Expired listings are usually going to be your best target for trying to find a really good deal. But targeting these properties can also have their own set of challenges as well. There are some simple tips you can follow that can help streamline this procedure and generate some of the leads you are looking for. Vacant houses are great deals waiting to happen. You may have a difficult time finding out how to get a hold of the correct addresses of homeowners. Some people have tried to get a hold of Melissadata.com to get the information, but they have said that you need a hundred names.
Findtheseller.com would be a good alternative to turn to. That's Cameron Dunlap's website, and they're private detectives. The sellers of vacant homes usually have expired listings that are going to be cheaper for him to find. By using him, you'll probably get a 100% hit rate. That is, unless they just moved now. If they just moved, it is likely that no one is going to know where they're at except maybe the post office. Something that has been tried in the past is to send them a post card or a letter and put what's on there. You will also want to do a return postage guaranteed or something like that. Go down to your post office and ask them how to mail somebody a letter so that you can capture their return address. Or you can ask them where they moved.
Another thing that can be very helpful is if you can find someone in the real estate business that would be willing to send you a copy of the expired listings. These are the best lists that you can send mailers to. Most of the time, postcards are necessary… in fact, the best letter that you can send them is the yellow letter that is available at the website. No other letter has had more success than that letter. It catches their attention and usually gets a lot of good sales leads. It's the only letter that you really need to send.
About the Author: For additional information on real estate investing and the hot foreclosure market, I recommend joining Ron LeGrand's Millionaire Maker Newsletter The newsletter itself is loaded with great tips and resources, and he's usually giving away something free like a CD or something that generally has a lot of great information on it.
