Show notes
Today on the Listing Agent Lifestyle podcast, we're talking with Sean Caldwell, a seasoned investor based in North Carolina who generates a lot of business by sourcing off-market deals from distressed homeowners. We had a great conversation about his success using direct mail and cold calling, and we looked at his offers to help homeowners who are struggling financially. We also talked about how he finds and uses the data that help identify potential buyers and the data needed for investors to stay ahead of the various foreclosure procedures. This market is constantly changing, and it's interesting to hear Sean's approach to success while helping people in difficult situations. HIGHLIGHTS Seasoned real estate investor Sean Caldwell sources off-market deals through demographic prospecting and finding distressed homeowners. Strategies include direct mail and cold calling, identifying homeowners over 65 who receive government assistance, have a mortgage-free property, and have a dated house with needed repairs. County governments provide data on delinquent property taxes, allowing investors to identify potential buyers. Various solutions for financially struggling homeowners include partnering with a reverse mortgage company or crafting an effective letter series to engage with them. Understanding the schedules of each county for foreclosure cases helps investors stay ahead of the curve. Approaching homeowners compassionately and providing guidance during tough times is crucial. Creating an educational guide for homeowners on when to refinance can help identify those who would benefit from a reverse mortgage or selling their house. Engaging with distressed homeowners through innovative marketing strategies for foreclosure prevention can make a difference in their lives and grow the investor's real estate portfolio. Understanding the homeowner's real desire and approaching them in a way that makes them feel safe and secure is essential. Investing in real estate with empathy and providing solutions for struggling homeowners can lead to personal and financial success. Links: Show Notes GoGoAgent.com Be a Guest Listing Agent Lifestyle Book Listing Agent Scorecard Transcript Dean Jackson Sean. Sean Caldwell Good morning. Dean Jackson Well, there we are. How are you? Sean Caldwell Well, how are you doing? Dean Jackson I am good. Well, here we are. We've got the whole hour And I'm excited to hear what you're up to. Diane is telling me just a little bit about what you do, but I wanna hear as a whole the whole story here. Sean Caldwell Sure. So I am a real estate investor I'm based here in North Carolina. Dean Jackson Mhmm. Sean Caldwell And we typically will either wholesale bills or we'll buy them and keep them and then owner finance them. Dean Jackson Okay. Sean Caldwell And we're typically sourcing our deals off market. So our marketing is this is geared toward more, I would say, demographic prospecting of -- Mhmm. Dean Jackson -- Sean Caldwell more to geographical. So we're looking or, you know, signs of distress, whether that be issues with mortgage or taxes or dealing with tenants that have evictions or not she is Dean Jackson the Sean Caldwell tenants, but dealing with landlords, dealing with eviction, and just any kind of distress situation that a homeowner would find themselves in. Those are typically the people that we approach. And our offers usually, it's you know, we'll send them a letter or a postcard and you know, it's just an offer to purchase their house, and we go into all the details about you know, all the benefits that we offer to them. Mhmm. It's it works, but I mean, for what for the effort that we have to undertake, it's I mean, it's just so much just from the cost of it. Dean Jackson Yeah. Sean Caldwell The response rate is oftentimes really low. We get a lot of people calling us out. It just it just Dean Jackson You're not the only investors in North Carolina looking for Sean Caldwell No. No. That's not that. No. Dean Jackson There used to be and it used to be a little less competitive, but there are so many people now that are doing the same thing. So especially when you're using trigger data, you don't you're not you don't have a clean runway. There. Right? You've got everybody all over it. So are you so what's the kinda go-to thing now? What's the thing that's working the best for you? Sean Caldwell Well, direct mail, it it it's what's working best. Dean Jackson Right. Especially when you have visible prospects. Right? Like, if you know somebody -- Right. -- gotta tell you, you know, whatever. Mhmm. Sean Caldwell Right. Yeah. So that's work that's worked well. Mhmm. And we've also had six successes with cold calling. I don't like it. I prefer for the prospect to reach out to us when they're ready, but -- Mhmm. Dean Jackson -- Sean Caldwell we have had success with it. Dean Jackson So Uh-huh. So how do you let's talk a couple of things that you know, who's the ideal prospects for you here? Like, who is what's the if we could, you know, find the right -- Yes. Person. So who's ideal? Sean Caldwell So our best prospect is someone who is on