The most common way that wholesalers reach motivated sellers is through direct mail — by sending anywhere from 2,000 to 10,000 mailers every single month.
That consistency creates lead-flow… and lead-flow creates deal-flow.
But which lists should you send mail to?
That’s what we’ll cover here.
We’re going to show you the 10 best mailing lists for wholesalers right now… and how to pull those lists in Propstream. These lists are used by Ryan Dossey, our founder, and lots of other successful real estate investors around the nation.
If you’re more of a watcher than a reader, check out the video below.
Not sure what to send? Try our hand-written postcards or letters. They get sky-high response rates compared to traditional print mailers.
Getting Started with Propstream
Under each list, we’ll show you how to pull that list inside of Propstream.
You can use a different real estate data tool like PropertyRadar or LockOn if you prefer, but we think Propstream is the best for pulling data that’s relevant for real estate investors and wholesalers.
Click here if you don’t have a Propstream account already.
Enter your info here and you can start your 7-day free trial. It’ll require your credit card information on the next step.
That’s it!
Now you’re ready to pull the following 10 lists for your wholesaling business.
By the way, we have a free gift for you. It’ll show you real-world tips (from real-world investors) for finding and doing more deals per month. Snag it below for free.
A Few House-Keeping Filters
You’re a wholesaler.
That means you are mostly focused on finding high-equity owners of single-family homes that are not on the market (i.e. off-market properties).
In most cases, you’ll want to include those filters in Propstream in addition to whatever each of the below lists add to that. All of your marketing should be going to high-equity, off-market homeowners (unless you’ve got very deep pockets).
To set those filters up in Propstream, go to “Property Characteristics” and select “Single Family”.
Then go to “MLS Status” and select “No” under “On Market”.
And finally, go to “Valuation & Equity Info” and enter “50” into the minimum under “Estimated Equity %”.
And don’t forget to sort by the zip code you want to target! With those filters in place, you’re now ready to tackle the following mailing lists. You can pull these lists and upload them directly to Ballpoint Marketing to send your next set of mailers!
1. Absentee + Vacant
The first mailing list that we recommend is an absentee & vacant list. An absentee owner is somebody who lives out of state from the property that they own. They might live in another city, another state, or even another country.
Vacant means that there’s nobody currently living in the property.
This is one of the most basic and fundamental lists that wholesalers depend on.
Why?
Because it’s often tough to manage a property from afar. And if that property is vacant, it’s a good indication that the owner might be interested in quickly off-loading the property (they’re paying property taxes, maybe even a mortgage… and no one is paying rent).
How to Pull This List in Propstream
To pull this list in Propstream, select the filter and check “No” under “Owner Occupied.” Then select “Vacant” under “Occupancy Status.”
That’ll suffice if you want to pull a basic absentee & vacant list. If you want to niche down a bit further, you can go to “Ownership Info” and, under “Absentee Owner Location”, select either “Out of State” or “Out of County” (depending on how big you want your mailing list).
Then, as you’ll do for each of these lists, select all of the properties on the right side and click “Add to list”…
Then click “Create New” and give your list a name. You can pull this list for your marketing campaigns later with just a few clicks (you’ll want to do this for each of the lists in this article that you plan on using).
2. High Equity + Absentee
If you want to niche down that first list even further (to target more motivated sellers), then consider adding an equity threshold to your filter.
After all, It’s much easier to wholesale properties when the owner has a lot of equity.
Not to mention that high-equity owners are often more motivated to sell for a below-market price (because they get to pocket more cash than someone with a hefty mortgage).
We also recommend keeping the vacancy filter on unless you’ve got a big budget and you’re trying to expand your reach beyond your competitors.
How to Pull This List in Propstream
You’re going to follow the same process we outlined in the first list. The only difference is that you’re going to go under “Valuation and Equity Info” enter “50” under the minimum “Estimated Equity %”. This will pull absentee & vacant homeowners who also have at least 50% equity in their home — you can adjust that percentage to increase or decrease your list size.
3. Empty Nesters
One type of seller that’s often overlooked by wholesalers is the “empty nester”. These homeowners are in their later years of life, their kids have moved out, they’ve got a lot of equity in the home they’ve owned all their lives, and they very well might be interested in downsizing.
Not only that, but many empty nesters are also interested in selling their property quickly and seamlessly (even if it’s not in distress) just because they want to avoid the hustle and bustle of selling on the MLS with an agent.
These deals make for great wholesaling or wholetailing opportunities.
How to Pull This List in Propstream
To pull this list, you’ll want to delete all of the other filters we’ve used for other lists.
Select “Yes” for “Owner Occupied.” This way, we’re only targeting homeowners who currently live in their home.
Then go to “Property Characteristics” and select “Single Family” — for this list, no need to target people who own multi-family properties.
Under “Years of Ownership”, enter “5” for the minimum. This will ensure that we’re only pulling people who’ve owned their property for a minimum of 5 years.
For equity, again put “50” for the minimum percentage — this is probably the most important filter because empty nesters who are interested in selling to wholesalers typically have a lot of equity.
4. Tax Delinquent
Tax delinquent lists are one of the most commonly used list types in real estate. They’re easy to pull and, if you market to them correctly, can be quite effective.
