All Forum Posts by: Jeff Stewart

@Christopher Pray @Tim Booz Do you guys have any contractor recommendations in Bergen County? I need to do a full gut job on a 4/2.5 in Hillsdale. I could really use some BP help to point me in the direction of a great contractor. I'm not sure I want to use the guy I used on the last flip. Thanks in advance!

@Eda Tekeoglu this is an old thread, but I'd really love to hear if you moved forward with your project and how it went. I'm on the hunt for a great contractor in Bergen County right now. 

@Michael Krassos were you happy with your contractor? Would you be willing to put me in touch? 

I'm really hoping BP can come through for me here! :)

@Rhonda Shrum It's great to hear you took action and bought a list. That list should serve you for six months. Just make sure you commit to send mail out to your whole list each month for those six months. Consistency is the key. Sending out one mailer and then giving up when you don't get a deal is a waste of money. You have to stick with it. Most people won't call you until they've received 4-6 mailers from you. 

Good luck!

I used Click2Mail personally. Pretty simple process, with lots of styles and templates to choose from. Don't overthink it; keep it simple and go for it. Most importantly, remember to be consistent. If you mail out 18,000 pieces once a month for 6 months, I'd be stunned if you didn't land multiple deals. Just don't get frustrated if the first mailing doesn't get it done. Repetition is key. 

Direct mail is a fantastic method for finding off-market deals. I'd also recommend "driving for dollars." Cruise your farm area looking for vacant houses. Write down the addresses and then get to work on Google to track down the owner. Look for a mailing address, but really try to find a phone number if you can. There is no substitute for talking directly to the owner of a distressed property. 

In the absence of a list, I definitely agree that driving (or running!) for dollars is a great play. Come home with a few addresses and jump on the old Google machine to find the owner. My drive last week got me an appointment with a potential seller next week. He inherited a house two years ago and has done nothing with it. Selling it to me sounded like a great idea to him!

@Sean Jones I'm on my way to an investors meetup right now! 6:00 at the Ramada Plaza, 160 Frontage Road in Newark. No time like the present! 

I used Click2Mail. Pretty straightforward and inexpensive to design, print, and mail.

Way to take action! That snowball is really going to start growing now!

@Phil Chong If I were looking at these numbers as a simple fix and flip, I definitely would not buy it. When you account for holding and closing costs, there's just no money to be made in it at all. I'm not an expert in buy and hold by any stretch, so I'll leave it to someone else to advise you there.