Posted by dew on June 19, 2000 at 22:02:37:
What a great post. Thanks so much for the info., those of the rest of us who are “getting organized” can draw a lot from it. Keep us posted. dewCO
Calling ads - Posted by R Denison
Posted by R Denison on June 17, 2000 at 21:39:57:
Hi all,
I discovered this board recently and think it’s a great resource for newbies like me. Here’s my question. Is anyone out there having success calling on ads from the newspaper? I don’t really have the money to spend on running my own ads to get sellers to call me, so I figure I need to call sellers. Did anyone of you experts out there get going this way? Can I at least get my real estate business off the ground this way? Is there anything I should expect with this approach? Thanks for any input you can give me.
Ricky Denison
Why not? It sure doesn’t hurt… - Posted by Jim Beavens
Posted by Jim Beavens on June 19, 2000 at 16:05:25:
I finally bit the bullet and started calling sellers just last week. I’ve been thinking for so long that my real estate business has to look a certain way, that I have to create a marketing plan, and get many different lead generators out there, and I need to spend several hundred dollars a month to get them going. Finally I realized that although I will eventually need to get to this point, I was letting my expectations stand in my way, effectively creating my own wall. After really thinking about it, I decided that I have all the knowledge I need, and everything I need to do a deal, and anything I don’t have (like a closing agent or attorney) I can get real quick once I have a contract, so why not just go out and get one under my belt?
So I started with our local FSBO magazine, which has a ton of ads that say the house is “move-in ready”. I’ve always wondered if this was another term for “vacant”, but alas it’s not, it just means the seller can start moving once a contract is signed. So I talked to about a dozen unmotivated sellers that first night. One of them was an older gentleman who was saying he’d be willing to carry a 30% second mortgage behind a 70% first with no other down payment from the buyer, so I figured he was flexible and made an appointment to see him. What a disaster! I sounded like such a seminar graduate. =) I had heard in one of my courses that a creative offer should be accompanied by a low cash offer, so that in comparison your creative offer sounds good. Unfortunately I never got to my creative offer because my cash offer ticked this guy off like nothing I could ever have imagined! I practically ran off that property with my tail between my legs. 8^) I can laugh about it now, but wow what an experience. I learned so much about how to read people, and how to really listen (as I look back I should have seen this coming; as we talked he wasn’t sounding nearly as flexible as I thought he would be, but I continued with my original plan like some charging bull ;). So believe it or not, I consider that first meeting a huge success. Just like my own little seminar that I got for free. =)
On my way home I was about ready to give up this crazy business, but instead I went home and immediately opened up our paper’s classifieds (I doubt I’ll do much more with our FSBO magazine…most of them are real high-end homes anyway with a high risk/reward). The first ad I called on was a simple two-line ad that started with “MUST SELL”. So I called, and it turns out this this lady’s husband is being transferred and they’re going to move in 30-45 days (can you say motivated?). She was planning on staying behind until the house sold, but she REALLY didn’t want to do that. After telling her that I was an investor and explaining that although I didn’t need to kill her on price, I did need some flexibility on either the price or terms (and wincing as I prepared for another rejection ;), she became very open about her needs. I asked her point-blank how much cash she needed, and after a little hemming and hawing admitted that she would be happy just getting out from under their mortgage payments (my kind of response ;). I set up a time to meet her, and she ended the call with, “I hope we can come up with something that meets both our needs.” My kind of lady! 
I met with her this weekend, but unfortunately her husband got tied up and wasn’t able to make our appointment. I have another appointment for tonight, so we’ll see how it goes. She was very open to the ideas I was suggesting (either a lease-option or a land contract with payments that mirror her loans), so I’m hopeful. I know that no matter what happens, I’m learning a ton and I’m gaining valuable experience.
Probably the biggest thing I’m gaining from calling ads is the motivation to get my marketing machine up and running, because I know that if I continue doing this for much longer I’ll get burned out. The bottom line is, calling ads doesn’t hurt and it’s a way that you can get your business off the ground with little expense. It’s not ideal, but it’s a start…
Re: Calling ads - Posted by Mark-GA
Posted by Mark-GA on June 18, 2000 at 13:24:52:
I have had some luck snagging FSBOers that are mispriced by the seller. I look online each morning and get tomorrow’s ads one day before they hit the paper. I am usually the 1st one to call, and the owner is estatic to sell me his house for “full price”.
This doesn’t work every month, but occasionally I will get lucky.
Mark
Was cold-calling … Now, we’re MARKETING - Posted by Monique
Posted by Monique on June 17, 2000 at 23:22:26:
Ricky,
I started out doing alot of cold-calling on FSBOs advertised in the newspaper. While it generated alot of activity, it was a not very effective use of my time.
In my neck of the woods, I found the ads/sellers largely fell into one of two groups (at least for the ads that I called on):
- Not Motivated Enough: The seller had just begun marketing their home and were not very flexible.
- Snapped Up By a Retail Buyer: The seller priced their home to sell quickly and Retail Buyers (who would pay more than I would or would pay cash with a new loan) jumped all over it by putting contracts on the house immediately.
I also tried calling older For Sale ads to find “seasoned” sellers in ads that were 2 or 3 months old. The sellers that called me back were more motivated than the newer ads, but most were not quite motivated enough (they were able to carry two mortgages, their new home wasn’t built yet, etc.)
Our goal and focus now is to get sellers calling us – particularly sellers who self-identify as MOTIVATED.
Newspaper ads aren’t the only way to go. Check out some of the free articles here on finding motivated sellers, such as:
http://www.creonline.com/articl35.htm
http://www.creonline.com/art-141.html
Happy Dealmaking!
Monique
Re: Why not? It sure doesn’t hurt… - Posted by eric-fl
Posted by eric-fl on June 21, 2000 at 21:53:10:
This was a great post! What a great attitude - if you can maintain this perspective, I have every level of confidence for your success. I hope this post inspires many who read it to pick up the phone! Please do keep us posted - the last call sounds like a good one!