Is the phone ringing?
Hi all Im back again for some advice. I just ran an ad on my first property in the papers a i have not received not one phone call. After looking at other ads Im wondering if I need to change my wording.I posted RENT TO OWN 199900 RENT TO OWN 1400 +3.5% No credit check
and the phone isnt ringing. I am trying to do a lease purchase W/O . What can I do to get the phone ringing?
lornadawn,
There is a company called Rent to Own they rent televisions, tables, chairs, etc.
This is what the average person envisions in their mind when they see rent to own.
You are talking about a home for lease with a purchase option if I am reading your post correctly.
$1,400 mo. + 3.5% what does this mean? Maybe this is a secret code in your area it is the first time I have seen it.
Could be why your phone is not ringing, what are you really trying to do with this property, tell us a little more about it.
John $Cash$ Locke
Hi John and thanks for the reply . I am trying to do is a Lease purchase with an option to buy at 199900. I am asking for a option payment of 3.5 percent down of the option price, roughly 7K. I am also asking for monthly payments of 1400 per month. The ad was ran in the homes for sale section of my local newspaper. I have now noticed that there arent manyhomes are being advertised this way but I decided to try and see what type of response that I would get. So after not getting any response I decided to come back home to TCI and ask. Thanks John. <IMG SRC="images/forum/smilies/icon_wink.gif"> [ Edited by lornadawn on Date 11/26/2002 ]
Hi Lornadawn,
I think the goal of the ad is to get buyers talking to you. Since most people are too lazy to read the paper, and mearly skim the ads, the will not want to do any math to figure out the deal.
Maybe you can say:
Only $7K moves you into this beautiful x bed, x bath home. Lease to own. Won't Last. See this property today. Call Lornadawn at 555-5555.
Show them the property, and once they are hooked, then go over the details on the monthly payment, etc.
This is just a suggestion. Perhaps John Locke will comment and give it the acid test.
Well I don't know about the acid test, but this is the way I do it.
$7K down No Qual
4bd, 3ba, 2 car garage
Shoping, Schools close by
(Some Amentities)
Only $1,400 per mo.
Vacant, Move in Today.
Call Owner 555-1234
The three important parts of the ad are, they know what the down is, the monthly payment is and there is no qualifing. This type of ad elimates for the most part anyone who does not have the money for the down, thereby getting the serious buyers calling.
You can explain the Lease Option to them when you show them the home it is just part of the financing package. It is important to get them to meet you at the home. The less said over the phone except how great the home is the better. The home will sell itself, but you need to get them there.
John $Cash$ Locke
thank for the feedback guys I have changed the wording and I do feel better with the way it reads now , will let the board know how it turns out. Happy Thanksgiving To all [ Edited by lornadawn on Date 11/28/2002 ]
Happy turkey day lornadawn,
John's advise would most likely pull the most calls. Because I use the same process.
My adds read
*** FREE ***
3 bdr - 2 bath - 2 car garage
Home, Great Looking, I finance!
Free 19" TV when you move in.
Call 000-000-0000 for showing appointment
I only show my deals on Sunday at 2pm and I show them all at one time. It creates an urgency to buy.
Has never failed me yet
re4me:
Does the offer for a free 19" TV help pull down the calls? Does it help distinguish your ad from other ads? I read about John's free vette with house story, but you could easily get 3 or 4 TV's at Walmart and keep them in the garage until needed.
I'm interested to know how people respond to this.
Thanks.
planders_99,
Corvettes, tv's, garden tractors, etc. all work if you need the additional edge for selling the house.
If the house has a large lawn try the garden tractor approach. You can get very creative in your ad's FREE is a strong word when used in an ad.
I have done the certain time everyone shows up, to the when they call go to the house now. It depends on the house, if someone has done a drive by and wants to see the house I am there to meet them.
Keep flexible when selling, I have shown up at some of my houses and buyers are sitting in a U-Haul truck waiting to move in waving a fist full of cash at me when I arrived.
john $Cash$ Locke
Dear planders_99,
John's comment is so very right, Free is your most powerful word in advertising.
Simply type the word free in any net search tool and you will be on the net forever.
