All Forum Posts by: Neil J.

@Lawrence Sudweekshas a great point! By looking at the response rates as opposed to the cost per piece, the money spent becomes less of an issue. The potential  should be the drive behind mailing direct.

Also, don't forget about follow ups. A single mailing to a list may not be enough. Sometimes it take 2, 3, or even 4 mailings before you receive a call. Not because your creating motivation with your mail, but because the potential seller may not be interested in selling when you send the first round, but in round 3 their situation may have changed and they are motivated now. This, as well as some may take some time to realize you are an actual person interested in their property.

An effective campaign will set you apart. Switching up what mail piece you send out will help you stand out to different types of sellers. While a postcard may appeal to one person, a letter may appeal to another, or a zip letter to another, etc. Keep this in mind as you explore more.

There is a campaign that Michael Quarles suggests that he uses himself as well as has his students use that utilizes 6 different marketing pieces in a 6 month campaign. He talks about it in quite a few of his podcasts. Definitely worth a look!

To me, Cost per mailer is the wrong number to focus on. What is more important is the response ratio for different types of mailings.

If one postcard mailing costs you .40 cents each including postage, but only has a 1% response ratio, it is not as good a deal as one that may cost 3-4 times the price, but has a 20% response ratio. I would pay 3 times as much to get 15 times the result, wouldn't you?

I've been using a very personalized mailing system that has been super effective. My mailings generate confidence, trust, and professionalism that most are missing.

I'd be happy to share some of my techniques that work really well if you want to pm me.

This is not a bargain. Are the apartments 100% occupied now?  Joel Owens has a great idea, if only the seller will go for it. You may be able to do a "master lease" of the building and you would then be subletting the units with an option to buy.  If it doesn't work out, you don't exercise your option and walk after the lease if up.  This way you are not in debt and you get an education.

You can't touch the $1000 of passive income at first.  You will want that to build into a nice emergency fund because stuff will break and you can't have tenants in a place without plumbing, heat, etc.  You will work for free until this builds up.  If you are not very experienced, you will be soon, the hard way, if you buy this deal.

May I recommend buying a single family home first? Something inexpensive. Start with a trickle of cash flow and build it into a stream, then a river.  (Gary Keller: The Millionaire Real Estate Investor)

I see deals that are better than this on LoopNet.com. Maybe you can comparison shop.