Can someone help me figure out how to market to properties, where the owners have passed away? I have read the probate section, and written a letter that says,
Hi my name is ------ , me and my fiance were looking to purchase properties in your area, and have been informed of the late mr / mrs. --------- and then our condolances, and then it says if the new aquirer of the home should decide to sell they can feel free to contact us at ---- ----- ---- or email at ----- ----------.
Its hand written, both letter and envolope. Now do I just mail these out? or should I mail them, and call the deceased owners number to see if anyone is residing there? I feel like a shark or something, trying to market to these people, but I do know alot of the people who aquire the property end up selling it anyway. I just want to get to it before they do, plus thats usually not on the aquirer’s mind at first. And how soon is too soon, I just got the list of name from a paper that was 2 weeks old, (all 12 of them… :iconfused: ) is that too early? Are their any other methods, or better letters that I can right, that will more likely get me responses? :idea: ??
Actually, if you are getting the information from the probate section of the paper that usually means the owner has been deceased for a period of time.
There are a few things you must remember when you see a probate notice in the paper:
1.) Since it is a notice of probate, this could mean there was no will on file and the estate may take some time to settle
2.) It may take a while for the estate to settle and for all beneficiaries to agree to sell
3.) The estate may be in probate, but the living husband or wife may be living in the home.
The notice of probate is not instant after someone passes, so you could proceed with your letters as soon as you see the notice.
Also, just a note about your letter. Why don’t you just make off that you are not aware of a death? I know that if I received a letter from someone who knew about the death and was trying to solicite a loved ones property, you would end up in the trash.
You should be more innocent about your goals. I would just send a handwritten note stating:
Dear Property Owner,
I am writing to you in reference to your home. My fiance and I drove by your home the other day and we would be very interested in presenting you with an offer.
We are looking to purchase a home in this area of town and would like to speak with you about possibly selling your home to us.
Your idea is much better than mine, Ill try that instead. However there was an error on my part, I said [i]" I Have read the probate section.... " [/i] , I was under the impression that the death notices and probate section was the same thing. That's all we have in our papers here regarding deaths, who passed away last week etc. and how, so I just mark down the ones that owned a home, (ie. did not pass away in nursing home, or hospital). Could someone clarify for ex. what a probate section would say, and if there is a difference between the two. (jeez, dont I feel dumb) :rotate:
The Probate Section of the paper is a public notice section. I know in MA the executrix/executor need to publish the probate action so that all heirs of the deceased are informed. In our papers we have a public notice section that list the probate, mortgage foreclosures and bids for jobs.
Not all papers may have it. We receive the detail in our local paper, so the way you get your information may be correct.