Classified Ads for Buying Homes

[Mark in St. Louis 0]

I have a few questions for all of you out there that use classified ads and have actually done a deal as a result of using them. Sorry, but I want to limit the response to those that have actually had success from them.

 

1) What kind of publication(s) are you running them in? Here in St. Louis I have 3 choices: The primary...BIG....subscription/pay type paper, the neighborhood/free papers that get thrown onto the driveway once or twice a week, and the Thrifty Nickel (elsewhere I believe you have the Penny Saver or Shopper).

 

2) What does the copy of your ad look like, does it look like a personal or company ad, does it include a local live number or voice mail box/800 number, etc.?

 

3) How often do you have the ad running?

 

4) How many leads per month would you say the ad generates?

 

5) How many deals have you actually done from the ad?

 

I'm considering making classified ads a part of my overall marketing campaign for finding homes to buy on L/P. I wanted to get feedback first from those of you that are actually using them with success.

 

Thanks!

[MichaelC 160]

Mark, I primarily use the ad that I have mentioned here previously, and that I use as an example in my book:

AAA Credit/References. Family needs lease with purchase option in good area. (123) 456-7890

As you can see, it clearly appears to be from an individual, rather than a company of any kind. That's my preference. I believe any homeowner looking in the Real Estate Wanted section of the classifieds is not looking for a Realtor or company to call. And since most calls are from local homeowners, I see no reason why an 800 number will increase calls. I use a live, local number and answer the calls personally when I can. If I'm out, a straightforward answering machine kicks in and simply asks to leave a message. I prompty return calls when I'm back in my office.

I place it in the major daily. My experience has been the big paper is more effective at pulling in quality leads than the weekly Pennysaver type periodicals. It costs more, of course, but you are reaching a much larger readership.

I used to run the ad on Sundays only, when the paper where I was living allowed that setup. Sunday was the real estate classified day, so it made no sense to run it daily. Nowadays, the paper's policy is that the ad must run for a minimum of seven consecutive days. Discounts are offered for 14 day runs, and 30 day runs.

A slow week might get me zero to two calls. A strong week can see ten.

As for the number of deals, well, I honestly can't say. I've been in this business for many years and over that time have done countless deals from homeowners who have picked up the phone to call me from my ad. Suffice it to say, I have always considered newspaper advertising to be a very effective and cost efficient method of generating business. One deal, just one, will pay for more than a year's worth of newspaper advertising.

Mark, your mileage may vary compared to my results. I don't want to give the impression that my way is the way. Anyone can try my ad and gauge for themselves how effective it is in their paper and location. Don't hesitate to tweak the ad to better suit your preferences, or to not use it at all. As you already know, the key to successful marketing is persistence. We must continually have our name and number "out there" to constantly be reminding homeowners who we are and how we can be contacted. Marketing is an ever evolving process. It requires an aggressive and diversified approach, and patience to accurately judge the effectiveness of the marketing campaign you are currently employing.

[Mark in St. Louis 0]

Thanks for the reply Michael.

 

Since you answer the call live when you can, and your ad looks like it is from an individual, I'm curoius how you answer the phone and how the conversation flows?

 

Is it

Ring...Rign...Ring

"Hello, this is Michael Carbonare"?

 

Do you just start off talking as though you are the one personally looking for the home?

 

If so, at what point do you transition into telling them that you are a property management company, and have a list of buyers looking for homes...etc, etc?

 

I have your course and your included script for making outbound calls but I'm curious how you handle inbound calls? Do you have an example somewhere. Did I somehow miss that in the manual? I'm not looking for a script to read word for word, but rather to use as an example to customize in my own words.

 

Thanks!

[ctrmrz31 0]

Hello guys!

Regardless of what type of ad works for you in your area, it is still essential to be able to sell yourself when the calls start coming in. I use Michael's property management spill to sell myself and this has been working well with me. I have several deals lined for the month of January and they have all resulted from the property management spill.

