All Forum Posts by: Eric O'Brian

Thanks Jeremy- That's a good idea, I will add it to my list.

Hello Fellow BP-ers,

In preparation for a mail marketing campaign to absentee owners that will include a free service to email a picture of their rental property(ies) each year for free to absentee owners, I have been trying to come up with material for a monthly email newsletter to send to those owners that opt-in to it.

I want to provide benefit to owners when it comes to information on managing their tenants, how to maintain a property that will yield the highest rent, how to find a good property manager, etc...

My question to all the landlords and absentee owners out there is:

What sort of topics would you find most beneficial to help you maximize your rental income / minimize headache? 

Any suggestions on what information would be useful to absentee owners / landlords?

Many thanks for your help,

Eric

 Thanks James,

Managing my own assets would be ideal, I have yet to find a smart investment in San Diego however. 

The broker I would be working with told me there is typically a 10% turnover rate. He's been doing it for 10 years or so and has systems set up in place, I would be learning from him and in turn paying him broker fees. Once a system is set up in place I would start advertising to absentee owners to fill in the 10% turnover rate, and grow from there.

Hello everyone,

I've saved up $80k from my job and have been looking for a smart way to get into real estate. My goal is to buy investment properties to rent out, yet in this sellers market where it's hard to find deals that make sense, I want to invest that money in buying property management accounts (perhaps 40-50 accounts).

I have a friend who is a broker, I am studying to get my agents license, and he said he could help me get my property management company going.

I figure it could be a way to create an income stream, learn more about the business, be in touch with owners who might need to sell fast, and if I could get 50 accounts, it would be bringing in enough money where I could hire someone to deal with most of the tenants, and still make a good profit. This would free up my time for other business ventures.

Can anyone offer any advice on this situation? My broker friend has run his own property management firm before and also wants to get into it, and it sounds like a very smart thing to do- he is encouraging me to do it and makes it sound like a promising income stream. Just hoping to get some insight from others, looking to invest my life savings into this.

Many thanks!

-Eric

Thanks Seth for the advice. Your position sounds like a dream one for me, having motivated callers flooding in. To me its still like a mythical being that I've never seen myself, just heard about from stories. In southern california the market is crazy, so alot of these homeowners think they're sitting on gold, and will often scoff at a price that would make sense to an investor. My mentor tells me the market will change and when it does the motivated sellers will start calling in, and I'm looking forward to that moment.

The one thing I'm worried about is like you mentioned: "Do these people think that you are their only hope, or do they have plenty of other options that can solve their problem?"

I've heard from many homeowners who've called me that they get plenty of these letters each month. San Diego is a competitive market- it makes me wonder how to reach out to homeowners that need to sell but don't have a stack of yellow letters and postcards to call from (although I wonder if they call around or just go with the first one). I started driving for dollars and looking up public records myself, and mailing every absentee owner on a certain street, instead of buying from listsource, I'll see how that turns out.

Great way to look at it Joe, I've dealt with some really grumpy callers, but I know dealing with all of those will really make that motivated stand out when he does call.

That's a interesting way to screen the calls- I try to call back everyone but its true, if they were motivated they would keep trying to contact you.

In southern california, here alot of people tell me "I get a few of these letters every month" and they call me just to ask how I get their contact info. I have yet to talk to a motivated seller, just had one slumlord who was going to give me a good price, but his wife talked him out of it. Often during my lunchbreak I have to go to PT or meetings at work, so on those days I can call them back only after 5pm... thinking about getting a VA, but not so sure that is the best way to go about it.

Hello everyone,

I am in the process or revamping my yellow letter system, and was thinking of the importance of picking up the phone each time a prospect calls you.

I work a 9-5, sometimes more, and used to walk out to take calls, but most were tire-kickers and it was not time-effective.

Now I just let it go to voicemail (using Google Voice). I'll listen to the message right away, and if its important I will call them back within a few minutes- Sometimes longer, if I'm in a meeting or in the middle of a big project.

My questions are:

1. How important is it have a live person pick up the phone each and every time? Is letting it go to voicemail and calling back during my lunchbreak, and in the evening (5pm) a bad idea?

2. How important are negotiation techniques vs. being at the right place at the right time for a motivated seller?

I've recently heard a podcast where the presenter was talking about how he would walk away during negotiating to take a call, come back and restate the price, if the seller said no keep justifying the low price, etc... In the past I've stated the number I could work with, if they said no I would say I'd think about it, and called back a day or two later to negotiate some more.

Just wondering if being there at the right place and right time, and just being straightforward and fair is a good tactic. Are negotiation strategies/tricks very important?

Many thanks!

Eric

Thanks Rick, I am jealous of your schedule! I can see how riding a tractor can get old, masterminding sounds a lot more interesting.

I will go down to the probate office and dig around in the cobwebs, I am looking forward to it. I will let you know how it goes, and if you're ever near Kearny Mesa I'd be glad to invite you for a coffee or beer.

Thanks Rick,

I did read and comprehend the message, I wasn't sure if it was necessary to drive down to the courthouse in CA which is why I asked. I work 60 hours a week, so it'll be a challenge to get down there. But I will take a day off and go there soon. Thanks for the advice, I will post back on here how it went!

Do you tell them you use the information for marketing purposes? I was wondering if the clerks there might be averse to facilitating information for those purposes.