Response to L/O marketing... - Posted by Scott (ATL)

Real Estate Investing
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Posted by Scott (ATL) on September 16, 2003 at 06:59:13:

Dick,

I do offer rent credit but I don’t go into this in my ad but I do state that on my flyers. Do you think I should? Another line in the ad might work.

What is working in your area? I don’t get much traffic on my web site even though my site is on every marketing piece. I do put 24 Hour Recorded Message under my phone number to encourage calls.

I don’t necessarily mind the sign concept but I don’t have a crew and this home is 30+ miles away from me (fine on the weekends but rush hour makes this drive well over an hour) so signs are limited right now…I can only get so many made and up in a given period. But signs around the business complexes around there does sound intriguing.

Thanks for the input!!

Scott

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Response to L/O marketing… - Posted by Scott (ATL)

Posted by Scott (ATL) on September 14, 2003 at 20:59:47:

Okay, for those that have seen my previous posts, my marketing of a “higher end” lease/option ($1,795/mo 3700 SqFt Home in Northern Suburb of Atlanta which is right at the rent for two other similar homes in the subdivision ? two others are $1,695 but not Rent-to-Own) isn’t getting as many bites as I’d like. I did get two couples out to the house today and even got an application fee for one couple. No deposit to hold the home though so I offered to wait on running the application since they won’t be ready to move until the end of October.

I’ve gotten 12 phone calls since my ads and signs started running last weekend. My voice mail is in place to help filter the callers and I received three voice mails and two emails from interested parties (Good % at least). Only two could afford the rent (others can only afford 1000-1300/mo - don’t have homes for them at the moment).

Based on what I heard from some other local Atlantan’s this isn’t too bad? I wish I could have “closed the deal today” but no such luck. I’ll give it one more week but if my calls are low should I try reducing the rent or maybe I should leave the rent off the classified ad altogether? Since my voice mail gives the price maybe the ad needs to “leave it out”. But they?ll probably just hang up when they hear the price anyway?

Oh and I added two sentences as suggested by Jim FL (Bad credit OK! and Low $$ Moves you in) but as I found out last week most potential buyers don’t call until Monday (After the weekend run) so I’m not sure if the extra sentences will increase my calls.

Any suggestions for my next steps? I have an ad in our ?big paper ? Atlanta Journal?, local paper ?Forsyth County News?, Creative Loafing, ThriftyNickel, Atlanta Advertiser, owners.com, forsalebyowner.com even one of the rental web sites ?places4rent.com?. I probably don?t have as many signs as I should (I?m going to get more this week) but can you think of anything else?

Thanks!!!
Scott

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Re: Response to L/O marketing… - Posted by Dick Chelten

Posted by Dick Chelten on September 15, 2003 at 20:23:03:

I suggest you offer $500 monthly rent credits then simply increase the option price. This will increase their eventual downpayment and LTV % when they refinance.
You can explain to them that over the next 24 months, they will earn $12,000 in hard equity plus increase in home value!
If they don’t exercise their option, you lose nothing. but, you gave them a great home and a way to accumulate their downpayment. Just think…if you give them a 36 month lease option, they earn $18,000 in downpayment monies plus whatever they put down to get started with you.

Bottom line…I don’t believe in shotgunning my marketing with hundreds of signs.

Place a sign on the front yard “For Sale-No Bank Qualifying”, a telephone number that goes to a deidcated voice mail # with your interesting “welcome home to 1234 Main Street” voice ad.

you can see how we do our L/O busienss by checking out our website www.marketplacehomes.com.

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Re: Response to L/O marketing… - Posted by Jim FL

Posted by Jim FL on September 15, 2003 at 17:39:48:

Scott,
thanks for the mention.

Here are a couple of other ideas to help get some buyers in there.
First, I would surely leave the monthly amount in the ad, this will screen out those who cannot afford the house.

Now, this seems to be an upper end home? or at least above median rent and price?
If that is the case, go to where the folks who can afford such a thing hang out, relax, work and play.
Who could afford such a house?
Doctors? professionals?
sound good?
Take your message to them.
Contact the local hospitals, place flyers and brochures within their human resource departments and lounge bulletin boards.
Dry cleaners?
Tennis/raquetball clubs?
Doctors offices? Dentist?
Upper end condo and apartment complexes?
Place a sign near those locations as well.

Bottom line, houses priced in the higher end take more time and effort to move, so just do it.
You might even contact some local mortgage brokers with the house, and tell them you are “Flexible” with the sale.
Can you sell it outright now?
Carry a small second, cover some closing costs?
Obviously you can sell it with a lease option too.

And yes, more signs.
Heck, we are in a sign battle now with a disgruntled non-successful part time investor.
The guy keeps taking our for sale and for rent signs, while working his J.O.B.
The end result…more signs are being placed, because he cannot keep up with me and my sign crew.
I lost over 500 signs in the last week alone…but have another 500 or so ready to go. (The 500 includes signs for sellers, and my houses for sale)

I know now that everything I do will take more effort and persistence than before, but I’m fine with that…or getting used to it anyway.

Market til you can’t no more, and the calls will come.
trust me, been there, done that, and STILL market like a madman!

Take care, and HTH,
Jim FL

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Re: Response to L/O marketing… - Posted by Wesley - ATL

Posted by Wesley - ATL on September 15, 2003 at 10:37:01:

I have a higher end house for LO too. These just take longer to fill that the houses around $150k. Typically I’ve found the AJC to generate the most calls.