All Forum Posts by: Chrissy Parsons

@Eric Gross Think again about direct mail - the message you send can make all the difference. 

You might consider teaming up with a mortgage broker to send a mailing to "Renters with high income and high Financial Stability Scores (FSS). You could invite them to a seminar on home buying. 

A second mailing might talk about the benefits of ownership. Maybe team up with one of the experienced brokers in your office and highlight some entry-level homes.

@Stephen Kolozsi You might consider doing some mailing. The Chicago area has a lot of investors mailing to absentee owners. If you are looking for sellers, consider a campaign to Seniors with Low Financial Stability Scores (FSS)

If you are looking for buyers, consider a campaign to high income renters and high FSS. You might even team up with a mortgage broker to share the expense. You could invite people to a "Home Buying Seminar"

@Mercedez H. You need to be aware of cold calling and the Federal Do-Not-Call requirements. Due to the number of spam call we all get, it's obvious the government isn't enforcing it well. But remember why the laws were passed in the first place. People don't want to get sales calls at home.

A better bet might be to do some mailing. 

If you want to focus on listings, you could target Seniors with Long-Time Ownership (ready to downsize or transition to assistance) or Homeowners with Low Financial Stability Scores. If you do the leg-work, one of the other brokers might pitch in to help with the cost.

If you want to be a buyer's agent, consider partnering with a mortgage broker to run some first-time home buyer seminars (or meetups). For this, mail to renters, age 30-55 with an income appropriate for your area.

A list broker can help you to refine the criteria.

@Rigo V. Congratulations on your license. Have you considered doing a mail campaign? 

If you want to focus on listings, you could target Seniors with Long-Time Ownership (ready to downsize or transition to assistance) or Homeowners with Low Financial Stability Scores.

If you want to be a buyer's agent, consider partnering with a mortgage broker to run some first-time home buyer seminars (or meetups). For this, mail to renters, age 30-55 with an income appropriate for your area.

A list broker can help you to refine the criteria.

@Account Closed You can overcome some of the problems of "high prices with low inventory"  on the north side by mailing for off-market leads. Since Chicago is a competitive market, you will need to get a little more creative with your target. You might consider working with a list broker to get some suggestions for your list.  Most of the absentee owners are probably already getting a lot of offers.

One target to consider is Mature Homeowners with Low Financial Stability Scores. You can specify single/multi, home value, absentee/owner occupied, length of ownership and more to narrow things down. 

Since these owners have probably not updated and have deferred some maintenance they shouldn't be expecting the same prices that the spiffy houses in the neighborhood are fetching. This is where you can come in, fix things up and sell at a profit. 

@Mondrell Fields If you have a hard time getting the pre-foreclosure deals and want to avoid legal concerns surrounding how you can market to them - consider this alternative:

Homeowners with Low Financial Stability Scores

This list utilizes a model that was developed to help companies offering loans or other credit. The car dealer didn't  want to waste mailing expense and their sales time with people who most likely wouldn't qualify for a loan. We can turn this around and mail to homeowners on the low end of the scale - the ones who are most likely to be struggling financially.

These are a good target for a profitable turn around. They probably haven't been spending much on maintaining their house and doing upgrades. As a result, they wouldn't expect the same kind of money as their neighbors might be getting. 

You can specify home value, location, omit trust and company owned, owner age, purchase date, absentee and/or owner occupied and more.

@Paul Gay This is a numbers game. It will pay to get as many going as you can. 

As for what you mail, consider your area and the type of card/letter people might respond to.  As a sales person, I like the personal benefits approach.

This is a blog that talks about suggestions for mailing to SENIORS. A lot of the benefits you can offer them (such as - sell direct to me instead of putting house on market so you don't have to fix things up or have strangers coming into your home) apply to just about everyone.

@Alex Locklear I'm struggling along myself.... Taking a course from Reliablesoft.net - seems to be easy to follow and makes sense. Now I just need the time to finish it up and implement their suggestions. So much of it is getting links back to you which can be tough.

@Mike Easton If you decide that a mail campaign is in your future, you want to really think out a list. As @Ned Carey points out, it's a numbers game. 

You might want to work with a list broker who can help you narrow your target and choose the best lists for your market.

Some considerations might be:

• Absentee Owners with Equity (be aware that if you are in a busy market, these guys might already be getting a lot of mail)
• Owners with Low Economic Stability Scores (FSS) (sort of speaks for itself - good target for distressed property)
• Seniors with Long-Time Ownership (ready to downsize or transition to assistance)

@Paul Gay Congratulations on having the ambition to work towards you masters AND study real estate!

A big part of the direct mail is your target audience. Finding off-market leads is a numbers game. It's also a delicate balance; reaching out to enough people so you have a chance - but also limiting your list to people likely to want to sell.

There are some do-it-yourself sites like ListSource and ListAbility, but you might consider working with a list broker. A broker has access to quite a few different lists and can make recommendations for your market. And the good news is that many brokers have similar pricing to the on-line sites.

The following are some considerations:

Absentee Owners with Equity (be aware that in some markets that these guys are getting inundated with mail)

Seniors with Long-Time Ownership (ready to downsize or transition to assistance)

Owners with Low Financial Stability Scores (ready to cash out and have deferred maintenance and updates. You have good opportunity to make better profit)