How To Reach Motivated Sellers Who Need To Sell

Direct marketing is one of the fastest ways of locating great real estate investing deals by targeting motivated sellers.



This article will walk you through how to reach that all-elusive motivated seller, get his attention and close the deal.



1) Target motivated sellers

A motivated sellers is someone who is desperate to sell their house.



They must sell it to get out of a financial situation.



Maybe they are behind in mortgage payments, in foreclosure, or facing this possibility real soon.



Motivated sellers are more than willing to negotiate below market price and leave a profit margin for you. The houses they have for sale regularly need repairs, which make them hard to sell in the open market. Real estate investors are the best buyers for such properties.



First, get a targeted mailing list of motivated sellers. The easiest way is to look for people with real estate and in legal trouble.



Such people could be going through divorce, have inherited property, have bad tenants, are making more than one mortgage payment, are facing liens, etc. You find this information from public records.



People who are trying to sell unsuccessfully through the MLS can easily become motivated sellers. Get with a Realtor to get these types of motivated sellers.



Target people who have probably built equity, e.g. if they have owned the property for 10 years.



2) Get a real estate investor website and phone number:

Before you send out your mail piece, you will need a website address and a phone number.



The real estate investor website must be able to pre-educate and pre-screen motivated sellers so that when they submit their information to you, it takes you a few minutes to tell whether it is a deal or not.



Some will submit their information through the website, others will call. A website saves you lots of time and headache because it tells your story in your absence, and presents pre-screened and pre-negotiated deals for you.



And it does not cost you extra for the deals it presents to you.

When someone calls instead, chances are you may have to talk to them for 10 minutes only to find out the deal cannot work. You can get worn out pretty fast.



A good real estate investor website is suggested at the end of this article.



3) Send out your mail pieces

Postcards are my best methods of reaching motivated sellers. I design my post cards from overnightprints.com. The key is a postcard that commands instant attention and delivers your message direct and brutal. I like the We Buy Houses, Get Cash For Your House, etc.



You only have 10 seconds to deliver this message or it goes to trash.



My cards are brightly colored and glossy and impossible to miss.



Make sure your web address is prominent so you send them to your website instead of the phone. You must also provide a phone number.



I usually send 2 post cards 30 days apart.



Probate leads receive a sympathetic, personal letter for 6 months.



4) Close the deals

Once they call or submit information from your real estate investor website, determine if it is a deal or not, then follow up with the good deals through closing.



Simon Macharia is a real estate investor buying and selling houses in Dallas, Texas. Learn how an interactive real estate investor website can help you automate your real estate investing while pre-screening and pre-negotiating with motivated sellers for you. Visit http://www.realestateinvestorswebsites.net for more information.