All Forum Posts by: May Emery

@migdalia colon You have an extra challenge in SC because the state recently passed a privacy law prohibiting the use of public data for marketing - this includes solicitations to buy property. As a result, most list companies including ListSource don't have lists for SC.

You should work with a list broker who can pull some less traditional lists of motivated sellers. 

This blog talks about some options

https://www.biggerpockets.com/member-blogs/11806/85053-motivated-seller-lists-for-south-carolina

You are absolutely right - this is a numbers game. This is a good time to get mailing so you can hit the ground running. People are worried about finances and might be wondering how they can fix up their house to put it on the market. Your letter could let them know it's easy to sell and they don't have to do any work to it first!

@Andrew Melvil  I would continue mailing to people. Not sure if I would do just the pre-forclosure list though. It is pretty small and in the places where it's available, there are a lot of investors sending to the same people.

You might also consider the Low Financial Stability Score (FSS) list. This list will be even more effective now, since people who had financial trouble before this crisis are most likely to have circumstances turn for the worse and be ready to sell.

Here are a couple reasons why it can be effective

• * It can be applied to both absentee and owner occupied.
• * It isn’t widely available so “everyone” isn’t using it. For example; Absentee owners are getting too much mail so you have to compete with a lot of other investors’ offers.
• * People who were in trouble before the crisis are only going to be hurting more now and will still be hurting when things settle down.
• * It is available all over the country, even in areas like SC and KS where the laws prohibit the use of “public” data used by most compilers for real estate lists

FSS is a model to predict the likelihood that a person be accepted for certain types of credit offers. Consider the car dealer. They rely on credit-worthiness to make a sale, so they will only mail to people with high scores. When looking for motivated sellers, real estate investors want to focus on people at the lower end. It makes sense to mail to people who are struggling.

People are at home now - with plenty of time to worry and try to plan how to get out of trouble.

Take a look at this blog: Hit the ground running - You need to be marketing NOW

@Warren Golston This is a good time to be doing a mail campaign or calling potential sellers. They are getting less mail, so your offer will stand out - and they are home so more are answering the phone. 

The list you use is the trick. Work with a list broker to guide you through. Owners with Low Financial Stability Scores (FSS) and Seniors with Long-Time Ownership are 2 new lists that are getting traction. Absentee Owners with Equity can be good if you don't have a lot of competition in your area.

The Low FSS list will be even more effective now, since people who had financial trouble before this crisis are most likely to have circumstances turn for the worse and be ready to sell.

@Shelby Hensley You might consider mailing to Owners with Low Financial Stability Scores (FSS). People who were struggling before this whole thing hit will probably be in more trouble after. Since this is a new list, you won't be competing with all the other investors who are mostly mailing to the same list of absentee owners. 

A list broker should be able to help you get this.

@Erica Kirkland  It might make sense to buy a list. You can spend a lot of time and effort to drive around, write down addresses, research the owners before you can contact them. For about $150 you can buy a list of about 2100 absentee owners that will have most of those same addresses. The list will come with the owner's name and mailing address. Phone numbers can get added after you get the list.

@Michael Rivers You might save some time and frustration working with a list broker to get a list. I'd recommend Owners with Low Financial Stability Scores (FSS). These are people who are struggling financially. They may or may not have become delinquent, but it will help you to hone in on a large enough group to expect some results. Another advantage to this list - it is new and there aren't many investors mailing to them.

@Jonathan Rivera ListSource is great if you know what you want and that is an absentee owner. 

You can work with a list broker for about the same or less  -  and you get advise for your are.

You should consider mailing to people who aren’t in every other investor’s sites. Absentee Owners have been popular for a long time, and are apparently still somewhat effective (people are still mailing to them) but they are getting multiple offers to buy their home. It's hard to stand out.

There are some owner-occupied segments with people who share motivating factors for selling their home.

Seniors with Long-time Ownership: often ready to downsize or transition to assistance.

Homeowners with Low Financial Stability Scores (FSS): Struggling financially and likely ready to cash in on their asset.

Good luck with your campaign.

@Andrew Hyder Mail is effective in finding leads. The devil is in the list details.

You should consider mailing to people who aren’t in every other investor’s sites. Absentee Owners have been popular for a long time, and are apparently still somewhat effective (people are still mailing to them) but they are getting multiple offers to buy their home. It's hard to stand out.

There are some owner-occupied segments with people who share motivating factors for selling their home.

Seniors with Long-time Ownership: often ready to downsize or transition to assistance.

Homeowners with Low Financial Stability Scores (FSS): Struggling financially and likely ready to cash in on their asset.

A list broker should be able to help guide you in the right direction.

Good luck!

@Alexander Green  
­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­ Mailing is probably the best way to find your own off-market deals. These are people who share motivational characteristics of people ready to sell, but haven't yet done all the work they think they need to list property. The best way to find them is to send out mailers.

You can work with a list broker to find the best target list to mail to in your area. 

The counties on Long Island don't report Absentee Owner info, so your best bet will be Seniors with Long-time Ownership and Homeowners with Low Financial Stability Scores.

From there, there are a lot of companies that can help with the printing and mailing. Be sure that you highlight that "selling your house can be easier than you think" with the advantages of working directly with you instead of the more traditional route.

Good luck.

@William Goss I agree that you should work both angles, but be smart about it. Many wholesaler people are mailing to Absentee Owners to find the deals they could bring to you - so don't compete against them in the sellers mailbox. 

You should consider mailing to people who aren’t on every other investor’s radar. 

There are some owner-occupied segments with people who share motivating factors for selling their home.

Seniors with Long-time Ownership: often ready to downsize or transition to assistance.

Homeowners with Low Financial Stability Scores (FSS): Struggling financially and likely ready to cash in on their asset.

Both these categories have additional advantages in that they probably don’t haven’t been updated and may have deferred maintenance. They won’t be expecting the same money as their neighbors with the shiny new kitchen and fresh paint.

A consistent strategy doesn't mean doing the same thing over and over. Work with 2 or 3 lists then start back from the beginning rather than hammering the same people every time you mal.

Get in touch with a list broker to get help.