Finding Houses Using Targeted Mass Mail Campaigns

Highly targeted mass mail campaigns are a key component to up your volume of acquisitions.

But there’s more than meets the eye.

The key word is “targeted.” Naturally, the more limiting criteria you filter your prospects through, the smaller your list will be. For example, let’s say you want to find properties that fit the following description;

Absentee owner
Owner lives out of state
Behind in taxes at least 5 yrs
Mortgage is at least 20 years old
Tax assessment $0 – $75k

Highly, highly targeted lists are small but most effective. This is a great dynamic for those on a tight budget.

To create a larger list you’d simply filter prospects through a more lenient criteria or less criteria;

Absentee owner
Owner lives outside the county
Behind at least 2 yrs in taxes
Mortgage is at least 15 years old
Tax assessment $0 – $150k

As I’m typing this, my team is slightly behind pace to buy 100 properties for the year – no kidding! It’s early November. The town in which I buy is one of the hottest markets in the nation. It is a “Seller’s Market” and the average “Days On Market” (DOM) is 36 hours! …with multiple offers over the asking price much of the time. The point is, I know how to find bargain properties, even in the toughest circumstances; it’s a fact!

The trick to buying a lot of houses through mail-out campaigns is in the follow up. Sure, we’ll buy a few houses because the owner called from our mailing, but we’ll buy way more houses because we don’t let interesting prospects go easily; we stay on them, for a long period of time…until the property sells.

A good customer Relation Management (CRM) system takes money, time and thought. This is where the professional real estate Investor starts to pull away from the amateurs, the newbies, and the wanna bes.

When it comes to mail-out campaigns, I find the return mail very interesting. In fact, return mail is the most interesting! The most lucrative deals happen when I can find the owners of these properties.

I go to great lengths to find these lost owners because when I do find them, I usually have them to myself; no competition in sight.

Furthermore, these lost owners have already written the property off mentally. The may technically still own the property, but they’ve thrown it away emotionally or given up on it as a source of income. I show up out of nowhere with a check that has their name on it…BINGO!

With more effort comes more expense. Yes, that’s another reason why I like return mail!
More effort and more expense and more risks limits my competition. The trick is knowing how to limit that “more expense” and how to recognize the most likely and most profitable candidates in the lead pool.

Finding bargain houses is an art form. The best house finders are part Ever Ready Energizer Bunny, part Wylie Coyote, part Scooby-Doo, and part Hamburglar…endlessly doing whatever it takes to sniff out deals and have fun with it!

–Mitch Stephen–
Author of the series,
MY LIFE & 1, 000 HOUSES:
Failing Forwarding to Financial Freedom

200+ Ways to Find Bargain Properties

The Art of Owner Financing

– Autographed copies and digital downloads at 1000Houses.com/menu
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