All Forum Posts by: William Corcoran

@Sabrina Kane that real is amazing.  Thank you for all of the great information!

@Sabrina Kane how on earth are you getting the PR phone numbers?  My county clerk site does not list it.  Are they coming from referals in your established network?

@Sabrina Kane

That does make perfect sense, and I will adjust my letter (less is more.) 

But, how do you talk with the prospect and not seem shady?  The letter does come across like you knew the person.  So, if the prospect brings it up, how do you address and overcome while still maintaining credibility and rapport?

@Roy Oliphant  thanks for the encouragement!  I have sent just shy of 200 letters so far.  In another post, someone suggested "to much" letter is a bad thing, and I can be a little long winded.  What they are doing is addressing less formally (e.g. first names only)  The idea is to spark an interest and get them to call you with out saying you are an investor.  Her suggested letter reads..........

Hi, Susan

It's William please give me call at 555-5555. I couldn't find your number so I thought I take my chances and send a letter. I hope this letter finds you in good spirits as I know Beatrice, has just passed. I'm not sure of the family plans and if you need any help regarding the estate. Please give me a call Susan, as soon this letter reaches you.

Sincerely,

William

This tactic is interesting to me.  However, my question would be how do you talk with the recipient and let them know you are an investor and, did not personally know the decedent with out coming across shady and still maintaining rapport and credibility?

Any thoughts?

@Sabrina Kane and @Rick H. My letter may be a little long winded.  This is a copy.......

Dear Donna H. Bowland,

First and most importantly, I offer my condolences on the passing of your loved one, Robert O Bowland. I am sincerely sorry for your loss. Often, when we lose a loved one, the amount of work can be overwhelming. Everything from funeral arrangements to matters of the estate, coupled with the grieving process can take their toll.

I am contacting you because I understand the house located at 7005 Benjamin Way may be available to purchase. I am looking for a house in this area and I am interested in making an offer should you decide to sell it. Often, when dealing with an estate, the heirs would rather sell the property than deal with the added time and expense of clean-out, repairs, maintenance, and management. I understand the property may not be a priority for the family right now, but if heirs decide to sell please call me at the number listed below, and give me the opportunity to make an offer.

I will purchase the property in “As-Is” condition, no repairs needed. This will save the estate the time, hassle and added expense of fixing up and/or cleaning up the house. Additionally, I hope you understand you do not have to wait until this probate process is completed to sell the property. Lastly, should you decide to list the property with a Real Estate Agent, I will be happy to make a referral for you. I am not an agent, but I work with some of the largest networks of agents in North Texas.

If the timing is not right, please keep this letter in your files and contact me later.

However, if you wish to discuss this further, contact me now at either:

Phone:

Email:

Return Address: 

I wish the best for your family in their time of loss.

Sincerely,

William J Corcoran Jr.

In this letter, I am trying to target and address the need and offer help.  Also, my wife is an agent, so I'm trying to "plant the seed" that I can help even if they want to list with an agent.  Sabrina, You're tactic is interesting.  But, it comes across as if you knew the decedent.  How do you overcome that when talking with the PR/Executor?  Also, on my county site it doesn't say who is the PR/Executor, only "applicant" who I assume is the PR.  Contacting the attorney is a great idea as well.  does it wind up being time consuming?  I work a full-time job, do fences on the side, and deliver pizzas to fund my mail campaign.  Not whining about it, just trying to hustle as much as possible.  BTW, thanks for all of your help thus far!

@Jacquelyn Sarpong

I pull the probates from my county web-site daily and x-reference them with the AD to see if the estate/decedent owned Real Property.

Well BP, I'm a little worried. I've been mailing out to my probate list for about 3 weeks now, and have had 0 activity. Well, that's not entirely true...I've have 5 letters return to sender, and two phone calls telling my the estate did not own the property, I'm mailing to the wrong person, please remove me from you list. Other than that, I have had no activity and have nothing actionable. Now, I know 3 weeks is nothing (especially in DFW), but I'm beginning to get a little discouraged. I'm sending white letters, in hand addressed envelopes. I pull the probate list daily and bounce it off of my appraisal district to see if the person who passed owned any property. I figured this would be fresher (and cheaper) than buying lists. the content of my letter does address the lose of their loved one, and is not at all pushy. HELP! Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Well BP, I'm a little worried.  I've been mailing out to my probate list for about 3 weeks now, and have had 0 activity.  Well, that's not entirely true...I've have 5 letters return to sender, and two phone calls telling my the estate did not own the property, I'm mailing to the wrong person, please remove me from you list.  Other than that, I have had no activity and have nothing actionable.  Now, I know 3 weeks is nothing (especially in DFW), but I'm beginning to get a little discouraged.  I'm sending white letters, in hand addressed envelopes.  I pull the probate list daily and bounce it off of my appraisal district to see if the person who passed owned any property.  I figured this would be fresher (and cheaper) than buying lists.  the content of my letter does address the lose of their loved one, and is not at all pushy.  HELP!  Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

All that being said, I never answered your question.  I live in SW Arlington, and I rent.  Anything you can find, if the deal makes sense, in the Martin HS district would rent well.  This is the area I'm farming right now.

@Amber Flores I am new as well.  I'm going to agree with both @Fred Heller and @John Chapman .  Be very careful, doing anything remote here.  There are a lot of shady players!  However, there are some good ones too.  I've been meeting with, or talking to as many people as possible.  Some where okay, and others where not so great.  Before doing anything, I would learn how to analyze a deal for yourself (unless you already know how.)  DO NOT make a financial decision base on emotion, no matter how bad you want to invest.  By the same token, don't get caught up in analysis paralysis either.  Just make sure you do your due diligence, and educate yourself.

Alright BP, here's a little update.  Had my Domino's pizza orientation last night.  To be honest, I was a bit underwhelmed by the people in there.  It's not that I think I'm better than anyone, I AM NOT!  It's just the pride creeping back inside my head.  I had to keep reminding myself, I'm doing this to be wealthy.  I also, completed a side project and made $250.00 cash.  So my probates will be going out in the next day.....exciting! I'm going to get my partner trained up on how to pull the probates, so she can begin pulling fresh leads for the probate list.  (BTW, partner is my wife.)  Fingers crossed, wish me luck.

Side note, I just listened to the podcast about investing in notes.  So of course my ADHD kicked in, and now I have an interest in that.  I'm going to have to remind myself to keep focused on my "one thing" until I've mastered it.