Writting and sending letters to homeowners

I want to mail letters to some homeowners whose homes I would like to acquire. I canvassed a potential neighborhood and identified properties that looked run down or otherwise gave me the impression that they would be open to hearing what I have to say. Can anyone give me an idea of how I can word these letters? What do you guys say? I know that most of these letters will fall on blind eyes, but it’s worth a shot. Any thoughts?

I don’t write these letters but receive them almost every week. All of them end up in the trash because no one is saying anything I am interested in hearing. They all are very short simply stating whom the sender is and that they are investors or interested in my property so would I please call them. They don’t entice me or give me reason enough to pick up the phone. Give your audience something more to read, note the condition of their property, what is going on in the neighborhood and what you can do for them. Entice them with details and a reward for contacting you, otherwise your letters will fall on deaf ears.

Identify their problem and your solution.

I’m interested to hear what others say about this.

As for me, I’ve never had much luck sending letters to owner-occupied houses in need of repairs. A house with obvious deferred maintenance usually means that the owners are not that strong financially, so my thinking is that the very last thing they want to do is sell their house.

After all, once they sell it…then what? They probably can’t buy another place, and they don’t want to rent when they are already homeowners. They really don’t have a “problem,” at least not one that selling their house will solve.

As far as enticing anyone, you know going into it that 95%-plus of your recipients won’t be interested in what you’re saying, so your copy really needs to speak only to the fewer than 5% who could generate a deal with you. I’d focus on the obvious benefits of working with you: (1) quick close, cash offer; (2) no commission or fee; (3) no repairs; (4) no open houses or strangers in your house; and (5) no closing costs.

You could even do a little chart that shows the “true” cost of selling a house compared to selling it to an investor.

I think these letters might work on a drip basis where you’re mailing to them every so often so that when the time comes, they pick up the phone and call. But if you’re waiting for immediate direct response, I’m not sure that will work here.

Perhaps something like this…

Dear Homeowner,

If you need to sell your home FAST, then call me. I buy and invest in homes, and I can offer you a quick resolution with no obligations and fees. PLUS if you sell your home now, you could walk away with cash in your pocket.

Please contact me soon if you’re interested.

thanks for the input guys

I bought a house doing this. The owner had owned the house since the 80’s, was elderly and couldn’t care for the house. The house wouldn’t have passed the inspection for a traditional mortgage. She got more for the house than she expected (because that neighborhood is transitioning) and was able to buy a senior community condo with the proceeds.

I send out letters all the time this way. I have done a few good deals with my letters. I try to remember to write the letter and include what I would say in a phone call. I prefer that people call me rather than me call them. If they are in dire straits they will feel intimidated calling me. I offer them an option…they can call me under their own free will or email me. I provide them with both contacts. I also tell them what they want to hear. I can give them quick cash, I can close quick, I can help them to settle any liens or other issues, I can walk them through the process, they don’t have to paint, clean, make any repairs at all, I buy as is, helping them is my first priority, etc etc. Write the letter as if you are speaking to them directly. I handwrite the letter. Yes that takes more time but I do it at my kids baseball games where I have a spare 2 hours to write letter after letter. People have commented to me that the handwritten letter was impressive because anyone can photocopy a bunch of letters but it takes time to sit down and write a letter.

I made a $35,000 profit off a house with a handwritten letter. The homeowner told me that she got many many postcards and letters every week but mine stood out cuz it was the only one handwritten.

I meant to say they won’t feel as intimidated calling me as much as me calling them.

I am on here looking to find out how to write the letters myself.

I too can attest to the letters I get all the time wanting to “solve my problem” I actually do not have a problem but if I did, I sure would be impressed if it actually addressed MY proplem specifically such as “you won’t have to rent it anymore” or “you can finally quit worrying about those back taxes” I realize we don’t always know what the problem is, but if we’ve seen the house, we can at least comment on the specific problems with THAT house (the big tarped over hole in the roof) to make it personal.

Thanks for all your input so far. Great ideas on how to make it personal. I love the handwritten letter idea. I do open those EVERY SINGLE TIME I get one in the mail. That’s pretty powerful!

I would read dan Kennedys book on writing sales letter, or Joe vitales hypnotic or there is a pretty good sales letter writer that I have in the links on my blog. I have actually used that writer to put together some great sales letters for my real estate business,

Far too many people dont spend the time on writing a great letter that could increase response by up to 400%. Instead they have to send out 400% more letters for the same results which could be very expensive.

Always remember every person listens to WIIFM (whats in it for me). Keep that in mind and you will be off to a good start.

In reading through some of these posts I think it is a great idea to include a blurb that really singles out the house in question. So if the house has a bad roof or needs new windows or whatever you could phrase the paragraph to mention that…" It seems that your house needs a new roof and new paint. I can buy it from you as-is and you don’t have to worry about doing that work yourself."…something along those lines…I think that mentioning a specific about the house will set your letter apart from the other 10,000 they get each week. Also not only do I handwrite but I also handwrite the envelopes. As I increase my business I am going to hire someone else to do the writing for me.

Another thought…is it a turn off or a positive thing to put a business card in the letter?

Although I’m new to this end of the business, it seems that advertising is more effective than mailers…seemingly at least.

My self and others who mail just dont seem to be getting the amount of activity. Also I’d love to be able to utilize the services of the wholesalers in the area but they often want cash at assignment and until you get a few rehabs behind you that may be difficult.

I have not been in this business that long, but in business in general, I’ve found that many people want you to do their work for them. People are constantly surprised that I return phone calls at all, let alone promptly. I can’t tell you how many people lost my business because I have had to chase them! How crazy is that?

I think that picking up the phone as much as possible will help. I have a phone for business and one for personal. I ALWAYS pick up the business phone, I never know who is on the other end. If you are in a meeting or otherwise, make sure you get back to them promptly. If you don’t, someone else will.