the verge of a tax foreclosure. Mhmm. They are typically sixty five or older, sixty five years or older, they may or may not have some adult child that helps them out. Mhmm. Typically, they own their home, free and clear, are receiving some form of government assistance, whether that be Social Security or any other kind of benefit. Mhmm. And that's the primary source of income. Mhmm. On occasion, we'll run into a widow. And, you know, her husband was the one that took care of everything and now she's kinda stranded and doesn't really know what to do. Okay. These houses are typically dated. And these are oftentimes Dean Jackson these are people who are living in these houses. They're living in the house. Sean Caldwell Correct. Yeah. Dean Jackson I didn't. So Right. Okay. Sean Caldwell Right. Yeah. So these are owner occupants who lived in the home for you know, typically thirty years and longer. Mhmm. And with that has come, obviously, a lot of deferred care. Things are just you know, they got the same bathroom and kitchen set up than they had in the seventies. I mean, it just you know, so they it's dated. It's functional, but it's dated, or if, you know, if they do if everything outside of that, there's typically some repairs that are needed. You know, they need a new roof, but they don't have the money or, you know, the grandkids, you know, were playing and they kicked the hole in the wall and there's a big patch of that kind of thing. So tend to be a lot of deferred care. Mhmm. Dean Jackson And so do you what triggers them as a prospect for you? Like, how do you get your data? Okay. So this is somebody yeah. Sean Caldwell Sure. So we we're able to source it directly from various County level governments. Mhmm. Use it to tax the tax assessor. We'll we'll make those lists available of people who are delinquent in their property taxes. So we're able to Dean Jackson Mhmm. Sean Caldwell to source it that way. Mhmm. Dean Jackson So this is just this is you can get a list of like, all these things are knowable. Things. Right? These just what you -- Right. -- source. We build a list of people who are sixty five plus who are hundred percent equity -- Right. -- no no mortgage have been in the property for a number of years. And have tax arrears? Sean Caldwell Yeah. So so we the counties will just give us the list of the properties and all those deep the details regarding the property tax situation. Dean Jackson Yeah. Sean Caldwell From our from us having talked to a lot of these folks and sort of build out a profile of them, we've been able to get all that other data. Okay. There's there's yeah. They don't they don't give us all of that sort of personal -- Right. Dean Jackson -- Sean Caldwell that I don't find it. They just say, hey, this person this property as five thousand dollars in unpaid taxes. Uh-huh. And, you know, six to eight months, they're gonna you know, they they're gonna pay it or we're gonna auction our house off. Dean Jackson And so how long does it take for somebody if they're in tax arrears how long will until they sell? Or what is that? Mhmm. Sean Caldwell Yes. So, typically, you have to be at least a couple years behind And the county will typically work with you to, you know, to try to resolve the situation. And if within, let's say, two to three years, the homeowner fails to pay their delinquent property taxes. Accounties will then assign that property to a third party, usually legal service, or in most cases, a law firm. And that law firm will then carry out the actual foreclosure Dean Jackson -- Sean Caldwell Mhmm. -- once it gets a Dean Jackson tax lien certificate or whatever? Sean Caldwell Correct. Yes. Mhmm. In North Carolina, we're a deed state, but, like, in Florida, it's an I know it's a lien state. So, yeah, they'll sell the deed at the auction. Okay. And that and that process, once it gets so we we typically will target those people that we know once that case has been assigned to the attorney. Mhmm. Typically, counties will move forward with the sale between six to eight months. That's the average. Okay. Dean Jackson And how much are the homes worth typically? What's the range that you're looking at? Sean Caldwell Oh, I would say somewhere, maybe around a hundred and fifty thousand dollars. Mhmm. In some areas because we like I said, we don't target, like, specific neighborhoods. In some areas, that have been gentrified, some of the property values can be, you know, two or three hundred thousand dollars. But I would say, typically, for these properties, somewhere right around a hundred and fifty thousand dollars. Dean Jackson Okay. And how broad an area do you cover? Like, where where Sean Caldwell I cover yeah. Mhmm. So I cover Western North Carolina. And within that territory, they're we cover about twenty different counties. Mhmm. But like I said, we don't the reason we cover so many counties is not by choice, but by default because these are these law firms that are handling these foreclosures, they are responsible for those areas. So -- Mhmm. Dean Jackson -- Sean Caldwell we get the data from them, and that's kinda how we make the