All Forum Posts by: May Emery

@Elisha Ballard Web sites can be less expensive, and I would certainly say you should get one to refer people to, but mail will be more effective in the long run.

Someone needs to be actively looking and putting in the right key words to find your website. Chances most of the traffic will be other investors.

With mail you can target people who might be on the fence about selling but haven't done anything about it yet. Consider the 75 year old who has been in the house for 20 years and thinks it will be too much work to sell. You can work with a list broker so you can mail to this and other targets who probably wouldn't find your website.

@David M.

"if the same prospect receives 25 postcards from different sellers all saying the same thing, the message begins to lose effectiveness, and it might be time for the savvy marketer to move to something new. "

I couldn't agree more. I have been advocating mixing up lists (not just absentee/investor) and going with more of a Benefits for the Seller approach. 

• Selling your house can be easier than you think!
• Thinking about selling but think it will take too much time and money to fix it up?
• Hate the idea of having lots of strangers come through your home to decide if they like it?
• Working with me will be easier than the traditional listing process because....

There's no need to put the property address on the letter/card - for just the reason. However, even if the public records are easy and open, you can save a lot of time working with a list broker who has compilers that can pull homes with the criteria you want and differentiate between the UPS store mailing address and property address. They can also suggest segments that won't be getting multiple offers every month.

@Rowen Burney have a plan so you aren't making the same mistake. 

Thanks for the smile. I enjoy your sense of humor.

@Kunle Akangbe it is possible to find property that is less than the average in the neighborhood. I'd suggest working with a list broker to get some suggestions of lists to mail to.

Two owner occupied segments have had success - without being over-popular yet

Seniors with Long-Time Ownership -15-20+ year ownership, age 60-89, specify median home values and eliminate known low equity

Owners with Low Financial Stability Scores (FSS) -Struggling financially, 5* year ownership, age 40-89, eliminate known low equity, and specify median home value.

These targets probably haven’t done any updating in a long time – and maybe even put off home maintenance. They wouldn’t expect to sell for as much as their neighbors with the shiny new kitchen, fresh paint and new roof!

Additionally, they won’t want to fix the house up to get ready to go on the market with the traditional broker. Your letter can tell them how easy you can make it for them to sell their house without having all sorts of strangers walk through.

You need to invest in some marketing to find these diamonds in the rough, but agreeing with @Jason Burr, it could be much more expensive in the long run to buy in the truly low end towns.

@Michael Arreola You are working in a very competitive market - with a lot of people trying to find the sweet deals. Many that are sending out mail are going after the same Absentee Owners. It might be helpful to work with a mailing list broker who can make additional suggestions. 

It's good that you identified some zips that you want to concentrate on. Time to start Mailing for Money! Two owner occupied segments have had success - without being over-popular yet

Seniors with Long-Time Ownership

15-20+ year ownership, age 60-89, specify median home values and eliminate known low equity

Owners with Low Financial Stability Scores (FSS)

Struggling financially, 5* year ownership, age 40-89, eliminate known low equity, and specify median home value.

Your list broker can run reports for you and most will charge the same as the online systems like ListAbility or ListSource. You won't have to take the time to learn the systems!

@Alaxander George You need to find homeowners who are likely to sell but haven't done the work to list it yet - the off-market leads. @Gino Barbaro gives a great example - his mother in law. I'll bet she is a senior who owned the house for more than 20 years. It wouldn't be surprising if the house hasn't been updated much lately - possibly even with some deferred maintenance (my apologies if she was an exception)

You can work with a list broker to find some targets for sellers with houses that might tend to be selling for less than the typical. The people with a 20 year old kitchen probably won't expect the same $ as their neighbor with the shiny new kitchen, fresh coat of paint and new landscaping.

Two targets might be Seniors with Long-time Ownership and Owners with Low Financial Stability Scores (FSS). You can send a letter telling them how easy it will be to sell their house if they work with you!

@Account Closed is an Absentee Owner with Equity. That is the most popular list.

Find a list broker that can suggest alternative off-market leads. Two to consider are Owners with Low Financial Stability Scores (FSS) and Seniors with 15+ Year Ownership.

Don't focus your message on "I want to buy your house fast for cash". Come up with reasons why "it is easier to sell your house than you think". List things that make working with you better than the traditional realtor. No need to update or fix things. No strangers walking through looking at your things. 

@Peter Marston. You should get very specific talking points that focus on the benefits you offer the seller - especially since it sounds like you might know her. Talk about how easy it will be for them to sell the house to you vs the traditional realtor route. "it's easier than you think"

No fixing it up, making repairs or staging it to be shown. You can handle the clean-out, find people to run yard sales. Add in the fast cash as more of an aside rather than leading with it.

You should start with asking if she has plans to move back to town or has thought about selling. If you are comfortable with it, be a bit sentimental about wanting property near your parents.

If you come up with a good letter, consider working with a list broker so you can mail to seniors who might be ready to downsize or transition to assistance.

Good luck

@Donna Hardie Consider working with a list broker. They can make suggestions for your market to provide a mix of audiences that have motivating factors. If your market it highly competitive, you don't want to put all your resources mailing to just Absentee Owners.

Two owner occupied segments have had success - without being over-popular yet

Seniors with Long-Time Ownership - 15-20+ year ownership, age 60-89, specify median home values and eliminate known low equity

Owners with Low Financial Stability Scores (FSS) - Struggling financially, 5* year ownership, age 40-89, eliminate known low equity, and specify median home value.

Your list broker can run reports for you and most will charge the same $ as the online systems like ListAbility or Listsource. You won't have to take the time to learn the systems!

@Dan Moore you might think about investing in marketing to off-market leads. Consider mailing to Seniors - they are most likely to have homes somewhere between "ready to be condemned or only needs paint and carpet." While they took care of the home, it's unlikely that they have put in a new kitchen or other remodeling for quite some time. There's a good probability that they have deferred maintenance as well. 

Be sure that you letter talks about how much easier it is to sell their home to you - rather than the traditional realtor route. They don't have to fix it up or have strangers walking through their house looking at their stuff.  

Good luck

If you are working with a real estate agent/broker, talk to them about statistics of where there are the most sales. 

Do you have connections with buyers in any specific areas?

If you plan to send mail to potential sellers, a mail list broker can provide reports broken out by zip for a couple counties. Are you looking more in the city - Suffolk and Norfolk counties? or in the burbs - Plymouth, Essex, Middlesex. You should probably start with the counties close to where you live. Your location may also be decided on the home value that you are comfortable with.

Once you decide where, mix a couple different lists such as Absentee, Seniors and Low Financial Stability Scores.