Prospecting For Properties
My daughter invests in forclosed proprties that need some work and then sells them (hopefully at a profit) after renovations are done. She has asked me to help her prospect for new properties by canvasing (phone) a list of names of owners who are in forclosure proceedings.
I would warmly appreciate any comments from the more experienced members.
My goal is identify those properties that have investment potential and whose owners are willing to sell. If they are trying to keep their home then I can offer them fair terms on a contract for deed.
Prospecting is tiresome and time consuming but it is a very productive way to generate multiple, warm prospects and keep the deal pipeline full.
Thanks in advance to any and all comments. 
dimenson
This is one way to reach a possible customer, but keep in mind that most are playing the avoidance game and many will not answer.
You will find that knocking on doors will be more productive.
I send letters, make calls and door knock - not necessarily in that order - and repeat the process again and again until the property has been sold or becomes and reo.
[addsig]
You are also gonna have to be careful with trying the phone calls...remember the "do not call" list? I definitely would go with the mailings...people aren't too keen for you to knock at their door either....some take it as intruding.......
Many thanks to both of you for your comments!
Johnmichael, you clearly have deep experience in this area and your comments are greatly appreciated.
Prospecting is a numbers game. That is, the more contacts made, the more prospects created. Each method has its pros and cons however, I have found that phone calls have the best trade off between time spent and prospects created.
Obviously knocking on doors creates warmer, more personal leads plus there is more information to be had. For one, you actually see the property. The obvious downside is time consumption: You can only fit so many on-site visits into one day.
I like JohnMichael's comment about these folks being in "avoid mode". I can only speculate as to what they have been through. Also intrusions and "no call lists" are a concern.
Lets face it though, How else is someone supposed to prospect for business. There are ways to prevent intrusion (unlisted number, caller id, etc.) and if the caller is polite, succinct and most importantly understands the word "NO", there really is no intrusion.
In any case, I have a list of 300 names and telephone numbers that I will call this week. If anyone is interested, I'll let you know how it goes.
JohMichael, I read an article you posted 06/01/05 about pricey real estate leading investors to seek alternatives abroad including Eastern Europe. If you e-mail me your electronic address I have some information on that subject that could be of interst to you.
Please do let us know how your project goes!
If you want to send me information, I'm easy to reach, as all my contact info is located in my profile.
[addsig]