All Forum Posts by: Alan King

we do quite of bit of marketing in the san antonio area.  Latley for some reason, we have recieved multiple calls from people with properties in south texas .  These owners live in san antonio  but own property in south texas.  One lead in particular inherited his parents house and just does not want to deal with the property anymore.  Im looking to connect with active investors in south texas, to pass these leads too. we hate wasting solid leads.  

as far as stategy for investor?  I'm not familiar with the  market in that area so i am not sure. This is why I would like to connect with active investors down south

Hi,  just wondering if there are any active investors in south texas?  I'm in San Antonio, but have come across a couple of motivated leads with properties in the Laredo/Zapata area i need assistance with.

Our message is very generic.  We have tried mail pieces that mention tax delinquency, but it only increased the amount of angry callers asking why I thought their house was for sale,  or how do I know they owe taxes. I have found most people that own property know if they are behind on their taxes, so there is no need to mention in our mail piece.  You can not create motivation, if the owner wants to sell they will respond.  So we use a basic we buy houses message.  When the sellers call, they usually mention they are behind on the taxes without us even asking.  @Rick Price

@Rick Price Post cards seem to work best for us when marketing to this list in my market.  As far as content, we try to keep it as simple and short as possible.  We tell subject who we are, and that we buy houses.  We list a few benefits that they will experience when selling to us (quick cash, no repairs, no commissions, etc.)  We also include our phone # and our website address.  We have tried typed and hand written letters in the past, but post cards seem to produce the callers we are looking for.

I recently began mailing tax delinquents.  Originally I began sending yellowletters.  I have found that yellow letters give a high response rate, but the callers calling in from this mail piece seem to be more curious than anything.  They often call asking who I am, and why i think their house is for sale. I also received quite a bit of calls asking us to remove them from our mailing list.  I have now switched to  a simple short post card that says I buy houses in any condition, and lists the benefits I can offer (cash, quick closing, no commissions, etc).  The response rate has decreased compared to the yellow letters, but the callers that call from my postcards are solid leads actually looking to sell a property. The curious tire kicker calls have decreased.  I'm still testing both, but as of now I feel the postcard is a better route for me in my market.  Real estate is local so I advise you test both in your market and see what works better for you.

both work if you are consistently mailing solid lists. I found that letters spark more curiosity and will result in a higher response rate vs postcards. Most of the calls I received from yellow letters were tire kickers wanting to know who i was and why i thought there house was for sale. I got a few angry callers too asking me not to mail them anymore.  Personally I prefer post cards.  the response rate will be lower compared to yellow letters, but  I found the callers that do call  are more motivated and are actually looking to sell a house.  Real estate is local...every market is different.  I suggest testing both and see what works better in your market.  there are no magic secrets when it comes to marketing.. the key is to consistently get your message in front of potential sellers. Whether its letters or post cards, if a seller is truley motivated and needs to sell they will call.

your county tax assessor office should be able to provide a list of properties with delinquent taxes. Some counties charge a fee for this data.

I would start by sending a letter to the physical address saying you would like to buy the property. The family of the deceased may still be checking the mail.

I recently had a family member of a deceased home owner contact me from a letter I sent to a vacant house. The home owner had passed but the daughter was still checking the mail. Turns out the daughter was the executor of the estate as well.

You may also want to leave a short note with your contact info on the door stating you would like to buy the house.