What's Your Best Marketing Tool?

[Dave Humphrey]

I want to invest in marketing. Do Bandit Signs bring good results? What have you used that seems to be most effective?

[Account Closed]

I don’t want to get eaten alive here, but I think bandit signs are investor pollution. It’s litter, pure and simple. I don’t like those obnoxious “We Buy Ugly Houses†billboards, either, when they are placed directly in the hood. They are entirely disrespectful to the people who live in these neighborhoods. Remember, amidst the poverty, the crack houses and the eyesores, there are plenty of truly good people who do their best within their means who live in these neighborhoods, send their children to schools in these neighborhoods and participate in neighborhood crime prevention and redevelopment organizations.

Absentee Owners
The all important property data services, like RealQuest and Haines Criss-Cross, provide a lot more useful information than just comps. You can find out whether or not an address is owner-occupied, owner contact information, sales history and mortgage information. I used it to compile a mailing list of out-of-state homeowners specific to those zip codes where I like to buy.