All Forum Posts by: Scott Davis

This 'sales' question could apply to marketing FSBO, wholesaling, agents, or any related niches. But mods feel free to move if better 'forum'?

-Any tips, tricks, or encouragement on what type of attitude/approach/strategy & timing, YOU use, when you follow up on a "initially enthusiastic lead" that has gone cold ? - (specifically I'd be talking about a possible investor/buyer for one of your properties)? 

Currently: After ~5-7 days of their interest falling off, I've been shooting them a text then following up the next day around 6pm with a phone call (voicemail, commonly). Maybe a month later I might ping them once more, if their initial enthusiasm was promising. 

How many times do you try to follow up? Any advice, tips, tricks, ideal timing, even copy paste "lines" that seem to really do the trick?- as far as re-engaging? Say the lead came from facebook or your mailing list.

In the past, I've been lucky or dumb and able to take a more passive approach and primarily let the numbers sell themselves. but I know this is one of my weaknesses & I'd like to see how I can improve, even if it's only 1%. Different perspectives on how persistent/strategic other 'sellers' are in their marketing to old/stale leads, what works, and what doesn't, would be truly helpful as I work to improve my results. Thanks for any input!

Well Sergio, I'd suggest doubling back on the house movers, IF you have the timeline for that. There may be one or 2 'prominent'/big movers in your region. Their goal or business model MIGHT be: you give them the house free, sign a contract, and they have 6mo or a year or something to market it and see if they find a buyer. Of course other ways to network/advertise, craigslist for $1, etc.
--- It's worth a serious attempt if there is any real chance of an empty lot someone could move it to within say/randomly, of course so many factors , - 1-5 miles. 

Next, you can look into the house "deconstruction" / salvage business model. again they won't pay you for it. but they might come out and strip a bunch of parts, or even take the whole house down or major parts of it for materials.  this would result in less in dump fees overall.  Habitat for humanity, and a couple of other 'similar' type mom-n-pop operations often exist in most regions.

While burning sounds great on the surface, as others touch on you'll still have to deal with some materials in advance- i think (demo/dump) will overall, still cost you roughly the same , and unless you're a rural area (townhome doesn't sound like it)- it's not like it used to be in the good old days as far as I can tell. The fire departments have their own fancy training facilities etc and not likely even interested, around here, but i could be wrong.

Of course every jurisdiction is different but:

-yes as Jason Cheramie says- you will have to have "wetland" delineation done, in order to proceed with any building permit. first step is to sit down with the local planning department, the online maps will only give you a rough idea.

-Strictly AG use, sometimes, you can build, permitted or not, a "pole barn" or other non-residential structure in the flood plain, of course not easy to 'rent' that necessarily- but maybe a value ad for flipping it. Sometimes "carports" (cheap-est grade metal buildings) or greenhouse frame type things are 'temporary' structures, could add value visually, significantly,or might find you a tenant, yet don't require permit and might be allowed depending on code of course.

-sub permitted uses (example a 10x12 shed), or improvements that do not require any permitting. planting fruit trees, landscaping. 

-recreational use. hunting has been mentioned but I don't see that (realistically likely) on a small 5acre random piece of farm land as OP describes 

= So... "Develop" it as a place for the folks from the city to bring their rv. this is one of the easiest ways to transform 'junk' land/wetland/'too small to build'-- into something of value, just by (marketing) -finding the right buyer who looks at it differently.  You stand out by being able to price (flip) it at a low enough price point that it catches someone's eye.

-CRP and other programs. while many of these AG dept & related programs are probably in limbo currently as far as actual payouts, and often not going to work for 5acres, there are programs to look into where the government will lease your land in order to keep it wild/fallow, for habitat and conservation reasons. it won't be much per acre, but might cover taxes or make a deal pencil out otherwise, somehow.

-water rights. never know- might be worth the effort to put in a well, cistern, whatever. You can even harvest rainwater in shipping container sized units and monetize that.

-find the right buyer willing to pay more to keep it as is: neighboring farmer, nature conservancy, city, county, utility, or co-op of whatever type.

The last time I used subscription services to build lists and / or research properties, was at least 7-10 years ago. Much has changed I'd imagine

At that time- I found several services, like listsource, invaluable. But currently my goal is only to continue to buy maybe 1-2 off market holding/investment properties a year, so I generally didn't use these services enough to continue the subscription for long. Background. The off-market properties I'm seeking out personally are almost always low end (of the local market) , 95% raw land or tear downs. On top of the 'commonly used' investor filters like 2+ years back taxes, recently inherited, etc- I loved some additional possible/ unique filters like number of structures on a parcel, min/max land sq ft, initial purchase price, and ability to narrow down to very specific areas on a map. I would love to make OCCASIONAL specific "niche" unique lists for myself, for small neighborhoods or specific areas/etc. I wouldn't likely/necessarily be mailing a lot of letters for example.

