All Forum Posts by: Sharon Vornholt

This business is all about relationships for sure @John Palley.

@John Palley - I know probates are a lot more complicated in California than they are here.  Here it's pretty much just a regular transaction. 

I tell my students that they should contact the top probate attorneys in their area and offer to buy 30 minutes of their time. They need to actually schedule (and pay for) an appointment. In this meeting they can introduce themselves, tell them what they do, and let the attorney know that they are cash buyers if/when they come across a distressed property in an estate. I stress the importance of building a relationship with the attorney.

Hey @McKinley Crowley  - You know how I love probates. 

Probates have been my number one source of leads for more than a decade.  These folks almost always have to sell the house.  It's just a matter of whether they list it or sell it to an investor.  I have been very successful with direct mail campaigns. I personally never call them unless they have first called me.  I believe understanding the mindset of those folks going through that process is one of the main reasons I have been successful.

I don't call them because someone they love has passed away, and for more than a decade I have heard how much they hate and resent the insensitive intrusion.  I personally don't mail to surviving spouses.  It's not a foolproof system, the I do a pretty good job of figuring out if they have one on the tax assessor's site.  

I'm very lucky here (Louisville KY) because the information is in the newspaper.  You only need 4 pieces of information. The name and address of the deceased, and the PR.  Sometimes that is an attorney, but not usually.  One more place to look is online.  Here, there is something called online records.  Wills are published there. So for instance, when the probates come out once a month, I could look up the wills for that same month and often find missing or additional  information.

There are 3300+ counties in the US, and everyone is a little bit different. You're going to have to do some detective work (and this is where most people quit). If you're willing to do the work, you can help a lot of people. And for agents, the field of probates is wide open.   

One thing I would like to mention is that I only use white, computer generated, personalized letters.  You need to do a mail merge so you are talking to one person.  Also, use standard #10 envelopes.  This is a niche where you don't want to send them something in an odd sized or colored envelope. The last thing you want to happen is for them to open an envelope that looks like a sympathy card.  I have written a lot about probates on my blog and here on BP.  I hope this helps.

You definitely need a website before you start mailing. The first thing someone does is check you out online. Building a strong online presence is critical to your success.

For everyone that mentioned personalized white computer generated letters for probates, they get so much better results than yellow letters. Your marketing should look professional. 

@Account Closed

What’s the niche? Unless it’s something on a time table where there is a definite end (like a foreclosure), I keep mailing. I’ve bought houses from absentee owners after 3 years. Was it worth it? Heck yes. 36 postcards at about 50c each so around $18 total cost. I made 12k on that deal. 

@Shawn Hershberger

You should start mailing as soon as the estate is opened. That's a sign that they are ready to move forward with "the business" of settling the estate.  That person may have passed away recently or months ago. It really doesn't matter. 

I have bought houses in those first few months. I have also bought houses months down the road and even close to a year down the road.  Here's the secret; mail everybody, every month as long as the house is available.

Hi @McKinley Crowley!  Here's my rule on probates and truthfully most other niches.

I mail until I buy the house, someone else buys the house or they come off my list for some reason.  

I've bought a lot of houses in probate at around the 1 year mark.  You have to position yourself so that you be there when THEY are ready to sell. (They will almost always have to sell the property.)

You just don't know when folks in probate will be ready to sell the property.  It just takes some people longer to move forward.

My pleasure @John Moore.

You might check LoopNet for multi-family properties.