As I had mentioned in a post earlier this week, I am going to be sending some letters to out of state owners. It’s a way for me to get a few more letters out there in hopes that I get more calls. I managed to go through my coaches How To and pull out about 120 names and addresses. Those are from 4 towns in my surrounding area.
Unfortunately I do not have a letter to send these people, so yesterday I set out to write a one. For those people who usually get writers block like I do, the best way for me to get going is to throw down random sentences and topics on a page. Sort of like this…
Solve owners problems
close in as little as two weeks
cash offers
uncooperative tenants
I will be purchasing houses in morris county over the next few months
I am interested in making an offer on a house you own
dealing with a house in another state can be a real head ache
If bills are mounting and you need cash I can help
etc…
This really helps me get my mind going. After getting a page worth of random thoughts, I organize them and eliminate stuff that doesn’t fit. After that it becomes much much easier to fill in the gaps and then refine refine refine.
With all of the investors out there getting letters from courses, we are all starting to sound identical. To stick out it is a good idea to create your own letters. This is one I came up with and am going to use
Dear [Seller],I am currently looking for properties to purchase in the Morris County, NJ area and have come across a few properties that I am interested in. One of those properties is a house you own on [Street Name].
I realize your house might not yet be listed, but I wanted to introduce myself in case you are interested in selling the property. I’ve noticed that you do not currently live in New Jersey and might be holding it as a rental or just having trouble selling it.
Dealing with a house long distance I’m sure you have plenty of stories about uncooperative or needy tenants or the trouble you’ve been through trying to sell it. There are many head aches that can be solved if you could sell the house right now! We would all like to be able to spend more time with our families or pay off some unexpected debts and selling your house to me can make that happen.
Some of the advantages I may be able to offer you over listing with a Sales Agent are:
- I can buy the property in its “As Is” condition.
- You needn’t do any fix up or clean up.
- I will pay all cash and
- I can close the sale very quickly, often thirty days or less.
If you decide to sell the property, there is no reason to complicate the process, run up extra attorney and miscellaneous fees and pay a 6% real estate commission. If you wish to discuss this further, I can be reached at (123) 456-7890
Call me now, you have nothing to lose!
All the best,
Scott Costello
123-456-7890P.S. I am a licensed Sales Agent, but will not be acting as one for this transaction. You will pay no fees or commissions when you sell an unlisted property to me.
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Comments 8
Scott, Been watching your blog. Good stuff. I try the letters too with very limited success. I have not tracked how many I have sent out, but its only been a few hundred. It is easy for me to keep stats on my responses as I have only gotten one. It was the neighbor across the street from my primary after I noticed it was vacant for several months. I was tired of no responses so I changed my letter this time. It was a 2 liner. I live acorss the street from you 123 Maple, can you call me concerning your house.. Signed, Name, phone #. Got a text and phone call 3 days after I mailed it. Talked to him for 20 minutes. He was renovating it an planned to rent it out again. He was not interested in selling or letting me manage the property. In any event, I asked him to keep my phone number and call me before he lists it as I might be interested.
In any event, one thing I have started doing is ‘googleing’ (actually I use Yahoo people search) to find the owners phone number. If the owners name is unique enough you might be able to do this. Then calling him about a week to 10 days after the letter has been sent out.
Good luck. I am still trying to get a house this way, just got to keep playing the numbers game.
Chuck
Pingback: Real Estate Marketing Secrets: Sending Letters To Out-Of-State Homeowners | Real Estate Investing News Watch Blog Aggregator
Hey Chuck,
I worked as a commercial real estate before becoming a full time investor, and when we were cold calling 50 people a day at our firm we would use a very useful database that you can buy at Merlindata.com You can find vacant homes in your neighborhood, look up the owner on title and find their phone number on merlin. Its a very good tool to have in the arsenal!
Hi Scott,
I know this post is from 2010, but I came across your letter today and it was very helpful to me so I wanted to thank you. Thanks!
Author
Glad they were of some help to you Eric
Scott,
What was your response rate? Above 5% on this letter?
Author
Hi Ryan,
The response rate for this letter averaged about 7%.
great letter! i will use tonight!