Vacant proeprty owner is located - now what? (Eric Gause)

[George P.]

*** I put Erick's name in the subject hoping he will chime in too since this is his niche *** Sorry Erick I misspelled your name in the subject line, I can't edit it for some reason.

Once the vacant house is identified, and the current address and phone number (sometimes unlisted) of the owner is identified - what is the next step?

I placed about 7 phone calls to vacant property owners last Saturday but only 2 owners answered the phone. One said not interested to sell (he is placed on the drip campaign list to be mailed once every 3 months), the other advised they've been using the property as a storage but now are looking to retire (you gotta be really rich to even think about retiring to today's economy :roll: ), so he promised to get back to me with their desicion. I also asked permission to follow-up in a couple of months with the letter.
I didn't leave a message for those who didn't answer the phone - should I have? If so, is this the kind of message to be used to encourage them to call back:
"Hi, my name is George, I am calling out of to see if you have any interest in selling your property on

. We were in the neigborhood and your property appeared to be vacant, so I wanted to call you to see if you have any interest in selling it. Please call me at if you wish to discuss this further. Thanks, Bye"

Or instead of leaving a message, should I send a letter expressing my interest in their vacant property?

Overall, I am debating on what is the best strategy to get them on the phone. I think I will try it all to see what works for me.

Looking for input from people who are doing just this. Any suggestions is very appreciated. Thank you.