaling in general also seems very similar to net listings which are illegal in Mississippi and I just want to make sure I have all of my bases covered before I start!

Thanks so much for reading!

[Roland Paicely]

Hey Kirk,

It's great that you are finally taking the plunge.  You'll find out that it's not as scary as you might think.  In response to your questions:

(1) I don't have an answer for that one.  When I've done absentee owner mailings I did not enter that as a requirement.  Although the amount of equity certainly can affect a wholesale deal.

(2) I think that sending out 550 initially is a good amount.  I'm sure that you will get some responses.  Be prepared that most will not suit your needs.  But the good news is that it will provide you feedback and who knows you might get a deal from it.  A lot of investors mail to the same list every month or so.  Again I think the response will tell you what to do. 

(3) I have done wholesaling as a Realtor. I think that it is always best to disclose to the seller the fact that you are an agent.  Nothing beats transparency.  Also, based on the response that I received it didn't seem to matter to the seller at all.  They are only concerned with selling their house.  In a sense some sellers will feel more comfortable dealing with you as an agent. 

Good luck........Roland