All Forum Posts by: Kate Pierse

@Michael Lemieux in one of the recent BP newsletters there was an article on probate that discusses sending letters to the property address and the executor's address. Let me know if you can't find it and I'll try to forward it to you.

I started mailings to probate in February, and if I don't catch the executor within 2 weeks of the first filing, the house is sold or already listed with a realtor. I only send my letters to the executors though - so far that has led to enough leads. Our filings also have phone numbers so I call if they are not on the Do Not Call list.

@Mike Sattem Great job! Thanks for sharing!

Hi Kit, Cary is a tough area as its a very hot market, you might want to check out Durham - prices are much lower and there are a higher percentage of renters than in Cary. Good luck!

@Luis Toledo Shout out to Durham!

While Luis definitely sounds like he knows what he's talking about, I do think you are on the right track. I recently got my license and joined a firm with a relatively young BIC - he's 36 and the average age of a realtor is 57 years old. He was just selected as one of the 10 rising stars for our national network and believes there is a niche that isn't being filling in real estate in the form of social media. I would tend to agree. Think about it - where are buyers? 94% start their search online, especially if they are coming in from out of state. That includes 95% of people aged 25-44, 90% of people 45-64 and 69% people 65+ (this is all info I got given on my first day at the company :-)). I agree that you cannot compete with the zillows and trulias and realtor.coms, but last week I saw a webinar on designing long tail keywords that get you good organic ratings. I also agree with Luis that you should not use PPC - conversion rates are only ever around 1% and its not worth the money. The number one real estate agent in the country at Coldwell Banker only uses Facebook - she posts one video per day. So it can work. Do you research though and don't just be hanging on FB, thinking you're working - using social media should be a well-thought out strategy for marketing and should have wide ranging topics with targeted, relevant content that attracts leads to your site. Oh and also be sure prioritize an email capture facility - this will be the foundation of your database. Good luck!

Would it be possible to find a buyer who could obtain conventional financing? In this case it would not need to be owner occupied and depending on their financial situation, they may not even need a large down payment. Just a thought so that you might be able to expand your options beyond cash buyers.

To analyze the property for prospective buyers I would calculate the net operating income so you could advertise an X% return on their money. Just google NOI and the formula will be there, or I'm sure there are resources on this site with regards to analyzing the return on an investment property. This will help you know what you need to sell the properties for so that the investor finds it an attractive offer.

I hope this helps

At JY Monk in North Raleigh. They did a pretty good job overall.

@Michael Jobe Good luck with the exam! I took it in early January, the whole thing including the national portion. Did you get out of that part because you had a license from another state?

I have to admit I did find the exam hard, and the feedback I got was that others in my class did too. However, we all did pass, so it couldn't have been that hard! One tip that was told to me which I found to be true was that there were plenty of questions on property management. Don't know why, it just seemed to be the case.

If you studied and took your course seriously, which it sounds like you did, you should pass.

Great replies, everyone! Thank you for the input! I'm glad my gut feeling wasn't far off when I thought face to face might be more effective than phone calls. I do feel a bit annoyed that so much of the reading and research I've done recommends phone calls...maybe the material is dated to back when everyone had a home phone that was listed in the white pages.

@Karen Margrave love the idea of the newsletter!

Hi everyone, I'm a relatively new agent (passed the exam in January) and I'm trying to do all the things more experienced agents recommend to get started - networking, marketing to my SOI, contacting FSBOs and expireds, etc.

I just have a question though - many agents recommend calling FSBOs and expireds, but I'm having trouble locating phone numbers. Expireds obviously don't list their phone numbers on the MLS and the FSBOs I find are usually on Craigslist or online FSBO websites, neither of which list phone numbers. Am I missing something? How do you get phone numbers so that you can do all this calling that is recommended?

I have no problem going around to someone's house and door knocking, so I was planning on doing this since I don't have the numbers, but wanted to check if anyone had a tip I didn't know about.

Thanks in advance for any advice!!

@Account Closed What a coincidence - my brother's family lives in Hermosa Beach and my parents live in Ventura! I visit the area a couple times a year, so at least I'm familiar with it. Unfortunately I don't think my opinion counts for much as I'm new like you, and have never even done a deal yet. I've heard that it is a real challenge finding a deal in southern CA right now, and since Ventura is a bit further out of the city you may have some luck. I think there are a few investors on here from the Thousand Oaks area, you may want to connect with them and see what they think.

I have heard the term Virtual Wholesaling, which you may want to ask about by setting up a separate thread in the forum. That might be an option for Ventura. There is also the idea of co-wholesaling where you may be able to find a deal and then connect with another wholesaler in the area who has a buyer, and split the money earned.

I know you are in a tight market right now but I am jealous of how large your area to work is. I'm sure with demand increasing and some dedicated hunting for deals, you can make it work.