But mainly, I would pay for a service that offered me the closest thing to an instant/on demand "preliminary title report" , that is something that greatly "simplified" initial research, preliminary only of course- based on apn. I am fully educated on what's public online/and how to access that easily, and I'm looking around for subscription/pay options that offer more "actual raw data" (on deeds, history, leins and public records) than the county sites, basically.

Research--for anything I identify as potentially interesting. I am familiar with how to view all assessors info, search deeds and recorded documents/etc per jurisdiction, and I do (enjoy) actual in depth recorded document/ research in person at the county offices too of course.  and I will not just rely on 'the apps' - paying the title company as needed for a title report of course before proceeding with deals. Overall I have the impression that many software/tools--provide very interesting amount of actual deeds, history, lien info, county recorded documents, or other direct data.

Here is an incomplete list of some services I'm looking into, to see if I find one (or 2) that are a good fit! Cost alone not being my biggest consideration. PLEASE feel free to share your favorites, whether mentioned here or not, or help point me in the right direction however you can! thanks in advance for any input

Landvision
Prospect now
mapright
reonomy
landglide
pop appraiser
deal driven
deal machine
list source
property radar
Privvy
reonomy
agentpro247
datatree
pin
realquest pro
REWW
rei pro
I'm sure there are more. (please note that some from the above list I have not (at all) vetted, some could be dead or not very legitimate etc)
 
Regrid is one of the more useful free tools.
(Are there any additional free apps/tools at the top of your own go-to list?)
Again, thanks for ANY input/experience/suggestions

I think it could be done with an established (1-3+year minimum) legitimate business that is included in the sale, and the right location. Yes it's a hard sell, but all real estate is sales so do an above average job of selling the dream and you can ask (a bit of) a premium.  that much, I don't know?

I'm not familiar with vrbo and other sites- but you could at least set up your own dot com booking funnel/site & (legal- per air bnb -personally don't know?) try to convert existing air bnb guests to future guests on your own booking site- via coupon to come back and get a discount? (insurance and other considerations aside).

I understand that the numbers were just an example but agree with everyone else, uphill battle very hard sell. the more you could make it an emotional (unique niche place that stands out) decision and find a buyer attracted to that vs pure math, the better, I suppose.

I'm thinking 'the right location' (and buyer) for this scheme is more like the "hobby second home" crowd, dedicated ski/vacation town, right on the beach, cabins, main amazing attraction right nearby, NOT any-old air bnb beachtown condo, though, overall. If you insist (perhaps) try a for a specific niche or theme maybe. who knows

Overall I feel your goal should be "just enough" to make the prospective (most typical "opportunistic") trespasser move along and find an easier target. Fencing. Very good lighting inside&out (on a timer), plus motion activated lights as much as possible/appropriate (they make super bright LARGE led ones, even solar now so don't need to be hard wired).  But with the above, please make sure you're not that obnoxious next door house whose light comes on anytime someone walks the sidewalk or drives by in the road.

Cameras? probably not but case by case I guess. Pretty common rural or certain neighborhoods I suppose. Obviously mounted up high in a readily visible spot "trail cams" work just as well (as a possible visual deterrent), very cheap online. I say you don't need to consider security cameras (or even trail cameras)- but you could put fake ones out or if you had wifi on site o(r wanted to go the sim card/monthly route), that's not an expensive option either.

Make sure nothing about your entrances (doors) stands out that make them look like an easy target. Insist that your contractors store all tools etc out of sight. 

There will always be more risk with something vacant, you're probably going to be counting on one person as your "eyes" on the project (or at least for "security", overall)- and the more hands on/ closer they live / able to visit site frequently, the better. whether that is your gc, a project or property manager, or your handyman/even yard maintenance guy, neighboring teenager, or whoever- this person is key

 I understand it varies by jurisdiction of course, but..  Since this post got bumped, I'd love to hear any tips or tricks anyone would care to share about your last minute "game plan" if you happen to get a strong lead to reach back out/etc, with under 24-48 hours before auction.

