First Direct Mail Campaign

First Direct Mail Campaign

Pearland, TX · Member since 2015 · 46 posts · 8 votes

I'm getting my ducks in a row before my first direct mail campaign. I'm going to purchase a list and send post cards. Firstly, I'm wondering what an proper message for wholesaling will be for the postcard. I've been looking around and it seems a lot of them say, "I buy houses for cash!" which is a great attention getter for a motivated seller, but is that an honest slogan for a wholesaler to use since I wouldn't be necessarily be the one buying the house? My goal with the mailers would be to find properties to wholesale, or if the owner would be willing to owner finance I would purchase the house, so again "I buy houses for cash" wouldn't work for me. What would be a short eye catching way to draw ing potential sellers?

Secondly what should I do as far as the phone number I leave on the card? Should I use my personal number, look into a second pay as you go cell, or use an answering machine and call them back? 

I've been looking in to all this for over a year now and I've decided nothing is going to happen just by listening to the podcasts. I'm very excited and nervous to start this journey. Wish me luck!

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Investor · Cedar Park, TX · Member since 2016 · 463 posts · 177 votes
10y

Also for the phone number I would use Google voice, it's free and a great service to have.

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  • Rental Property Investor · Milltown, NJ · Member since 2014 · 131 posts · 130 votes
    10y

    Good Luck @Jordan Johnson.  If you don't mind letting me know how you make out. I am actually looking to put a mailing together for my buy and hold business since deals are getting harder and harder to find around here.

    Thanks

    Rich

  • Investor · South Ozone Park, NY · Member since 2016 · 138 posts · 26 votes
    10y

    @Jordan Johnson, how about this message- We help resolve your property issues with your no obligation phone call to-##########. I would use a separate # just for the marketing campaign , and my advise is don't go the voicemail route as some people don't like to leave messages.

    Good luck with your bold initative.

  • Pearland, TX · Member since 2015 · 46 posts · 8 votes
    10y

    Thank you all. I'll let y'all know how it goes once the calls start rollin in. I was just on the way to get a PO box, when I realized that I'll still have to pay for postage on each post card. How are y'all going about sending out mailers in bulk, and how much are you paying in postage per card?

  • Woodcliff Lake, NJ · Member since 2014 · 37 posts · 28 votes
    10y

    I used Click2Mail. Pretty straightforward and inexpensive to design, print, and mail.

  • Investor · Cedar Park, TX · Member since 2016 · 463 posts · 177 votes
    10y

    Also for the phone number I would use Google voice, it's free and a great service to have.

  • Pearland, TX · Member since 2015 · 46 posts · 8 votes
    10y

    How has google voice been working for you? My wife uses it for her business, and she says it doesn't always work well for her. 

  • Hesperia, CA · Member since 2014 · 11 posts · 5 votes
    10y

    Good morning! How did the po box play out for you?  @Jordan Johnson

  • Pearland, TX · Member since 2015 · 46 posts · 8 votes
    10y

    I sent out my first batch, and I'm still waiting on responses.  My first batch was a small batch only covering one neighborhood I drove. There will be more to come.  I'm trying to stagger them so hopefully the responses will come in steadily and not all at once.  At least that's how I hope it works.  

  • San Diego, CA · Member since 2016 · 24 posts · 4 votes
    10y

    It has been about 4 months since your previous post @Jordan Johnson. How has your campaign worked so far? I am getting ready to do my first one!

  • Rental Property Investor · Salt Lake City, UT · Member since 2016 · 53 posts · 24 votes
    10y

    @Jordan Johnson

    Hey, I'm also wondering how your first mail campaign went if you got any calls or deals.

    I sent a direct postcard mail campaign around the same time as you did and I only got one person to call me. He wasn't all that motivated when we talked and walked through the house saying that he was going to wait to fix up the house himself.

    If you have any questions, feel free to send them my way and I'll try to answer them the best I can.

