All Forum Posts by: Seth Williams

Hi Jessie Peris,

I've had this kind of response before and I know it can be discouraging.

It is difficult to pin-point exactly why some campaigns do better than others, but here are some of the most common problem areas that I've seen from other investors:

- The quality of the list (what kinds of recipients are you mailing to?)
- The age of the list (how old is the information you're working with?)
- Failing to target the most appropriate recipients (are you narrowing your list enough?)
- A weak postcard message (what exactly are you saying to your recipients?)
- No immediate call to action (are you telling your recipients what to do? who to call? which website to visit? and WHY they should do it?)

That being said - it's also worth noting that sometimes these direct mail pieces take time to build up a stead stream of leads coming in the door. This past December, I had a guy call me who received his postcard from me back in August of 2011... the calls don't always come immediately - but they do come eventually.

Hey Ryan,

Welcome to the forum!

West Michigan is a slightly different animal than the East side of the state, but let me know if you're looking for any market insights. I'm happy to help you out in any way I can.

Seth

This is a great feature Josh. Thanks for pointing it out.

Nice rehab Brian - I'd live there.

Btw, not sure if you'd know this - but what kind of lens did your photographer use to get those wide angle shots?

I've bought and sold several landlocked parcels like this (and made some decent money from them). In Michigan, there are several areas of the state where you CAN'T legally force anybody to give you access to the property. It'd odd that this problem is allowed to exist, but even without the ability to correct the issue - I've still been able to make it work.

The only reason I was able to make it work is because I was able to buy these landlocked parcels for almost nothing (seriously - I paid $150 for an 8 acre parcel once). When you can buy acreage for that cheap - it's not difficult to find someone who is willing to pay a few three thousand bucks with the hope that they can fix the issue.

If you're not able to buy this property for next-to-nothing, I would be seriously hesitant to move forward. In my opinion anything over a few hundred bucks would be too much to risk on this.

I agree with Dale Osborn about checking with the neighbors, I've sold a few landlocked parcels that way. I also agree with Karen M. - in that, if you are going to make a significant investment, you'd better be sure you can get that easement before you proceed.

Given that you probably can't buy this property for a few hundred bucks, I'd go the Option route if I were in your shoes.

Hey Jake Sparks, I've got cousins in Gilbert, AZ! That's a nice area of Phoenix.

Let me know if I can lend you a hand with anything in your new business. Even if you just need to bounce ideas off someone, my door is always open.

I rarely deal with properties that are listed on the MLS. As such, realtors typically aren't involved in my deals. I find most of my leads elsewhere, so I am almost always dealing directly with the seller.

Hi Wilson Mui,

Absolutely. I used to be hesitant about this when I got started as an investor... until I learned that being upfront with the seller actually saves both me and them a TON of time and frustration by simply setting the expectations upfront.

I like to verbally offer them half (or less) of their property's value right over the phone. For example, if their property was worth $100,000, I might say something like this:

"If we could pay you cash, pay for all of your closing costs, and close on this transaction in the next 2 – 4 weeks, would you consider selling your property for $30,000?"

Often times, the answer is no and this is not a bad thing. This is actually a good thing. The sooner I know that they aren't going to play ball under my terms, the sooner I can get off the phone and move on with my life.

The worst thing is to waste days and weeks of your life sending out dozens of offers to people who have no intention of selling their property to you. Successful investors know how to handle themselves on the phone, and you'll definitely get a lot further, a lot faster by getting answers immediately instead of playing the "shoot-and-miss" game.

Just my 2 cents.

I've found that the currency & accuracy of these lists usually depends GREATLY on which county you're trying to pull the information on.

List services are really just the intermediary. If the county doesn't update it's records in a timely fashion, then places like listsource won't be able to do any better. They can only provide the information they have available from each individual county (however outdated it may be).

For example, there is a very rural county in my state that literally takes more than a year to update their databases (it's pretty pathetic). If you're trying to get current information on any property in that county, you're gonna have a bad time.

In my experience, most counties that are near a major metro area tend to be relatively current, but the more rural they get, the worse the information is (this is a very broad statement, of course - every county is different). I think it has a lot to do with the county's budget. The less tax revenue they have available, the worse their systems are going to be.

If you want the most current information possible, I've found that it helps to order your list directly from the county. It doesn't get any more current than the information they have in their computers. It's definitely not the most "user-friendly" method, but it tends to take most of the uncertainty out of the equation.

Steve Wilcox, check out this link regarding that particular NAICS code:
http://www.naics.com/free-code-search/naicsdescription.php?code=531390

There doesn't appear to be a specific NAICS code for "house flippers", but 531390 is kind of a catch-all for people like you and me.

If you're looking for a business address that ISN'T your home address, try renting a mailbox at your local UPS Store or Pakmail. Instead of referring to it as "P.O. Box 500", you can call it "Suite 500" or "Unit 500". It will make you look like a much bigger outfit than you actually are, without having to literally own office space.

It's great for privacy, and for putting out the right image to the people you do business with. Kind of a cool little trick.