The Secrets Behind Putting Notes on Eyesore Properties

Chris Koerner

MILLIONS are made driving around & putting notes on eyesore properties.

But can it scale? YES. For both residential & commercial.

I cracked the code. Here's exactly how you can copy.

You'll need a few tools:  

- Craigslist
- Google Forms
- Some petty cash
- Some faith & patience  

We start by writing the note.

Take a sheet of paper and write:  

"I want to buy this property. I can pay cash and close fast. Please call/text ASAP."  - first name  

Now what?

Take a pic of the note and save to your computer as a PDF  

Go to Craigslist and post a job in the "Labor Gigs" category in the target cities

It should say:  

"Get paid $10/door to put notes on properties in (city name). Must have reliable transportation"  

CL charges $10/post

Get them on the phone and have them show you their car.

Many will apply without a car. No bueno  Tell them you'll need them to go to a FedEx store & print copies of the note you'll email them. Venmo them upfront for this.

Now create a Google form for your gig workers to upload pics.

They need to prove they did what you asked.  

You need them to upload 2 pics per property + the address + their name.

1 pic of the entire building and 1 pic of the door with the note taped on it.  

Describe EXACTLY the types of properties you're targeting

They need to document all of this so you don't get swindled

Describe the picture taking and upload process.

Have them test it w/ a couple pics  Be VERY clear about what parts of town to look. Don't let them guess  Start w/ only 1 person in 1 city. Document it all on Google drive.

Have them knock before taping the note to the door. If someone answers, have them hand them the note and tell them they work for you and to call with any questions.  

That's it.  

Now you need to start sorting through these pictures.  Look at each one closely at first.

The most likely times a gig worker will try to scam you are:  

1. In the very beginning.
2. After you're complacent & checking the pics less.  

You may go through a couple before finding a rockstar.  Give them feedback along the way so they know if they're on the right track.

Once the first pics/addresses are uploaded do some research on the property.

Tax records & Facebook  Call the owner yourself & reference the note.

If you don't reference the note then they'll think there's more demand for their house than there is. No bueno  

Conversion rates go nuts if you do outreach via multiple angles

This strategy works best with:  

1. Abandoned residential

2. More dense areas  

3. Rural commercial.

But it can work anywhere.

Some of the best commercial properties we've found have been in rural, overlooked areas  

With this strategy you're only competing with local investors. Unlike listed properties

Just because it's abandoned doesn't mean no one ever goes there.

This is why you need to be patient.

Almost no one else does this because it's hard, tedious and is thought to not scale.

This is exactly how the best deals are found. And it CAN scale!

Once this works, scale it!

If the city is big enough, have this person lead a small team of others to do the same thing. Give him a raise.

Since you aren't paying hourly, it can be done on any schedule

Yes, it'll cost money, but the ROI is outrageous

Here's how we've done in the past:

14% of notes lead to a call (eventually!)
12% of calls lead to a deal
26% of deals lead to a closing

This was residential. So 1 great deal per ~$1,500 spent

We saved 10s of thousands on these deals than via other traditional sourcing methods.

What about commercial?

Storage, industrial, MHPs & MF are different, but the same principles apply.

Notes instead get handed to managers.

Lower quantity & more driving so the gig worker should be paid more

The key is PATIENCE. We routinely get calls 6-8+ months later. Fill the pipeline, baby!

I hope this helps someone. Would always appreciate a follow @mhp_guy

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