All Forum Posts by: Cornelius Garland

@Robert Wilson You can try to sign up with Experian, but they require a site inspection at your commercial address, credit check, and they don't like signing up real estate investors. There is one specific skip tracing tool I use that doesn't require any of this and I can possibly get you connected to it if you're interested.

@Allan Smith There are quite a few that you can choose from, but you need to know people to get access to them. I have a contact at one particular company that allows real estate investors to sign up. I know TLO and Lexis Nexis have been cracking down lately on investors using their tools for marketing so a lot of people on BP have been getting denied by them. This company I work with doesn't mind you using their tools for marketing. Most of their searches range from $1.00-$5.00 per search as @Account Closed indicated. The hit rate is about the same as my better tools I use. I may be able to help you get connected, and I'll shoot you a PM.

@Allan Smith A physical inspection requires a private investigator to inspect your home or commercial address to ensure you're a legitimate business. You're correct regarding having to pay top dollar. You have to look at it from the data brokers' standpoint. If just anybody can get access to social security numbers, addresses, and accurate phone numbers then someone with nefarious intent can do some real damage with this information. The site inspection requires the customer to "jump through hoops" in order to qualify for these tools.

@Victor Maxey Hello Victor, we stop cold calling at 8 pm and we start calling at 8 am. We haven't had any complaints since we switched to this schedule. We used to cold call after 8 pm, and a lot of people were not pleased.

@Mushtaq G. I'm no expert in landlording, but I do know that mixing emotions and business is never good. I've seen several people make this mistake when renting out a property, and the situation never ended well. I can tell you how it'll play out if you go forward with this. They'll move in and be so grateful. They'll pay on time for about 3 months, but something will "suddenly" come up the fourth month. It'll probably be related to health so you'll let them pay the rent later or allow them to double up on payments the next month. Then this cycle will repeat itself until you're fed up and you need to evict them. What's more of a red flag is that they said they "should be able to meet the income minimum". This means that they can't pay you, or they'll either prioritize their other bills in front of paying rent since they know you're a nice guy. They'll take advantage of you because they know they can pay rent late, but they can't get away with paying their car bill, water bill, etc late. 

This one is easy. Just don't do it. Like the gentleman above me said, you're not running a charity. It's a privilege to live in a home, whether renting or paying a mortgage, so they need to meet the standards to earn this privilege.

@Daniel Onunekwu Intelius' numbers are not good nor are any of the "freemium" tools, such as Spokeo, Been Verified, Lexis Nexus, etc. All of them are data resellers and charge customers for significantly outdated phone numbers. Always remember: when it comes to getting any sort of sensitive data, if a company doesn't require an on-site inspection, the data is usually poor.

Separately, you're going to want to get a lot more properties to skip trace. Please don't get stuck on those 30 abandoned properties or the properties that you think are amazing deals because they're boarded up. Early in my career, I became fixated on just a few properties and didn't have a steady flow of leads in my marketing pipeline. Ultimately, my business suffered because of it. This is very much a numbers game so volume is critical.

@Daniel Onunekwu Where are you getting your numbers from? Also, how many abandoned properties have you attempted to skip trace? If you're not getting your numbers from a reputable source, then it's difficult to determine if the numbers are just bad or if the owner truly doesn't have an updated phone number. Also, you want to focus on quantity when trying to get in touch with owners of abandoned properties. A handful of owners won't get you much of response; you need a list of at least 500 to see a meaningful response.

@Brady Speers You're absolutely correct regarding the data. VAs are only as good as the tools you give them and most of them don't have access to the databases you need to get accurate phone numbers. Most of the high-quality skip tracing tools require an in-site inspection and a commercial office. Additionally, you need to be an American citizen to get these numbers. So most of the VAs won't meet these qualifications and they're depending on the person who hired them to give them access to their tools. Essentially, you'll need to get the tools then let them log in using a VPN if they're out of the country. How many leads do you need phone numbers for? I might be able to help out.

@Marcus Maloney You're not dreaming. This is the exact reason why I started my lead gen company. There was no service when I first started investing where you can get phone numbers in bulk so I created one for this very purpose. It's unfortunate because a lot of companies charge upwards to $10 per search, which is just completely crazy. As investors, I feel like having phone numbers to cold call is essential to your marketing, and $10 per search is not scalable. I just sent you a message and colleague request with more details.

@Anthony Muffi Hello Anthony. 25-30 cents per lead is a stretch. Most people charge anywhere from 1-10 dollars per lead for this service. I may be able to help you out or at least point you in the right direction because this is what I do full-time for investors. Please PM me, and I'll provide more details.