    Alex Hively

  • Flipper/Rehabber · Springfield, MA · Member since 2016 · 641 posts · 204 votes
    10y
    I like that your ready to go out there and learn by taking action. I wish you great success.
  • Pearland, TX · Member since 2015 · 46 posts · 8 votes
    9y
    Sorry for not updating y'all, I've been busy planning a wedding and got married in the beginning of January. I never got any responses from my first batch of mailers, so I sent out a second batch to the same addresses. I've also continued to drive for dollars and I've built a few other lists that I'm also mailing. Recently my wife and I have been driving and looking on Zillow and other sites, and we've noticing a few properties for sale that have peaked our interest. The only problem is financing. We don't have enough saved or enough equity in our home for a downpayment. I've been racking my brain and looking around but I can't come up with any solutions.
  • Pearland, TX · Member since 2015 · 46 posts · 8 votes
    9y
    So I've already gotten a call in response to my letter. I was terrified to call him back but I did. He was another investor that offered me not only the property I mailed about, but also the property next door to it! Originally my plan was to wholesaling to build capital then purchase rentals with it. But this seems like a great opportunity to get in to rentals. The only problem is the money.... I didn't discuss prices with him, but he did say he would be willing to owner finance to me with something like a $100k downpayment. I don't have anywhere near that much. I've been racking my brain trying to figure out how to make this work whether it be some kind of share funding or finding a partner. Could anyone make any suggestions as far as coming up with the downpayment or if there's a way I could wholesale this property?
  • Investor · Sunnyvale, CA · Member since 2016 · 11 posts · 4 votes
    9y

    Jordan, congratulations on your recent marriage!  Getting married is the best thing that ever happened to me.

    As for your potential deals, there are various ways of getting creative with the financing, but it all depends on the deal.  If you could provide some details it would be easier to see what would fit.  The down payment alone doesn't really tell us anything because we don't know enough about the rest of the property's metrics.  What are the actual numbers you're looking at?  Retail value, price, cost of repair, etc.  If you could share the actual numbers it would be easier to provide feedback.

     You also want to be certain everything checks out.  Since you're dealing with an investor, it would be wise to know how and when the property was acquired, if the investor has taken title (do they actually own the property?), what they have done to the property, why they're selling, etc.  The seller should also be able to produce paperwork for any transaction that was done with the previous owner.  Don't be afraid to ask questions, the seller shouldn't be hiding anything from you.

    Shameless plug: I'm interested in finding flips or holds in good markets.  If you find good deals, let me know.

  • Pearland, TX · Member since 2015 · 46 posts · 8 votes
    9y

    I talked with the owner for a good while about the properties and he was very informative. He said he always has other deals going on so he doesn't mind selling these. One property has a tenant of 6 years that he thinks will be a long term tenant. The other has a tenant of 6 months, but he said he may want to do a lease to own type deal in the long run. 

    I don't have any exact numbers right now. From what I've been seeing houses in this neighborhood are between $145k and $160. The owner said one unit rents for $1600 and the other for $1800 a month. Both properties have recently has roofs, AC, furnaces, flooring. It sounded like he's maintained both properties very well. So I'm assuming the repair cost would be relatively low, but of course I would do my due diligence before taking any further step in this process. 

  • Pearland, TX · Member since 2015 · 46 posts · 8 votes
    9y
     @Robert Burgess:

    Sorry I forgot to tag you in that last post. 

  • Pearland, TX · Member since 2015 · 46 posts · 8 votes
    9y

    I wanted to update y'all on how my direct market campaign is going.

    I've been shadowing another investor who I found through a friend of a friend of my wife's. I found him by talking to everyone I know about real estate and how I am an aspiring investor and it paid off. Anyways, I'm partnering with him on my first deal so he can show me the ropes. We met with the seller today and walked the properties.  The properties looked good and the seller isn't hurting to sell it, since they are cash flowing, but he does seem to want to sell them. So my partner is going to run the numbers to come up with our offer and we'll get back with the seller at the beginning of the week. If all goes well we will more than likely hold on to the properties because they are in a very desirable area. So wish me luck on this! 

    I also got another call last night from a guy I mailed that was actually about to put his house on the market. So I'll keep y'all updated on that. 

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