decision about you know, what areas are focusing on. Dean Jackson I got you. And so how what's the scope of this? How many how many boxes homes are there, you know, that -- Yeah. -- get data for it. Sean Caldwell Sure. We so right now, we get our data from two sources and between those two sources. On any given month, there's maybe five hundred properties that are within that tax foreclosure timeline. Dean Jackson Okay. Sean Caldwell Where Dean Jackson So five hundred of them a month in those twenties. Counties. Sean Caldwell Yes, Dean Jackson sir. Yeah. And then when you get those five hundred, you put them through another filter looking for that they're sixty five, that they've got a hundred percent equity left there. You don't you just go no matter what -- Yeah. -- if everybody is. Sean Caldwell Yeah. And right. And the reason why is because again, we've collected so much data. We interview a lot of these people when we're talking to them. So you know, just based on what we know about the average person that we talked to, Dean Jackson Yeah. Sean Caldwell You know, we kinda have that profile. But to answer your question, we do have software that will we'll upload the addresses in and -- Yes. Dean Jackson -- Sean Caldwell from there, it'll tell us, you know, what the equity position is, if there's Dean Jackson Gotcha. Sean Caldwell Any liens or anything like that? How, you know, how long they've had to home, all those kind of details? Mhmm. Dean Jackson So how do the numbers play out from with your current system there? So you get five hundred of them. Right now. And then what is that trigger for you? What do you do with those five hundred? You mail them Yeah. We'll mail them. Email them. Yeah. Letter or postcard, what it will email them right away? Sean Caldwell A letter. We'll mail them a letter. And we'll send them that piece, and then we'll every month, we'll send them another piece is kind of, like, a continuation sequence. Mhmm. And we'll do that over the course of six months. And every month we'll sort of track in the system to see, you know, where they stand in terms of the tax foreclosure process. Dean Jackson I gotcha. And so is there when what kind of response do you get to the letters that you mail now. Your offer you mail. The letter, if I -- Yeah. -- summarize it, is hey, we'd like to buy your house or, hey, we noticed you've got tax problems and we'd like to buy your house. Uh-huh. Sean Caldwell Correct. Yes. Dean Jackson Okay. Sean Caldwell And so in terms of response rate, we're usually at maybe half of one percent. Mhmm. No. I yeah. I wanna say that was the last one we did. So, like, yeah, I mean, Dean Jackson we're three to return responses for the five hundred letters? Sean Caldwell Correct. Correct. Dean Jackson Uh-huh. Sean Caldwell And it's I mean, it's that that's a lot of pressure to, you know, to produce something when you only get Dean Jackson the letters how many letters do you think they got? Just I'm curious. I'm interested in that. Yeah. Like, so in North Carolina. You know, I wonder I wonder how many people got the data that you're getting and mail them a letter. I wonder what their mailbox looks like. Sean Caldwell It's it's it's crowded. Dean Jackson Yeah. Sean Caldwell I would say so I'm just outside of Charlotte and Charlotte is, you know, it's I wanna say we're in the top five market in terms of real estate in the country. So they're they may get ten twenty, you know, solicitations. Dean Jackson We got many people saying, hey. Choose me. Choose me. I'll buy your house. I'll buy your house. Right? Sean Caldwell Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Dean Jackson And what do you think is the range of the approaches that people are taking? Like, do you think that you know, is anybody have you seen any of the Sean Caldwell the marketing that Yeah. Dean Jackson Have you have you Sean Caldwell Yeah. Yes. I have. So so historically, what what people do is they will they'll go to an online print shop. And -- Mhmm. Dean Jackson -- Sean Caldwell they've got the pre made templates and you just pick a template, upload your list, and they take care of the rest. So -- Yeah. Dean Jackson -- Sean Caldwell in many cases, the homeowner's gonna receive the same marketing piece and same message and Dean Jackson Yeah. You think, like, ten people in the same coaching program or something. They they read the same book or took the same course, and they're saying cut and paste the same letter. Yeah. And then Yeah. We did a yellow envelope for one of the pink Sean Caldwell envelope for what Yeah. No. We we did Dean Jackson Yeah. Sean Caldwell Yeah. We did take it a step further. I did have a copywriter to actually put together a letter series for us, but Uh-huh. It just didn't seem to make much of a difference. I've gotten, you know, positive responses from people, you know, they'll say, you know, I, you know, I appreciate your letter. It's you know, it's well crafted. They most of their comments are about sort of structure of it and how well put together it is. Nothing about selling t…
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