Greetings,
I am putting together my first serious direct mail campaign. Has anyone ever heard of Universal list? They seem to be pretty reasonable. They have a list called the foreclosure predictor. They look at the persons payment history and type of mortgage and predict that these people will default in the near future. Sounds interesting but I’m not sure if I want to take that gamble on my first mailing. Any guidance would be greatly appreciated.
I never heard of Universal List but I would not take a gamble starting out on a list that is called “the foreclosure predictor”.
There are several lists that you can target. So far this month I sent out a marketing campaign to absentee owners (cheap list @ county courthouse) and expired listings (from RE agent).
listsource.com and melissadata.com are two good sources for lists. Also the county courthouse is good too :biggrin
The easiest predictor is pull a list on anyone who bought a property during 2004 thru 2006… I bet they are seriously over valued…
Also don’t get too caught up in prospect types assuming you’re using a generic mail piece. Therefor you can mail to everyone…
Thanks guys. I decided on the absentee/ out of state owners list and also the free and clear list. My mailing is 3,000 pieces and all set to go once I get the list.
For you seasoned investors let me ask… How many times do you usually hit an address before you give up? I’m aiming at 4-5? Is that about right? I’m starving for some deals so I need to get this right. :beer
Until they sell or die and when they die change your marketing to a probate letter… If youre going after absentee owners keep in mind some are forced investors however some are true investors and are a little more difficult…
I would be going through my local newspaper and cold calling anyone who had an active for rent rental and an out of town telephone number…
As for how often; Remember touches, linkage and frequency…
I appreciate the info. I have one concern about the absentee list. I’d imagine it’s a lot of multi family properties that are rentals. I am not really interested in multis right now since they are moving very slow in my market. I’m thinking I should go for pre foreclosures for this reason.
What type of properties do you usually land with that type of list? Thanks again.
Ryan
Hey Ryan
You can filter the list in about 60 different ways… I would go to www.listscource.com sign up for a free account and do a search based on your criteria.
They will give you the count of names free.
Before you buy the list online go to your local escrow/title co and ask them for the list. Their cost is about 1/4 to 1/3 your cost online. Some may give it to you but may not.
In the old days (2 years ago) an absentee list was really easy to get for free however with RESPA concerns and revenue tightening most are no longer giving info away.
Thanks a lot Mike. You’ve been a great help. I took some time on Listsource and put together a search for properties in my area that have at least 80% equity. Not sure how this will go but I’ll give it a shot. I’m trying to decide between that and the absentee list.
These would be ripe deals but I can’t imagine the response rate would be anything close to a preforclosure list. I would think most of these people are sitting pretty in their almost free and clear owned home not even thinking of selling.
Absentee vs. Free and clear :help
Absentee is a great list and so is F and C… Could have some overlap so dedup them if you get both… If I were doing just one I would do free and clear, ownership over 20 years…
Theyre old/er people so make certain you dont violate the elder abuse laws in your state…
Get your presentation down and if you need one for them let me know.
If you have a presentation you can share with me that would be great! I have a few searches saved on Listsource. One is narrowed down to my target properties that have at least 80% equity. I wonder how they calculate property values on that site? Maybe I should look into how long they’ve owned the home like you suggested. It’s important I get this mailing right and the list is critical. Thanks again.