All Forum Posts by: Sergey Tkachev

@Seth Williams , thank you so much for the quick response and I apologize for the delayed reply, I just now saw your response.

Thanks for the clarification on the postcards, it does sound like a good option.  I read over my original question and realized that it was too vague, so just wanted to clarify - by yellow letters I mean hand written yellow letters by a real person who writes the letters, addresses the envelopes and mail them.  Another option is to type and print a regular letter on regular white paper (hence saving the costs of having to write the letters by hand) and just hand address the envelopes and mail.  The main difference is that one option has hand written yellow letters and the other is just a printed letter.  (and I understand that the best letter type depends on whether I'm targeting out of state, probate, etc owners - my list is focused on a specific area and will have varying prospects)

I'm doing a smaller test run of about 40 mailers where I'm paying someone to hand write the yellow letters, address envelopes and mail them - I'm curious to see what the cost will be and how it compares to the other options.  

And thanks again for the input regarding post cards, I wasn't considering that option mainly because I've been reading that yellow letters have a better response rate but you've convinced me to look into post cards as well.  I realize that they are more cost effective, I guess I'll have to figure out how to write a good copy that will create a good response.

@Brett Russell , thanks for the followup - I just realized that I was thinking in terms of competition from other wholesalers, whereas the general idea is that the cash buyers are investors that would buy our properties that we have under contract (our buyers).  Makes sense.

@Joe McCall - thanks for putting the time into doing the video!!

@Brett Russell , thanks for the tip!  

As a followup, do we want to mail to the zip codes that already have a lot of investors sales or instead avoid those areas?  I would think sending to those areas would mean we will have more competition, but on the flip side, does that mean that those are the areas where sellers are more open to sell?  I can see it being both ways.

I'm also interested in following this thread.  I'm about to send my first test campaign.

@Ryan Zweng , are you familiar with the Sacramento area?

@Seth Williams , thanks so much for the tip on AgentPro247, I signed up and have already discovered it's value in the property profiles you can pull and farming lists.  I'm getting ready to send a test campaign of about 270 pieces, we'll see what happens.  In order to limit my expenses, I'm thinking of just creating printed letters instead of hand written yellow letters - do you think it's worth the cost saving or am I better off spending a little more on yellow letters or postcards and hopefully get a better response?

@Jeff Jamieson - I've met @Ali Boone in person (she organized a great out of state investing meetup down in the LA area) and I can certify that she is not a swindler :).  It was great networking!

It's interesting, though, how things said on forums can be taken out of context and/or misunderstood.  And it's also cool that members are watching each others backs, good to know the balance is there :)

Taylor, welcome to the site and the community!  BP is a great resource and has a wealth of information, it's definitely the place to be :)

I've invested around the Sacramento area and am also looking at opportunities of investing specifically in downtown Sac.  Would be great to connect, I can share what I know from my experience.  You can message me sometime if you like.  Again, Welcome!

@J. Martin , they are indeed!  I'd actually love to stop by one of your meetups - that's on my to-do list once I'm back up in Sac in the next couple of months :)

The Summit was indeed awesome, best one I've been to - great content, great speakers, great people, full transparency, great organizer (@J. Martin ) .  Glad you came along :)

@Travis Grossman 

Welcome to the site and welcome to the club - this is a great place to be.  I've invested in Sacramento as well and am planning to do a lot more, would be open to meeting you in person to connect if you like.  

Also, I second @Tapan Trivedi 's invitation - it's a great club, I've been to multiple times.

And last, watch for other local and regional meetups. We just had the REI Networking Summit in the Bay area (http://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/521/topics/132602-big-real-estate-networking-summit-nov-15-16-2014-at-sfsu-confirmed) - honestly the best such gathering I've been to. So look out for more similar events. :)