All Forum Posts by: Brian Davis

of course it only matters what the recipient thinks, but unless we are doing a follow up phone interview with the people that receive the mailing, we really do not know except by the responses we get as the people mailing. So we end up here discussing what works and what doesn't. For someone inexperienced and on a limited budget, it is often times best to get opinions from other investors so a mailing is not wasted.

Testing is great but it is very tough on a $3,000 budget to adequately split test a mailing, let alone test many different factors. So if you are starting to mail, you better come out of the gate with a well thought out mail piece or it could become very discouraging for the new guy.

It seems sometimes the best option is for the generic yellow letter because it is tried and tested and people will call but with a formal letter like a lot of people send out with probates, the responses will typically not be as many so any feedback from experienced guys is always helpful.

That's the main reason this site is so powerful..the ability to stand on the shoulders of successful people so you can get off on the right foot.

I started mailing as a real estate agent 10 years ago when I started out and I got sold some really bad ideas that cost me a lot of money with no return. It wasn't until years later that I found the yellow letter as an investor and was amazed at how much money I had spent prior due to bad advice or by not talking to the right people.

Everyone sending direct mail will spend lots of money learning to become successful, but any ideas we can throw around here are going to help someone i'm sure. and hopefully those ideas allow them to get a great response, a deal, and the push to keep moving forward.

I have sent yellow letters saying that I received their information from the probate court and understand they may be looking to sell a home..I am a cash buyer if they would like to talk. The response has been good...I see no reason not to be completely honest up front as to where you got their information. imo, if they are truly motivated it probably doesn't matter if you send them a note on a napkin.

I think I remember Sharon Vornholt offering condolences and she seems to be the expert in mailing probates so my opinion is pretty much irrelevant as I am by no means an expert at direct mail to probate leads.

I think that sending different types of letters would probably go far..standard generic yellow letter, a yellow letter with different wording maybe 2 months later, a business letter with your photo or logo on it, a white letter that looks personal...it seems that people are going to respond differently to different looking mail pieces...maybe offering condolences works well in certain areas of the country and not so well in others?

so can someone give an idea of the actual salary dollar amount paid to a project manager? I understand that different areas will warrant a different amount but would like to get a few numbers...I am currently doing a small commission and a salary of 40k but I have been told by my guy that it's too little so I told him we can both think about it and come to an agreement...I was thinking 60k straight salary would be good but I would like to hear what other guys are paying..thx

Hey Dev, how do you keep the look of a yellow letter consistent with a postcard or a business letter? It seems that people will respond different to different approaches which I would imagine is the main reason for changing from letter to postcard to zip letter...I like the yellow letter and I like business letters and postcards as touches to the same people, so I'm trying to figure out the campaign and if it is ineffective to send different pieces that don't tie into each other.

I have started mailing inheritance and probates over the past 2 months and plan on staying consistent. (My list is about 3000 names/addresses so it can get very pricey if you guys are blowing smoke up my a**...haha) My first mailing was a yellow letter and my second was a white business letter. My thought is that different people will react different to the 2 letters. From watching the video Dev put out, it seems others may be sending out very similar looking mail to build trust with the recipient and familiarity. Any thoughts on this? I was actually planning on going back to a yellow letter for my 3rd mailing but I am confused. I really do not want to send 14 pieces by doing 7 from each angle..

1 other thing...if you are mailing a list you know others are mailing, couldn't you simply say that you have been sending mail and you are sending this letter to follow up and piggy back on others mailings? it is very possible the previous letters have been thrown out and they finally save the one that comes in when they are ready to sell so how would they know the difference?..or maybe the letter could say that your partner has previously sent letters and you are just following up in case there is a need to sell?

but I love rehabbing...6 months to get paid, paying interest and points to hard money lenders, dealing with contractors, dealing with owner occupant buyers and their list of repairs, paying for the 2nd appraisal, heating the vacant house, having all of my money out so I can feel the stress

Seriously, I do enjoy the process and its easier than wholesaling and I like maximizing the check at the end of the day but I wish I could just wholesale and make the same money right now...but until I figure it out, this is what's going on in my life.. so I will hopefully work on my equally atrocious mailing campaigns

Btw, anyone have an average cost per deal with direct mail?

i'm currently rehabbing but doing whatever I can to build a wholesale business to compliment the rehabbing...plan is to cherry pick the awesome deals and wholesale the rest...I feel stuck at 10-12 rehab flips a year due to money and time investment into each project so I need a way to build my business without renovating more homes...problem is that it's all easier said than done

one other side note, I have spent a lot of money on marketing recently...I have spent about 10k on mailing over the past 3 months and got 1 deal...but I'm keeping the faith and I will keep mailing until I get rich or my wife leaves me..it is very hard with every 1k out the door on mailing lists, letters, postcards, but this forum gives me a ray of hope that I will become a successful wholesaler sooner rather than later (but I will make it because it has become an obcession for me and I will succeed or die...or my wife will kill me because I spent all our savings on yellow letters..haha)

wow, great post! I have recently become addicted to bp :)

I just wanted to make a quick note about revealing your numbers to the seller(coming from a guy that is by no means an expert in dealing with sellers)...I think it would be a good idea to look at the low-end cash transactions and if they support the value you are presenting, show the seller what properties have been selling for....if you are going to provide numbers, talk about all the expenses on your end...commissions, interest, taxes, repairs, attorney fees, utilities, insurance...talk about what will happen if they list the property like get negotiated down, address issues after the inspection, they will then have to pay commissions

I def agree with not telling the seller what you will clear and make it a mystery as to what it will really sell for because its a buyers market, but letting someone know all the expenses on your end can be very powerful information to a seller because they will realize they have those expenses if they want to list the home...and instead of selling you their problems, they will keep them

I was looking for mortgage data (hoping to maybe find the inheritance list in the data), and ran across the following:

Has anyone had experience with this list? Any thoughts?