The logic is simple: If somebody isn’t paying their property taxes, then they very well might view their property as a burden. And if they see their property as a financial burden, then they might be interested in quickly unloading it for below market value.
If they have a lot of equity, then it’s even more likely they are interested in getting rid of it. You might also consider adding a vacancy or absentee owner filter to this list to target more motivated sellers.
How to Pull This List in Propstream
This list is super easy to pull in Propstream.
Just go to “Quick List Choices” (a cool feature that allows you to quickly pull various lists with a single click) and select “Tax Delinquencies” — this is going to pull all of the records where the property owner is behind on their property taxes.
5. Free & Clear
A lot of the lists we talk about here include an equity filter of 50% or more (because high-equity homeowners are often more interested in selling to wholesalers).
But sometimes, you might want to just pull a list of people who own their property free and clear. These people, for a variety of reasons, might be interested in selling their home for a fair cash price.
If you want to niche down the free & clear list even further, you can add absentee, vacant, or even tax delinquent filters.
How to Pull This List in Propstream
To pull a free & clear list, go to “Mortgage Info” and select to include “Free & Clear”.
You might also want to indicate the type of properties you want to pull under the “Property Characteristics” section (such as single-family or multi-family).
6. Expired Listings
Expired listings have got to be one of our favorite lists or wholesalers. These are homeowners who tried to sell their property on the MLS at some point in the last 6-12 months… and the listing expired.
One of the most common objections people have when you make a lowball offer is, “No way. I’ll just sell on the MLS.”
But owners whose listing has expired?
They already tried that… and so they’re hyperaware that the price they might have hoped to get for their home isn’t realistic.
How to Pull This List in Propstream
To pull expired listings in Propstream, all you’ve got to do is go to “MLS Status” and select “Failed”.
This is exactly what we want. People whose MLS listing “Failed”, meaning it didn’t sell before it expired.
Then set the “MLS Status Date” from 6 months ago to the present.
To zone in even more, you can add equity, absentee, vacancy, or property characteristic filters.
7. Active Liens
Active liens are another type of list that’s often used amongst wholesalers. The logic here is the same as with tax delinquent lists: If somebody has an active lien on their property, then they very well might want to get rid of the property altogether.
Liens can come from a variety of sources:
- Unpaid property taxes
- Unpaid HOA dues
- Unpaid contractor bills
If you’re interested in pursuing this type of list, then we recommend running it in conjunction with a high-equity list to increase your chances of finding motivated sellers.
How to Pull This List in Propstream
To add active liens to your Propstream filter, go to “Lien/Bankruptcy/Divorce Status” and select “Has Active Lien”.
You can also narrow it down by type of lien if you want…
You can also indicate the “Lien Recording Date” to target either properties with liens that have been around for a while or relatively new liens.
8. Active & Dismissed Bankruptcies
Active bankruptcies are people who have filed for bankruptcy within the past year. Dismissed bankruptcies are people who have had their bankruptcy case dismissed within the past year.
Both of these lists can be great opportunities because they’re indicating two things:
- The person is going through (or has recently gone through) a tough financial situation
- The person might be interested in quickly unloading some of their assets (ie: their property)
But… why include dismissed bankruptcies?
Because although those people are no longer going through bankruptcy, it’s safe to assume that they are still in a difficult financial position… and therefore might be interested in selling their property to a wholesaler.
How to Pull This List in Propstream
This one is super easy. Go to “Lien/Bankruptcy/Divorce Status” and select active and dismissed bankruptcies.
9. Pre-Foreclosure + Equity
Pre-foreclosure lists are another great option for wholesalers. Pre-foreclosures are properties that are in the early stages of the foreclosure process.
This means that the owner is delinquent on their mortgage payments and (in most states) has received a notice of default from their lender.
The advantage of targeting pre-foreclosures is that the seller is motivated to sell quickly (to avoid foreclosure) and even willing to consider a below-market offer (if they have a good bit of equity).
How to Pull This List in Propstream
Go to “Pre-Foreclosure & Bank Owned” and select “Notice of Default / Lis Pendens” — this means the homeowner has defaulted on their payments to the bank.
10. Inherited Properties
People who have recently inherited a property are sometimes looking to quickly unload it.
Why?
Often, inheriting a property is more work than it’s worth.
Maybe, for instance…
- They didn’t plan on inheriting the property in the first place, so they might not have the financial resources to maintain it
- They might live in a different state (or even country) than where the property is located, which makes it difficult to manage
- They might not have any emotional attachment to the property, so they don’t care about getting top dollar for it
If you can find these types of sellers, then you might be able to get a great deal on the property.
How to Pull This List in Propstream
To add inherited properties to your list, just go to “Ownership Info” and include “Intra-Family Transfers”.
Final Thoughts
Now you should have a good idea of the lists that wholesalers like to use, how they use them, and even how to pull them directly from Propstream.
(If you’re not sure what to send, send these)
But of course, not every market is the same. Not every business is the same.
A lot of the process from here on out will require resilience on your part and a desire to learn what works for the business you’re trying to build. The best wholesalers don’t have any tricks up their sleeves. They just keep pulling mailing lists and sending mail every single month. And they learn as they go.
That’s the process.
Get to it!
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