In the competitive world of real estate wholesaling, the Subject-To method offers a distinctive strategy for acquiring properties. Providing an escape route for struggling sellers, and a golden opportunity for investors, it’s a win-win scenario. However, for this method to yield results, the key lies in targeted marketing to Subject-To sellers.
In this, the continuation of our comprehensive guide on Subject-To, we focus on the blend of marketing strategies that speak to the complex needs of these sellers.
Throughout the rest of this article, you will learn the key elements involved in building a successful Subject-To marketing campaign with text or email.
These elements revolve around understanding the Subject-To seller’s unique situation, using tried-and-true psychological marketing techniques, and incorporating it all into one effective multi-touch text or email marketing campaign.
Finally, we give you the three simple steps to start marketing to Subject-To.
By tailoring your marketing approach to this specific seller type and focusing on these key areas, you gain an improved ability to close more of these deals.
Let’s start with a quick refresh on the Subject-To real estate method.
Brief Overview of Subject-To Real Estate Method
The Subject-To method is a unique approach to acquiring properties.
A “Subject-To” transaction in real estate is a strategy in which a buyer purchases a property subject to the existing mortgage that is already in place. This means that you, the buyer, take over the payments of the seller’s existing mortgage.
The legal title of the property is transferred to the buyer, but the existing loan stays in the seller’s name.
It’s a win-win strategy for sellers who are struggling with mortgage payments and for buyers who might not qualify for a traditional bank loan.
You can read more about the Subject-To strategy in the earlier of the five-part series:
- What is the strategy
- What are the benefits and risks
- An exact step-by-step guide
- Important contract clauses that you must know
However, as with any business strategy, success relies heavily on getting leads to contact you, and you do this by effectively marketing to potential sellers.
Given that REI/kit is primarily an outbound marketing platform to prospects of all kinds, including Subject-To, we have seen what works and what doesn’t.
In the next few sections, we will discuss the key elements of your marketing strategy that can increase your chances of success.
Key Elements of Building a Subject-To Marketing Campaign
Knowing what the Subject-To method is, is not enough to create a solid marketing campaign to potential sellers. You must also understand these key elements:
- The mindset of the Subject-To seller
- Laying the groundwork for a successful marketing campaign with AIDA
- Integrating AIDA into your email or text Subject-To marketing
- Staying consistent with multi-touch marketing
Understanding the Mindset of the Subject-To Seller
The typical Subject-To seller finds themselves in situations where they’re financially distressed, making them more open to creative solutions.
They may be on the brink of foreclosure, have an adjustable-rate mortgage with payments that have become unmanageable, or have an urgent need to move without the time or resources to sell their property traditionally.
These sellers may also have properties that are not in the best condition and therefore challenging to sell in the regular market without significant expense.
As a result, Subject-To sellers can be highly motivated and willing to explore non-traditional real estate transactions for quick solutions.
They are often looking to relieve financial pressure without significantly damaging their credit history.
Understanding these attributes allows you to tailor your marketing messages in ways that appeal to them directly.
Why would they agree to a “Subject-To” Transaction?
As mentioned above, the primary motivation for sellers to engage in Subject-To transactions is to escape from unfavorable financial situations. Here are a few other key motivations:
Avoid Foreclosure: For sellers facing the threat of foreclosure, Subject-To is an attractive option because it allows them to transfer the burden of the mortgage payments to prevent further damaging their credit history.
Deal With Unexpected Life Changes: Sudden life changes such as divorce, job loss, or a family emergency may necessitate a quick move. In these cases, Subject-To transactions provide a swift solution.
Financial Struggles: For individuals with an adjustable-rate mortgage, rising interest rates can make monthly payments unmanageable. They might find relief in a Subject-To agreement.
Fast Transactions: Traditional real estate transactions can take months to finalize. For someone in a hurry, Subject-To offers a much quicker solution, often wrapping up in weeks or even days.
Ease of Process: With Subject-To transactions, sellers do not need to worry about property repairs, or home showings. The process is typically straightforward and less stressful.
As you can see, there are quite a few reasons why a seller might agree to hand over the deed to their property, while still keeping the risk of the mortgage in their name.
Knowing this, let’s talk about how to lay the groundwork to create the right messages to market to Subject-To sellers.
Laying the Groundwork for a Successful Marketing Campaign
We just discussed the motivations that drive these sellers, but it’s also important to understand their needs.
The goal of any communication you have with a Subject-To seller is to show them how you can help.
You might be able to close a deal quickly, offer a fair price in cash, or even take care of any repairs.
You could even come up with a more creative answer, for example to help with relocation, or temporary housing.
While you don’t need to mention all of these options in your emails and texts, you do need to show that you understand their situation and that you’re here to help, not just buy their property.
But it’s also important to remember that some people need a bit of a push to make a decision.
That’s why we also integrate a marketing model called AIDA in our messaging.
Introducing the AIDA marketing framework
AIDA is a marketing model that was created in 1893 and popularized for advertisements that is still highly effective today.
