{"id":8061,"date":"2009-04-27T15:42:22","date_gmt":"2009-04-27T22:42:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/?p=8061"},"modified":"2009-04-28T09:40:04","modified_gmt":"2009-04-28T16:40:04","slug":"the-perfect-re-investment-vs-a-million-monkeys","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/8061\/the-perfect-re-investment-vs-a-million-monkeys\/","title":{"rendered":"The Perfect RE Investment vs A Million Monkeys"},"content":{"rendered":"

I write this note as a quick reminder. Investors in buyers’ markets as extreme as we’re currently experiencing will sometimes fall victim to what I’ve called ‘Million Monkey Syndrome’<\/em>. I suffered from it when I was young and thought nothing was impossible for me in a market full of highly motivated sellers. It was through a marketing experience of all things, that I learned to recognize the signs of MMS. <\/p>\n

Back in the day, one of the ways I used to market was through very narrowly targeted mail. Only investment property owners were on the list. I quickly found out what generated calls and what didn\u2019t. The problem? It was a tad difficult to always have the \u2018perfect\u2019 small income property for sale. \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

A solid response rate according to direct mail pros would be 1\/2%. Back then my average mailing wasn\u2019t large, maybe 1,500-3,000 letters. The average response rate was almost always at least 1\/2%, and many times 1-2%.<\/p>\n

Then I sent The Letter<\/em>.<\/p>\n

It generated just over a 4% response rate for 3,000 pieces mailed. The calls started on Tuesday, and by Thursday I\u2019d developed a love\/hate relationship with my phone. \ud83d\ude42 By Friday my assistants were afraid to answer it. <\/p>\n

What magic words caused this embarrassment of riches? Turns out I\u2019d discovered what made the East County (EC) small income property investor get very excited. The letter told them of a La Mesa (most desired area in EC) duplex that could be purchased with 10% down. Also, the owner would carry secondary financing. And the duplex needed some TLC, because it was a \u2018cosmetic fixer\u2019.<\/p>\n

A light fixer in the most desired area, with owner financing and only 10% down! I\u2019ll take a dozen to go please.<\/em><\/p>\n

There hasn\u2019t been one of those available since the year I sent that letter \u2014 1999.<\/p>\n

For the record that very letter generated over $250,000 in commission income. It remains the all time best producing letter I’ve ever sent. <\/p>\n

I\u2019m taking the out-of-the-way scenic route in order to say this:<\/p>\n

Stop wasting your time and therefore your money looking for the perfect property or situation. The stars don\u2019t Read more<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I write this note as a quick reminder. Investors in buyers’ markets as extreme as we’re currently experiencing will sometimes fall victim to what I’ve called ‘Million Monkey Syndrome’. I suffered from it when I was young and thought nothing was impossible for me in a market full of highly motivated sellers. It was through […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_crdt_document":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-8061","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"hentry","6":"category-real-estate","8":"no-featured-image"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2395,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/2395\/the-perfect-real-estate-investment-vs-a-million-monkeys\/","url_meta":{"origin":8061,"position":0},"title":"The Perfect Real Estate Investment VS A Million Monkeys","author":"Jeff Brown","date":"December 19, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Dear Real Estate Investor: Times are tough. Did you think sooner or later they wouldn't be? Is that why you're spinning yer wheels searching for the perfect property in the A+ location, priced under the market? Are ya leaving milk and cookies on the table for Santa next Monday too?\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Investment"","block_context":{"text":"Investment","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/category\/investment\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2418,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/2418\/florida-first-certainly-california-next-nevadaand-absolutely-arizona\/","url_meta":{"origin":8061,"position":1},"title":"Florida First, Certainly California, Next Nevada,and Absolutely Arizona","author":"Brian Brady","date":"December 24, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Lenders don't love us no' mo'. Want a vacation crib in Miami? How about an investment property in Orlando? Show up with 40%, no seller carry-backs allowed, thankyouverymuch. This e-mail came in this morning from IndyMac Bank : Florida Guideline Restrictions Transactions securing properties located in the state of Florida\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Investment"","block_context":{"text":"Investment","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/category\/investment\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":645,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/645\/home-buyer-always-liable-for-mortgage\/","url_meta":{"origin":8061,"position":2},"title":"Home buyer always liable for mortgage . . .","author":"Greg Swann","date":"November 17, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"This is my column from today's Arizona Republic (permanent link). No fireworks, today, just real estate. Home buyer always liable for mortgage I got a great question by e-mail. It's really a lender question, but it introduces a number of interesting topics. \"Are homeowners personally liable for their mortgages? If\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Ask the Broker"","block_context":{"text":"Ask the Broker","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/category\/ask-the-broker\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":18146,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/18146\/overnight-news-what-does-exclusive-mean-it-means-make-your-own-rain-cowbird\/","url_meta":{"origin":8061,"position":3},"title":"Overnight News: \u201cWhat does \u2018exclusive\u2019 mean?\u201d It means make your own rain,\u00a0cowbird!","author":"Greg Swann","date":"May 16, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"MLS fights are always about Residential listings. Nobody is claiming to have lost sleep (or money or jobs or opportunities) over Land and Lots or Multi-Family or BizOps. No one at Redfin is tasked with tracking underperformance by Patagonian buyers competing for Industrial properties. You might from this conclude that\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Group Therapy"","block_context":{"text":"Group Therapy","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/category\/group-therapy\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Ya think it's easy?","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/BHBNewTopImage-300x225.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1128,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/1128\/single-property-weblogs-our-latest-vision\/","url_meta":{"origin":8061,"position":4},"title":"Single-property weblogs: Our latest vision","author":"Greg Swann","date":"March 9, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"I've been slugging away for days on a new single-property weblog for 909 West Culver Street in Phoenix. Sandboxed for now, and who knows if the extra searchability will matter. The ease of editability for people who aren't me is a huge bonus. 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His company,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Real Estate"","block_context":{"text":"Real Estate","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/category\/real-estate\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8061","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8061"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8061\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8097,"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8061\/revisions\/8097"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8061"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8061"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8061"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}