All Forum Posts by: Matt Kearney

I find zillow to actually be somewhat accurate for my area. I think maybe the markets that had huge run-ups and big down turns it is usually way off. And it definetly doesn't take into consideration the condition of the house.

I like to use it as a quick gauge of value. If I am talking to a seller on the phone, or trying to quickly gauge the ARV of an REO, I'll plug it into Zillow. If the asking price is alot lower than what zillow is saying I know it's worth looking into more.... at this point I'll do a more detailed CMA using the MLS.

Hi Greg,

I've been able to sell all our rehabbed properties very quickly, in most cases we've secured a buyer after less than a week on the market. My market has been very active as first time buyers look to take advantage of the tax credit.

My best advice would be to make sure you are buying at a very good discount, this way you can afford to do a quality rehab and you can price your finished product to sell. Investors get into trouble when they buy a rehab with too thin a margin. They end up cutting corners on the rehab and overpricing the property once finished.

I'd mail letters and postcards to probates, a free and clear list and fire damaged properties.

I gotta spend a couple grand to pull 100 leads, most of that cost are my internet leads.

The yellow letter is very personal and used on very small targeted lists.... thats why I get such a good response to them.

Postcard pulls 4%-5%, this is used on larger mailings. Yellow letter pulls 20%-35%. This is for a smaller targeted list.

I use a personalized postcard in which I mail merge owners name and property address right into the postcard body. I also use a short yellow letter that is very personalized. Both just reference the property address and that I am interested in buying it. I send these to all my lists and get a great response.

Hi Alida,

I can access all tax records in my state through the MLS, so I pull my list from there. When I was investing in another state (Rhode Island) I went to city hall and paid $75 for a disk with all the tax records in the city on an excel spreadsheet.

I purchase all our properties directly from the sellers. I buy alot of short sales, fire damaged properties, condenmed homes and probate deals.
I have never been able to get a good deal off the MLS.. all the REO's in the neighborhoods I like to buy in sell very quickly with multiple offers. Too much competition.

When I buy from the individual sellers there is usually no competition, I'm the only game in town, and I can make some fantastic deals :D