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CFD,
I’m looking at probate marketing. I went down to the courthouse to research the topic, and stared at a screen for an hour when I realized I not at all sure what I’m looking for. The desired end result is to identify properties that may be in probate, whose heirs will want to sell.
I realize there’s some nuance to both the research and the marketing approach. Who is willing to let me buy them lunch and walk me through probate research and marketing?
Thanks,
Deb Krantz
Columbus, OhioDeb,
We are to far away for lunch but give me a call and I can maybe help out. In a nutshell Probate in Illinois is recorded and documented in the Circuit Clerks Office. My counties are rural and small so the information is not on computer. However all the information I am about to tell you more than likely in larger counties is all on computers. When probate is opened a form is filled out with executor/ executrix listed with address and sometimes phone number. Also surviving spouse, and heirs that are know are listed with addresses. The assets in the estate are listed. Real Property and estimated dollar amount and personal property and and a dollar amount. There is of course allot more information in the file but this is the essentials you are looking for.Now this is Illinois. I do not know how it goes in Ohio.
Deb
You are looking for any probate that includes real estate. Once you determine that there is real estate in the estate, then you need to check the county tax records to determine if the real estate is something you’d want to get involved with. What’s the tax value of the property? Check the deed date. Is there equity? If not much equity, it could still be a subject-to opportunity. And is it in a neighborhood you’d want to invest in?
Now for marketing there are two ways to go. Some people send they “I’m so sorry for your loss – wanna sell” in a nice hand written note with a colorful envelope. The strategy is that they are getting pink, blue, yellow letters from friends and it will get opened.
Others think it is better to AVOID the “I’m so sorry for your loss” and just send a postcard or letter like you had no clue that someone passed away. The typical “Sell Your House Fast” type letter.
And some people send one each just to see which gets the better response.
Keep us posted on your progress.
Jackie
Hi Deb,
Columbus is a big city so I would plan to take a few hours calling your county clerk’s office and asking all about the probate system they have. Make sure you are talking to the person who handles probate. It might take several calls to get the right people. Each city is different. For the many years we have worked on Probate it has changed 7-8 times and is getting easier every year. We now have a CD mailed to us every two weeks with all the info that Don talked about. We also have several companies that sell the list to investors so the competition has been strong for the last few years. It’s a numbers game and certainly worth sending out your letters. Good luck to you.Deb Krantz
I do it for our company all the time. Here is the easy way. Ask your County clerk for the Probate list( what everyone has said). They will tell you it is on line or give you a disk every week to down load. Once you have the list you take the decadents and cross reference their name with the county tax records to see if they own property. Now some times it is in the probate docs. but were I am they charge you to get the files so I do it this way. Then I take all the ones that came out owning property and I send them a letter. A different letter every week for 4 weeks then 1 every 2 week for 2 months. Basically I send them 8 letter. In my letters I ask if they need help, explain how we can make things easier and I also give them advice on trick to help them out. I.E. Did you know that there are companies that can help you get ride of the unwanted things in you house for FREE. Purple heart and Salvation Army will come and remove your unwanted things and give the estate a tax deduction for the family. I find I get more calls thanking me for my help and recommending I talk to a friend that is selling than you would ever imagine. In the end I get a 10-16% return.
Hi Deb,
Feel free to use my letter for attorney’s and PR’s
Lawyers: RE: [Case Number]
Dear <Attorney First Name>,
I understand that you are representing <Personal Representative> in regards to his role as Personal Representative for the estate of <Decedent Name>. I would like to introduce myself. My name is Wally Adams, and I specialize in buying probate properties.
I am in a position to make an offer on any properties in the estate and would appreciate an opportunity to be of service. I understand that many Personal Representatives can find themselves in need of ready cash to pay estate-related bills and expenses and I can assist in getting that money. I can close quickly, and I do buy properties AS-IS. There is no need for the Personal Representative to have to worry about cleaning up the property and selling any estate-related items where there is neither the time nor interest in doing so.
You will find that I am a conscientious investor and that I firmly believe that the only deal worth pursuing is the deal where everyone wins.
I am willing to entertain any potential opportunities, and you will find that I am very creative in my deal structuring.
I would appreciate your support in this matter and I would be happy to meet with you or the Personal Representative to see how I can be of help.
I look forward to hearing from you, and I trust that we will be able to do some work together shortly.Sincerely,
Wally AdamsFor Personal Reps: (Case Numbers)
I know firsthand that it is never easy losing someone. You have my condolences.
I want to let you know that I may be able to help you with settling this estate more quickly. I buy properties in this area, and I’m currently looking for single-family homes and other investment property.
If you or your heirs are interested in selling this property, please give me a call. I will be happy to speak with you anytime.
I can pay all cash and close very quickly to help you reduce your attorney’s fees, utilities, taxes, and mortgage payments on the property. If I purchase your property, you will also be able to avoid all repairs (I buy AS-IS condition) and fix-up to the property and the time and expense of a real estate agent.
Also, if you need help cleaning the property, I can assist in that as well, there’s a lot of boxes and a lot of packing. I understand the probate process.
If you have general questions on timelines, please go to the website http://www.wallysgotbuyers.com and review my recent blog post on the topic.
I know we can have a great opportunity to work together which will be beneficial to all of us. You can reach me by email at [email protected] or by phone anytime at (818) 415-4700Sincerely,
Wally AdamsI hope you have much success with these. Following the suggestions of the others who have posted. Please call me with any questions.
Thanks for sharing these letters Wally.
Have you used them? What kind of a response did you get?
I know one team of investors ( mom and son) who work probates a lot.
The son sends out a we buy houses kind of letter.The Mom sends out a note card with an “I’m so sorry for your lose” we have a lot of ways to help
you liquidate the real estate and contents.They work with an estate sale company to liquidate the contents, then do a highest bidder sale
for the house.Surprisingly, sometimes they both get a call from the seller.
But sometimes only the we buy houses gets a response
and sometimes only the pretty note card gets a response.This is why it is so important to test test test and try new things all the time.
You never know what will work best.Deb:
I am in Florida but my primary focus is probate. I have a VA in the Phillipines who pulls the death certificates off the county web site at the first of each month. She then goes to the County Property Appraiser site ( sometimes its the Comptrollers site) and cross references the name against any property owned by the deceased. She then captures that data in an Excel spreadsheet and sends that to me. I usually have all five counties by mid month. I parse the list to take out anything I don’t want to look at outside of my sweet spot like million dollar houses. I then send it to a courthouse research company to send someone to the courthouse to look up the PR and lawyer info. Since I am so early in the process I usually only get that info for about 10% of the list. I then mail letters to the PRs, lawyers or “the family of”. This brought me all of my flip deals last year.
The benefit to you is the big savings over buying lists from list brokers. I was paying $300/county from two different brokers. My list costs today are about $250 for 5 counties. My undeliverable rate runs 4-6%. I had one list provider that had an undeliverable rate of 17% and couldn’t understand why I dropped them. It also keeps you out of the courthouse for days on end pulling two and three files at a time. Hope this helps. Good luck.Carl,
This is great information. Using a Virtual Assistant from the Philippines is a great way to save you time and money. I use several VAs from the Philippines.
We have some training about finding and working with a Virtual Assistant
This is a really good Coaching call
Here is some additional information about working with a Virtual Assistant
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