All Forum Posts by: Sharon Sweeny

@Michael Biggs - I'm totally on board with the late and early calls. No one who called me at those times would ever get my business. Definitely don't want to seem rude or pushy.

@Joe Kim - Ditto on the early and late hours. Good tip on the FSBO. Didn't buy the list; compiled it myself from public sources. However, I will be mindful of FTC and common sense when calling.

I've only called on weeknights between 5:30 and 8:30 and on weekends from mid-morning to mid-afternoon. I think I'll expand my calling hours and hopefully get rid of the "no answers" on the list.

Thanks again to everyone who responded. I'll let you know my results and stats when I complete the list (or mostly complete it).

@ConnorHeim good point. Testy at 7:00 AM indeed.

@ElisaUribe Thanks for the great tips. 14 days in a row would definitely make someone curious enough to call back or pick up. From now on, I'm working toward the 4th call.

Thanks Chris. I used to know a sailor; different ocean. :)

@Chris A Godbolt thanks for the story! It proves that you should never blow-off something or someone. There might be a million bucks lurking nearby.

So you never call past 5 or 6 pm? What hours do you call during the day?

Looking for some input regarding mostly when and how often to call back no-answers when cold calling.

Also, what if you have a list of numbers for an individual? Do you keep going down the list in one sitting, getting no answer after no answer? Or is it better to call only a couple numbers from the list and get no answer in one sitting, with plans to continue at a later time or date? (unless the numbers are out of service,etc).

How late is too late to call? How early is too early to call?

I've had some success with calling about properties found while driving for dollars -- far and away above the accepted 2% response rate people claim to get when mailing. I like the immediacy of a phone call and they're free--included in my monthly phone contract (unlike postage). So obviously I'd like to continue marketing this way.

Does anyone have any other tips or tricks regarding cold calling? I'd love to hear anything you've got.

Sharon

I'm a new investor and I've come across a distressed home near North High. It has 4 beds (including dual closets in Master), 1 full bath upstairs and 1/2 bath roughed-in downstairs. Built in 1917 with over 1900 sq feet. Living, dining, kitchen, plus sun room or den on 1st floor, plus 3-season porch accessible only from french doors in living room. New roof, new forced-air furnace. Installed new support posts and footings in basement to correct sinking and resulting uneven floors. Result is 8-9 foot ceilings in basement, can possibly add more livable square feet. The rest of the interior is down to studs and/or lathe boards. He saved all the woodwork and built-in buffet in dining room. Needs plumbing, electrical, probably siding, and landscaping. Guy says he wants as close to 100K as possible. In your professional opinion, especially regarding rehab costs, is this a viable deal? County gives market as 162,500; realtor.com as 226,980. Haven't gotten comps from a realtor. Can anyone help? thanks in advance.~~Sharon

Evening fellow BP'ers in Minnesota. Is anyone who has access to the MLS willing to run some comps for me? The guy wants an offer by tomorrow and I don't want to disappoint him. This will be my first deal and I want to get the valuation right.

Also, does anyone have any suggestions as to calculating the rehab costs? Software? BP valuation tool? Anything you can toss my way will help.

Thanks in advance.

Sharon

the goal may be to keep people in their homes. But of course as the landlord you do have a say and the referee will listen to you. Other than that I'm not an attorney so I don't have a lot of

Eviction laws in Minneapolis are tenant-friendly, mostly because of the possibility of freezing to death if you are suddenly put out of your house during winter. (Homeless shelters are full during winter.) The referees in civil court try to set up payment plans and encourage landlord and tenant to settle in conference prior to court hearing.

You usually get a hearing date within a week or two after filing ($364 or so per case). If tenants do not honor terms of payment plan or settlement, landlord then activates the writ. It usually takes the sheriff about a week to show up and escort them out.

Landlords are required to store tenants belongings left behind for 60 days and to surrender them to the tenant when asked for them. However, landlords are allowed to sell belongings (don't know the details of what or when) to cover the reasonable cost of storing said belongings.

Don't know about taxes or insurance on a $100,000 house. I suspect it depends on neighborhood, etc. A licensed realtor should have better answers.

Minneapolis requires that any fence or wall or other structure be 4 inches (?? maybe 5 or 6) inside the property line between you and your neighbor or the public sidewalk or alley. 

You pay for it. 

The fence must be situated so the "front" or "pretty" side faces out. Yep. Your neighbor and the denizens of the street and sidewalk get the best view. 

Also, you are not allowed to put up a tall privacy fence completely around your house or yard. Drive around and look. You'll see. Some people put a 3-foot privacy fence around their front yard an a 6-foot privacy fence around their back yard. I've seen them all over. Must be okay.

If there is an existing fence between you and a neighbor, say a chain link, you are allowed to erect a privacy fence next to it. But you still have to put the pretty side facing out.