Sent 60 letters by hand and got one assignment for 3,800

I've spent my whole working life in the trades and had never touched the investing side, so I did the smallest version of this I could think of.

Pulled 60 owners off the county site myself, all out of state, all between 3 and 15 acres, no structures on the tax record. Wrote 60 letters at my kitchen table with a real pen because I didn't want to pay for anything yet. Total spend was about 45 in stamps and envelopes.

Seven calls. Six were people telling me they weren't selling, mostly politely. One was a woman whose brother had bought 7 acres in 2011 and died, and the family had been paying taxes on it since without ever going there.

Agreed at 12,500 with a 25 day inspection. Drove it that weekend. Gravel road access, dry, a decent building spot near the front. Called the two guys in town who I know buy land because I've framed houses for both of them. One said yes at 16,300 in a day.

Assignment fee 3,800. Closed in 19 days.

What nearly broke it: probate. The brother's estate had been through court but the deed hadn't been updated, so the woman signing wasn't on title. The title company sorted it with the court paperwork the family already had, which took eleven days and could easily have taken three months if that paperwork hadn't existed. I got lucky rather than smart there.

What I'd keep: knowing two buyers before I mailed anything. What I'd change: I'd ask who's on the deed in the first phone call.

1 reply

1paulgrant17PassivePRO5

45 dollars to 3,800 is a ratio that's going to get quoted out of context, but the actual asset here is that you'd already framed houses for both buyers. Somebody with no trade contacts sends the same 60 letters and then has nowhere to put the parcel. The deed question in call one is the part I'm stealing, though. It's free and it tells you whether you're looking at eleven days or a court calendar.