(other than having cash/equivalent, preliminary title report, and the appropriate deed ready to go 'on hand')

is the actual wellhead location relatively adjacent to your land, by chance? if yes, certainly I'd pursue a deal. if not and you're buying via (easements), little to gain? (on a small system- didn't mention the number of hookups but I'm guessing 2-3 or certainly less than 10?)

talk to the dept of health first (records requirements etc), establish what upgrades/maintenance required, line up a reliable repair/handyman/type person, consult lawyer, and then make your offer, see if you can buy the land it's on via lot line adjustment (ideal scenario).

a lot to be aware of, such as system upgrades or county code changes bringing in the requirement to add metered connections to an older small system, for just one example.

Otherwise- owner doesn't want to manage, I doubt you really do either but could be wrong.  Maybe you can convince everyone involved to convert to a community owned system,
with a shared maintenance agreement, reserve funds,

Just need to find the smoothest path forward to needed upgrades like an above ground cistern, pumps, backup generator, better filters, or whatever to make the system function 100% of the time

$1500 is minimal, spend it if that's the way forward. Pay for the materials and hire the labor yourself if needed/possible?  I'm sure there is a compromise easily in there somewhere where you can pay a licensed business to do the work and receive an invoice for your $1500/etc. The least I've seen spent on a new shallow well (recently) 18-20k, of course that's regional but still. . 

Talk to several local movers and go from there. They could be good source for leads, they should be able to do the site work or refer to someone 'recommended' who can.

For bare land- Your short 2month timeframe for permitting (city or county) and utilities is not going to be realistic or even close, most of the time.

Your best bet is to find land that has a mobile (demo and scrap it) then replace. You can finance new manufactured, *you can often not finance (conventionally, or easily) used manufactured that have been moved more than once. So most of the time developers who pull this move, replace with a new unit NOT used.

Utilities on bare dirt will cost more time/money than I think most realize. You have to have a building permit in before you can start running utilities. Most times you are probably talking septic systems (otherwise you are in town where things are much more likely to be restrictive (zoning, ccrs, limits on how old units can be, etc)

there are considerations for used mobiles that you may not think of initially- , such as for example securing insurance being difficult or near impossible in some cases if the home has been moved more than once.

I'd love to hear more input from any others who have dealt in used manufactured (single and doublewides, HUD, made after 1976). In my area, used "asking" prices on decent used manufactured to be moved are too high. (used homes mostly get moved to parks, where values are overall regionally still high). Dealers/movers definitely know what they can get, and private sellers follow suit so you'd have to be motivated/connected AND be able to move fast to find a fair deal on a decent 'newer' used manufactured in the first place.

I'd probably go new 75% of the time vs what I've been able to find price wise, used, personally.. However I have thought that if I came across 90s and 2000's era manufactured used to be moved, for truly good value (10k singlewides or 15-30k doublewides etc) I would have to do further research to see if it could pencil out & i could mitigate the obsticals. I think for buy and hold/rent, it is promising in some cases, the more rural the county the better, overall.

I don't think too many are pouring slabs (vs minimum required footings and anchors), but that's regional 

fix-it-all (joint compound with some additives) is not suitable for exterior at all
Yes it will wick in water as the paint deteriorates, and cause more rot, and keeping a good coat of paint on it won't be enough long-term in many/most climates.

bondo (polyester auto body resin) is a cheap-ish "alternative", although harder to get detail work just right and not really all that suitable anyway (maybe ok with a good epoxy / primer, perhaps?). the reason not to use bondo is the main ingredient talc isn't a good choice. the next class of products that ARE suitable use better filler ex microbaloons or something else not talc.

"bondo glass" (also polyester resin, talc with fiberglass cloth strands) & similar is the "lowest" group of products I would even remotely consider for exterior/occasional water exposure. But it's still a bandaid and will pop out, crack, let water in, separate, and let the underlying wood rot almost as bad as regular bondo, after a few years.

Napa, 3m, bondo, & Evercoat (marine), etc all sell polyester auto body fillers that are one step up from the prior with real "waterproof" claims etc, maybe priced around $30-50/quart or $75/gallon, range. These products may hold up for a decent number of years, but of course, prep work is still key. Still a bandaid, meant to get you by for a handfull of years or cosmetic fix only somewhere fairly dry.  Sounds like a situation where splicing in a new piece of wood would be a better longterm choice , overall.

Finally, 2-part epoxy fillers though expensive are the best choice for exterior, for example west systems with microbaloons. Correct prep work still required. A permanent repair, have to address the reason it rotted in the first place of course.

The labor cost is the same, I know what product's I'd use