Farming Approach - Need Input

[SteveTheSultan]

32 days Since I got on my lisc I am farming some neighborhoods with this approach, and wanted input to see if I am off base or approaching things well.

Here is my 10 step approach.

1. Pick 2 neighborhoods a day in my area. <50 homes
2. Drive through to get a feel of the neighborhood.
3. Look for FISBO, other listings, get sales information.
4. Get list of all addresses from Property Appraiser web site. (Orange county, FL has an excellent web site for farming)
5. Research each property and find last sale, mortgage data.
6. Create a "score" of 1-3 on each property after reviewing the data.
7. Based on the score, create a mailer for the 1's 2's 3's

"1" = Owner in good financial condition
"2" = Owner may be looking to move - (Given data)
"3" = New home owner

8. Every 3 weeks send a mailer out.
9. Follow up with cold calls, and mailers.
10. Build a web page that has information about that neighborhood: (This is included in the mail out for people to access) ie "http://steveloper[]com/NieghborhoodName


What are your thoughts on this approach?

There is no magic bullet, but I wanted to farm each person based on what the DATA says about their current situation.

I currently sell real estate data for my main job, so I understand the data at a very low level. I am working to get listings.

My goal by the end of the year is to have 1000 homes on the mailing list that have been carefully researched and have a focused advertising approach.

[Dallas Broker]

sounds like a lot of work, but good system if you are looking to focus your business on listings. Careful with the cold calling, not sure on FL, but most TX residents are on do not call list.

Also, weigh cost/beneift analysis, mailers can be very expensive depending on volume and length of your campaign

[FindCRE]

Your doing the right thing, espically just starting out. At the end of the day, listings are still the key. As the old saying goes "listers last"

You should also invest in REDX and Land Voice There software will scrub the do not call list for you. No need to waste gas driving neighborhoods looking for FSBOs

[jlnel]

some good ideas..

[jessiesc]

Quite a detailed approach Steve, congrats on being able to focus at this level so early in your career.

A few items:

As mentioned above, make sure you get a copy of the DNC (Do Not Call list) and check it before you call anyone. If your office doesn't have one (which they may not), you can get one free. Load that into a database and compare your contact numbers against it.

"3" = New home owner - these are probably not going to be listing their home any time soon, so a slower mail out may save you some money.

PM sent

[escapeso]

I would probably try to cut out a few steps and with the saved time try to hit more neighborhoods. But its just a gut feeling. You might have better luck spending more time on each neighborhood.

[doogers]

It does sound very time consuming. Although it seems more effective than just sending out a bunch of mailers once in a while to a select area.

[paulsps]

Steve- sounds like you really want to dedicate yourself to getting a presence in the neighborhood. Sounds like a great plan, but I think there's a better way of doing this too - a neighborhood website. There's a few vendors out there that can help - but I think you'll find the automated systems and web based technologies and email communications systems will allow you to disseminate information and help residents more easily and with less cost.
Such a tool helps you offer something of value to the neighborhood and this is a VERY soft sell. However, it will give you a great mechanism for communications and you have great way to collect email addresses etc - particularly with the 'private' versions offered by some vendors.
You should check out www.NonStopNeighbors.com as an example.

[SteveTheSultan]

Thanks very, very much for all the input. The no-call list and other suggestions are worth there weight in gold.

On the individual neighbor hood web sites (May help others):

I own a co-located server and can put up as many websites as needed at virtually no cost. I was a software developer for 8 years, so I use an free, open source tool called DotNetNuke (DNN - Backed my Microsoft). Its pretty much drag and drop and you can create, forums, blogs, user login, google maps, groups, newsletters etc.)

You need some tech knowledge to make it work, but its a great way to get a site up and running within an 1 hour. I can talk ad nausem about DotNetNuke, so Private Message if you want more information.

I will keep you up to date on return rates for the farming. Both calls, and web access.

---
Thanks much for the comments and help. Starting from scratch in this business is hard, (Not to mention I have a 4 year old and a 13 week old) So you comments help keep me motivated and making this a full time gig.

[mudkipz]

It's embarrassing asking this but...what's "neighborhood farming" exactly?