Bye Bye Real Estate Owner “Lists”; Get Real Data
By Jill DeWit
I read a post in social media written by a real estate investor about his frustration over finding “lists” and getting from lists to mailer to sending offer. Every time this pops up I’m reminded how many investors have yet to feel the joy and wonder we experience when preparing to send out direct mail offers to property owners. (As I say “we” I am referring to Jack Butala, as he IS the data master.)
The excitement… as we select a county and download the data.
The delight… as we tweak the spreadsheet, calculate the offer prices, and prepare the document to merge into our offer letter.
The satisfaction… as we upload our file to our discounted professional printing/commercial mail service.
And the anticipation… waiting for that first signed offer to come back.
Sound like Christmas? It should!
The research, data organizing, offer making, and mailer sending – that is the real excitement. Because you win when you buy it.
In other words, when you locate a great property and the price is so low you find yourself “running to the bank before the seller changes their mind”, then you know you have won. You know what the asset is worth, how much you will profit, and how quickly it will sell.
3 Reasons why buying real estate owner lists don’t save money.
- Lists are not always “current”. How can you be sure the list is new and fresh with up to date ownership information? Unless one accesses the data directly, there is no way to be sure.
- The list may not contain all the information needed. Did you get everything you need to make a suitable offer and good decision? Current ownership, assessed value, improved percent, pertinent property information, tax details – are all critical elements one needs to smoke out the great deals.
- Lists are not consistently delivered in the same, workable format. Lists come in a variety of formats depending on the county or the source. Therefore, extra time and money will need to be spent to get the data into one workable format. (This can take days or weeks.)
So, what is the answer? Get great data!
Current data. Data that one can access anytime day or night and download property and ownership information in the same format every time.
With the right data, you can easily source, purchase, and sell a property in less than 45 days. I watch new real estate investors do it all the time.