All Forum Posts by: Kyle B.

@Dev Horn

Thanks for the reply. That is great advice. I actually just started another forum asking a related, but slightly different question. Figure I might as well ask you here since you seem to know what you're doing.

Aside from probate leads, I have a nice list of leads where the owner has passed away, there is no surviving spouse, and they owned real estate (got these from Obits). To the extent you have experience with this, should I mail letters directly to the property address (addressing the letter to "Owner" and hoping it gets forwarded/picked up by the heirs) or should I spend the extra time researching who and where the children live and mail them letters?

Thanks so much!

I have collected a nice amount of leads from obituaries and plan on marketing to them. My process for this was to first determine that there was not a surviving spouse and then to see if the deceased had owned any property through the county's tax assessors site.

To those who have done this type of marketing before, my questions is this: is it more effective to send letters to the deceased's address (addressed generically to "Owner", not a specific name) and hope it gets forwarded to the heirs or should I research who the children are and send letters to them?

I have already cross referenced my list with the county probate files, so this is only pertaining to estates not in probate (which happens to be the majority of my list). Furthermore, I am waiting 2 months after passing to send out letters.

I have searched older forums but didn't find much info on this subject (non-probate inheritance leads). Some of what I did find was negative about this type of marketing but I don't see why it is drastically different than direct probate.

Thanks! Interesting in hearing anyone's insight.

Kyle

@rick harmon

To answer your question, I guess the benefit to the recipient is that they could receive cash for the property in a short time period.

Sounds like you don't agree that message is getting conveyed. Any tips on how you would change things around? Also, I added info on myself just to build credibility. I am always turned off by sales-types who are hazy on who they are exactly.

Thanks!

One last question (for now). Just looking to get feedback on my actual letter. I'm taking the route of short and to the point based on other forums on this topic:

Thanks!

Mr. John Doe,

I am a local real estate investor and may be interested in purchasing the property at 1234 Maple St, Anytown IN, which I located through Lake County Indiana’s public records. I can give you cash for this home with a quick closing, regardless of the property’s condition. If you are interested in discussing further, feel free to contact me at 123-456-7890 and/or [email protected].

Sincerely,

Kyle B

@Sharify grevious

Thanks for the tip. I'm going try talking with the probate office one more time and explain exactly my purpose in looking up the files. Maybe that will make them more likely to assist me. If that doesn't work, I will definitely explore the info you provided.

I have another follow up questions to the topic in general. How long should you wait before sending out a marketing letter? I don't want to send anything earlier than a month after the death. Is that generally a good rule of thumb?

Thanks.

@wayne brooks

Thanks, your assumption makes sense. The tax bill goes directly to the mortgage holder. Seems like I shouldn't waste sending mailings to these addresses then since they are owner occupied - no more motivation to sell than any average owner.

Also, you're right - no need to have the list perfect, just get the letters out.

Thanks!

Happy new year's BP! I have been collecting absentee owned property addresses through my county's assessors website. For some of the mailing addresses, when I look them up on Google maps, they are office buildings, some of which I'm able to determine are banks.

In these situations, is the property in question a foreclosure or could there possibly be a different reason why the owner's mailing address is listed as a bank office? To clarify, the owner's name is not a bank, just a regular John Doe, but it's obvious their mailing address is not where they actually live.

Thanks!

@Rick H.

I asked the probate office if they listed recent probate filings and told they were not; possibly they gave me misinformation or maybe they did not understand my question. I should probably pursue this further.

However, in the mean time, I did develop a list of properties where the owner recently passed away. I'm just looking for the most effective way to reach the new owners of the house based on BP members' past experiences (if any exists). No crystal ball necessary.

Thanks.

@Mark Ferguson

The transaction detail for this auction says buyer will receive a Specialty Warranty Deed or equivalent. Is that different than quit claim deed?

@Brad Z.

Thanks for the reply. In the transaction detail, they say the buyer will receive a "Specialty Warranty Deed or equivalent." Does this fall into the first category you described above. I didn't see anything about a title policy - do you mind explaining what that is specifically for a newbie, haha. I will call them to see about this as well.

It is a bank owned foreclosure and it was actually listed on the MLS before going through this auction process if that simplifies things as well.

Thanks!