All Forum Posts by: Eric O'Brian

Rick, do you know how the probate process works in San Diego? I've tried looking up probates through the Union Tribune (paper and online), as well as the city probate website. I've called the probate office as well and emailed them, but couldn't get a hold of anyone.

Many thanks,

Eric

Another great book that could help you figure out which tasks could be assigned to VA's is "The E-Myth Revisited".

The premise of the book is to help you structure your business to work "on" your business instead of "in" your business.

I'm going to be helping my mentor start his property management company, I've talked to him on various levels about it already.

From what I understand, the most important part will be screening the right properties, as well as filling them with the right tenants. A well maintained property with good tenants can be a good source of income for a property management company with almost no upkeep.

But on the opposite end a house that needs a lot of maintenance with bad tenants can be a nightmare. I'll be learning more soon as we start it up in the next few weeks.

Was thinking of investing in this company,wanted to see if anyone has had any experience working or investing with them.

Many thanks,

Eric

My mentor / business partner who is showing me the ropes in RE is starting his own property management business after being in the real estate game for 13 years.

He is offering me a job in said property management business as an on-call maintenance person, and also said he can pay me to do yellow letters for him (I currently send out a lot of them for my own investing purposes).

He said he can either pay me for each letter, or a 10-15% commission on income from any leads I generate (so if I land him a property that he makes $150/mo on, I would make $15-$22.50/mo on each property. 20 properties = $300-$450 / mo total).

Either way, he will pay for all the material and postage- so I'll just be taking care of the rest (printing, packing, sending). I'm pretty sure I'll be answering the calls but I'll meet with him tomorrow to go over exact details.

He has experience in property management, and I know if well managed, there won't be much turnover.

The question is: how can I keep track of what accounts I land him, and how do I prevent him from just deciding to stop paying me the passive income?

Any input is appreciated. Many thanks,

Eric

I agree Rick, the copy is missing alot of the important marketing "triggers" such as a headline and unique selling proposition. My approach is to make it seem as "mom-and-pop" as possible... I might test a more professional sounding letter for different zip codes and see how that works out.

You're dead-on about the letter attracting curiosity seekers though. That's almost all I've gotten. And believe me, when I show up, I do it in my old beater. I try to get the point accross I'm just an average joe looking for a property for myself, which in part is very true- I might end up moving into it.

Thanks Michael,

What do you mean by "TOM"?

I can see how if someone really needed to sell their house (which is the only way a sale will happen) then it shouldn't matter what my letter says... the seller would just look for the number and call.

I just wanted to change it up since it seems like when I'm re-mailing the same letter to propects it looks less genuine due to the identical wording used... might make some people feel its "less authentic" and motivate them to call and ask to be taken off the list.

I might just change up one of the sentences to say "I am still interested in your house" and I suppose that should be good.

I checked out letter 2 and 3 on your site, looks good! I like how you made it flow down the side to maximize readability.

Hello everybody,

I will start creating follow up letter templates soon, I think that is the biggest improvement I can make on my current campaign.

I am trying to keep it as personal as possible, and get across the message I am just an average Joe looking for a property- not a realtor, not a corporation. Since that is my strategy, I'm trying hard to come up with follow up letters that don't sound too "professional-like".

Here is a (basic) version of what I have so far:

Letter 1: We are interested in buying your house. Please call us at xxx-xxx-xxxx.

Letter 2: We sent a letter a few weeks ago, and just wanted to ask again if you are interested in selling your house. If so, please let us know.

Letter 3: We are still interested in buying your house. If there are any issues or problems with the house, we wouldn’t mind. We are willing to buy a property even if it is in need of repair and fix it ourselves. If you are interested in selling your house, please let us know.

Letter 4: We are still interested in buying your house, we have been saving up and can pay cash if need be. We are writing letters because we would like to buy directly from the owner and save on fees we would pay to a realtor. If you are interested in selling your house, please let us know.

Does anyone have any suggestions on other benefits / further follow up scripts I could potentially add? Any help is greatly appreciated!

Many thanks

Thanks David, sounds useful, I might try it down the line!

Thanks Tim-

I agree, there's no way to make them motivated. Asking about the sellers situation and recommending listing with an agent as the way to get top dollar, I think that's the best way to be honest and helpful while saving both people's time. I know I'll eventually find someone who can't / doesn't want to list.