Giving something away for free draws all kinds of folks. Every time I run an add, I get bombarded by calls.
I use the same when I have a rental as well. My most powerful add is as follows:
"SEX"
Now that I have your attention!
This will get a few negative calls, but boy do I get a powerful response.
Creative advertising works great and if you compound it with competitive appointment setting by having all interested parties come at the same time creates a since of urgency to sign your contract.
I have given away TV's, stereos, lottery tickets, furniture and all sorts of stuff.
Have a great day,
John Michael
[ Edited by re4me on Date 11/30/2002 ]
$Cash$ and re4me.
Both of your ads sound great for a CFD. But lornadawn wants to do a lease purchase. Perhaps something like the following would be better suited for her deal:
RENT TO OWN
3BR/2BA, 2000 sqft, $1400 mo + dep.
Rent credit, downpmt assistance
555-5555
[ Edited by DaveT on Date 11/30/2002 ]
DaveT,
I like the wording of your add, but I think the addition of a "FREE OFFER" of some kind ads worlds to the potential of an add. Think about it. On any given Sunday afternoon, or when the heck ever, there are a limited number of people who are going to make phone calls on a house because they need a place to live. So, I am competing against all the other ads in the paper. What are the key things that a person in the position of trying to find a place to live will be looking for?
1. Price
2. # BD's
3. # Ba's
4. Location
5. Amenities.
6. ??
If your ad and my ad are the same, they are the same price, have the same number of rooms, exc. and mine offers a free TV or something for moving in, who are they going to call? Who would you call? That's a no brainer.
I have a lot of sales and marketing experience. Something some real estate investors sometimes lack. Do something to stand apart from the rest, like a free offer, and you will be able to take your pick of the people who call you, and get the best tenant out of them all.
Just some thoughts.
Cheers,
Nick
“You can chain me, you can torture me, you can even destroy this body, but you will never imprison my mind.”
-Mahatma Gandhi
Nick,
I think you missed my point. I do not argue with you on your use of incentives to attract callers.
Look at the post that started this thread. The property was for "sale" on a lease option or lease purchase basis.
I only noted that both re4me and $Cash$ proposed ads that sounded very much like properties for sale with owner financing. Not quite the same as selling on a lease option where there is no owner financing.
Hi Dave T,
The same ad's work for lease op, rent to own, rentals or what ever.
I have done the same marketing for my import business. Just a little change of wording and it works.
I have even used "Got Milk" as a title for real estate just to grab the attention of readers. Not all is in black and white in advertising.
I never just rent; I lease op, carry back, etc.
Being creative in advertising will set you aside from the pack. I think this is what $John$ and my self were trying to do.
Sorry for the confusion.
John Michael
Its all about Creative Investing, to have the edge from your competitors, you need to be knowledged in all angles to create win/win situations... And about the ads, some ads work in one state but not another. Test to trial. Figure out what is a good response.. I suggest postcards.
Why would you use postcards in this situation? Are they effective?
DaveT, does it really matter how the ad "looks" whether it looks like an owner financed or a lease/option or you throw in a free gumball machine that spits out golden nuggets that are rapped in pictures of naked ladies? As long as you can get the people to the house and they like it, won't they still buy it? I always figured that the ad was to simply get them to the home to look at it then you discuss the terms and what not. Correct me if I'm wrong...since...you know...I'm still working on my first deal. Anyway, I'm done. Bye
Mitchell
Yes, yes, and yes: the object of the ad is to get the phone to ring. That said, if you're offering a lease option, I recommend that it Not look like carryback financing. These people who answer your ad are not sophisticated and may cut & run if they feel that what they're getting is different than what's advertised.
Try an ad in the for rent section with a headline like RATHER BUY? or RENT 1ST, THEN OWN.
best of luck!
Good ads and advice from JCLocke & JMichael. If the phone is not ringing than without a doubt you have to change your ad.
The idea of giving away something free is a powerful sweetner. All my ads state that all appliances are included. That means washer & dryer, refrigerator, range/oven, and most of the time microwave oven. That's the way I buy them and that's my freebie.