I want to ask Michael this question: When you get calls from the ads you mentioned above, are they calls mostly from homeowners who believe that it is you that wants the house? I assume this is the case and if so, what type of reaction do you get from the homeowners when you tell them that you are actually a property manager and it's actually your client that wants the house. Or do you go a different route with these calls?

I noticed some callers are somewhat disapointed that I am not going to actually buy this house cash. They start backing off somewhat, but as I get into all the advantages of the lease purchase agreement and how it favors the homeowner then they start coming around slowly. But I have had some never come around mainly because they would not let me get to the advantages before they hang up, so I have been searching for other ways to get a quick hook in these potential sellers right from the start.

I think it would be a good education for you Michael and others to post their spills so that those who don't have the manual know what to say when they get calls from motivated or potential sellers.

So, come on veterans, give us your most productive spills so we can be over-night telemarketing pros!

Cruz or Brandon?

[MichaelC 160]

Guys, an inbound call might go something like this:

 

Me: Hello. This is Michael. Can I help you?

Caller: Hi. I saw your ad in the paper about wanting a home you can lease purchase. What are you looking for?

Me: Thank you for calling. Let explain what I need, Mr. Homeowner. I own a property management company, Carbo Properties, and the problem we have right now is that we have many more tenant/buyers than we do properties to offer them. As a result, we are advertising and looking for nice homes in good areas to fill this need. Depending upon the particulars of your property, it may fit our criteria and we would be interested in doing business with you pretty quickly, then.

 

At this point only several possibilities exist. They could flat out be turned off and disinterested. These are the homeowners who will say, "Oh, this isn't for you?", and then quickly hang up. No harm, no foul, in my opinion.

First, we live with the knowledge that the numbers are against us regarding homeowners wanting to go the creative route. Most will utlimately opt for a traditional sale, using Realtors and new financing. I don't mind hearing the "No" when it is early in the process. The above example conversation took me, what, one minute? That's fine. It enables me to move on to other things, other callers who just might be the one who is willing to go creative. So don't take a "No" personally, and don't become frustrated trying to close every homeowner you speak with. It simply ain't gonna' happen.

Another scenario: after I explain myself as above, the homeowner will have questions. This is good. It may mean they aren't totally opposed to what I have just said. A conversation ensues wherein I try to educate them to the Lease Purchase Advantage, and the benefits of working with me, specifically. At this point the conversation is quite similar to what I have outlined in my manual.

The bottom line for me, guys, is I want to be upfront with the callers. If they're not interested in what I've go to offer, I don't want to talk to them, either. I'm just as anxious to get them off the phone as they are to get rid of me. By letting them know right away what I do and what I'm looking for, I can cut through all the BS and use my time effectively with homeowners who are at least open to listening to me. I also make a habit of getting in the hands of most every homeowner I speak with my FAQ's document, (which you both have, right?), via email or fax. I find this to be very effective at explaining what we do, and in a very favorable light. If I see any further interest from them, an offer will immediately follow. Give 'em something to think about.

[ctrmrz31 0]

Great stuff Michael!

I do something similar which usually goes something like this:

Me: Hello! This is Cruz or Brandon

Caller: I seen your ad, do you buy houses?

Me: Yes! I buy houses with a lease purchase agreement

Caller: what is that?

Me: A lease purchase is better known as a rent-to-own

Caller: How would this work?

Me: OK! I own a property management company and we usually have more clients wanting to get into a nice home than we have nice homes to put them in, for this reason we are advertising in hopes of filling this need.

 

This is usually the basics and how it might go with me in my area, but like I say I don't always get the chance to complete my spill. I will try your stuff Michael and see what kind of results I get. I haven't run an ad like yours yet Michael so, yes, I will give it a try. My ad says: ":!$Sell your house fast! We have buyers! No Charge! call xxx-xxx-xxxx". The reason I put an exclamation point and dollar sign in front of my ad is so it will appear first in my selected section. I got the idea from a fellow naked investor who posted it on this site. It works! when placing your ad it is put in order starting with !@#$%^&* then it goes to numbers 1234 then to letters abcd, so if you want your ad to be placed at the beginning of your selected section then try putting an exclamation sign in front of it or a dollar sign.

