Do you send mailers to absentee owners because they are prospective sellers or buyers?
I guess there’s no reason that the absentee owner could be a potential buyer, but I think most of us mail to them with the hopes that they will sell.
I’m not 100% sold on this concept. What I’ve seen so far is that most absentee owners are investors by choice, and they don’t need to sell the property but they’ll think about it if they can get full value.
I guess what people are looking for is that small percentage of “reluctant landlords,” being people who didn’t intend to own the property (inherited it, maybe) or who have fallen out of love with the idea of being a real estate tycoon.
Most calls that I get, however, are from people who will be happy to sell, but only if the price is right (read: more than I am willing to pay).
Time will tell. It clearly seems to work for others.
Ive gotten my best response rate from targeting absentee owners. THe notion that all absentee owners are investors is false. There are a lot of people who have inhereted a house, abandoned a house, moved and couldnt sell it, bought it for their college kids and they are now graduating, the list goes on and on.
You reap what you sow. If you send a letter that just says hey I wanna buy that house you own, chances are youre gonna get a lot of investors and landlords that are fishing for a FMV price.
If you lean your copy towards “hey I have a solution if you have a trouble house. I can get you fast cash for a fair price” the landlords and such looking for a full price will see what you are wanting and not call.
No one said all. I said “most.” And I stand by that.
Naturally you only need a small percentage of the mail you send out to generate leads. But I do maintain that most people who own houses in which they don’t live own them by choice, and they’re not hard up to sell.
I know that it can work, but so far it has not worked for me. I have not spent enough on it, however, to know if it’s something I will do for the long haul.
Who said I was talking about you? I was just talking in general.
Paul, lets see what copy you used. Ive only used it a couple times but each time brought me the most leads for my buck, especially after I tweaked my copy a bit for the second time.