Well, good luck to all! May this new year will brings lots of success!

Thanks for your input Michael!

Cruz or Brandon?

p.s. how does this sound?: Cruz or Brandon Properties, LLC or maybe Cruz & Brandon Properties, LLC. I have also thought of using Managing Texas Properties, LLC. What do you guys think?

[MichaelC 160]

My ad says: !$Sell your house fast! We have buyers! No Charge! call xxx-xxx-xxxx

This may be contributing to some of the callers being disappointed when they hear you aren't buying all cash today. My preference is to be more specific in my ad. My thinking is that while receiving less calls probably, the ones that do respond may be more in line with who I am looking for. That is, someone open to a lease purchase. As always, try different things and determine what works best for you in your area.

p.s. how does this sound?: Cruz or Brandon Properties, LLC or maybe Cruz & Brandon Properties, LLC. I have also thought of using Managing Texas Properties, LLC. What do you guys think?

How about C & B Properties, LLC.? Or, maybe you can try Cowboys Lose to Carolina, LLC.

 

 

PS: Go Giants! Oh,wait, my team is home playing golf............never mind

[grannyguru 0]

Hi Michael!

 

I have a question for you about your newspaper ad:

 

The ad says; AAA Credit/REferences. How do you get from there to the fact that lease/purchase buyers don't immediately qualify for loans, which I thought is generally why they are not buying in the first place....

 

Or doesn't the question really come up in the first place?

 

(I realize some folks will have otherwise super credit but just not be on the job long enough or some similar problem.)

 

 

Thanks so much...

 

Alice

[Mark in St. Louis 0]

Thank you very much Michael. I really appreciate it. That's just what I needed.

 

Alice....I think the "AAA Credit/References" refers to Michael/Carbo Properties. He is actually the one the seller is dealing with, and the one making the payments.

 

I for one do not talk about the type of people I will place in their home as having "bad credit". It immediately turns them off. You have to be very careful when talking to sellers about the type of language you use.

 

I typically refer to my tenant-buyers as:

 

"Maybe needing more time on the job"

"Self-employed business owner without 2 years of tax returns"

"Young college students with no established credit yet"

"Divorced moms that got dinged as a result of the divorce"

"Someone who had medical problems and maybe now has a blemish on their credit"

"Relocating due to job and want to try out the house before buying it"

 

I always try to use neutral or positive words to describe my tenant-buyers.

[MichaelC 160]

Alice, that credit question rarely comes up. If it does, then I explain that I have the AAA credit, and since I am making their payments this usually proves quite a satisfying answer. Truth be told, I can remember being asked about my credit two times in about the 13 or 14 years that I've been at this.

I for one do not talk about the type of people I will place in their home as having "bad credit". It immediately turns them off. You have to be very careful when talking to sellers about the type of language you use.

I typically refer to my tenant-buyers as:

 

"Maybe needing more time on the job"

"Self-employed business owner without 2 years of tax returns"

"Young college students with no established credit yet"

"Divorced moms that got dinged as a result of the divorce"

"Someone who had medical problems and maybe now has a blemish on their credit"

"Relocating due to job and want to try out the house before buying it"

 

I always try to use neutral or positive words to describe my tenant-buyers.

Worth repeating.

I also like to explain to the homeowner that the tenant/buyer is usually someone who needs to buy "time" before they can buy your house. It works well.

[Mark in St. Louis 0]

Michael,

 

the tenant/buyer is usually someone who needs to buy "time" before they can buy your house

I like that line so much I think I'm going to steal it and use it as my own!

[ctrmrz31 0]

Thanks for the tips Michael!

Now let me give you a tip, Get on the Cowboy's BanWagon and you can be a winner too!

Woundn't you like to be a pepper too!

Cruz or Brandon?