It follows the consumer’s journey from the first contact with your business to the ultimate goal: the sale.
While this framework is typically used for e-commerce transactions, it can be used in any instance where you need the prospect to take action, such as when reaching out to motivated sellers.
The acronym stands for Attention, Interest, Desire, and Action, and so in a nutshell, with AIDA we want to grab the prospect’s attention, get them interested in what we can offer, make them desire our solution, and then guide them towards taking action.
Integrating AIDA into your email or text Subject-To marketing
Below is a breakdown of how AIDA is integrated into an email or text marketing sequence for Subject-To sellers:
Attention
Your first message needs to grab the attention of the distressed seller.
This can be done by having an intriguing email subject line or a strong opening line in your text messages.
The first message in REI/kit’s Subject-To automated campaign sequence simply establishes if the prospect owns the property or not, to encourage quick replies including opt-outs.
By getting opt-outs early, you ensure you do not waste your money or time on incorrect or unmotivated contacts.
Interest
After you have their attention, the next item should pique their interest. Explain how you can address their specific problems.
By touching on the problems that you can help with, you help your prospects self-identify that they indeed have an issue that you can solve.
Further, including a phrase that makes it clear that you can help with all difficult situations – not just the ones you list, increases your chances of being contacted.
For example, you could talk about helping sellers facing foreclosure, but also mention that you have helped sellers in different difficult situations as well.
Finally, showing that you appreciate the difficulty of, and can cater to their unique situations, helps establish trust and rapport.
Otherwise, once again going back to self-identification, if they are none of the above then they will opt out, which again is what you want.
Desire
The next step is to drive desire for your service.
This can be done by detailing the benefits of selling their property to you.
You could point out how quickly you can close, the fair price you can offer, or the relief that comes from quickly resolving their distress.
Make it clear that financial relief is just a phone call away.
Action
Finally, keep in mind that many people, including those in distress, respond to urgency, and indeed, need a sense of urgency to finally make a decision to move forward.
Conclude your messages with that sense of urgency, such as by telling them that you will be leaving the neighborhood soon, or reminding them that their options start diminishing with time.
Let them know that you are still there for them and reiterate the main points that you have said in the other emails to remind them of their passing opportunity.
It’s also important to end your action email with a clear call to action (CTA).
This could be a request to call you, respond to your email or text, or visit your website for more information. Make it easy for the receiver to take the next step.
Ultimately, successful communication with distressed sellers is about demonstrating empathy, understanding, and providing concrete solutions to their problems.
By using the AIDA model, you can design a message series that guides potential sellers through the decision-making process.
The Power of Multi-Touch Campaigns
You can’t say it all in one email, in fact, you shouldn’t, and if you try, you will almost certainly exhaust your marketing budget without anything to show for it.
An AIDA sequence involves multiple communications to get your message across, whether text or email, in a way that moves your prospect through a funnel, nurturing a relationship to ultimately get them to the closing table.
Each message, building on the next, helping your prospect finally perform your desired action.
Your multiple touches will also serve other benefits:
Staying Top-of-Mind
Regular communication ensures you stay top-of-mind. If a homeowner is considering a proposal, but has been approached by multiple investors, your continual outreach could make the difference in choosing to work with you.
Consistency
Consistency in messaging and in your sequence is key. Keep in mind, however, that there’s a balance to be struck.
You want to be steadfast in your messaging, without being overly aggressive or intrusive.
You should make it obvious that the outreach is not targeting them personally but rather their situation is one of many that you can help with.
Always make sure to personalize your outreach by including the seller’s name in every correspondence.
This goes a long way towards making them feel like they are not just another number.
Demonstrating Professionalism
Steady outreach also shows your professionalism. It signals that you’re serious about your business and dedicated to finding win-win solutions for you and the distressed sellers.
So how do you put it all together and start marketing today?
The Three Simple Steps to Market to Subject-To Prospects
There are three simple steps to marketing to Subject-To Prospects:
- Get a lead list of low equity property owners
- Create a multi-touch marketing campaign
- Ensure follow up in a CRM
Get a lead list of low equity property owners
REI/kit’s Lead Lists tool provides Low Equity property owners that you can also filter by other demographic traits. On the Success plan, that means you get 100 prospects a month included to market to.
Create a multi-touch marketing campaign that speaks to Subject-To prospects
After you have a low-equity lead list, head over to your email or SMS campaign software, and create your impactful drip sequence using the guidance in this article.
If you want to just get started quickly, however, you can use REI/kit’s campaign auto-generation tool to create a complete four-day email or SMS text messaging drip campaign in seconds, designed specifically to market to Sub-To sellers right away.
Each of the emails and texts in the Sub-2 campaigns use the AIDA model and the best direct response methods available.
Ensure Consistent Follow Up in a CRM
Consistent follow-up with your prospects is vital to make sure no deals fall through the cracks.
If you are using a real estate wholesaling CRM, such as the one in REI/kit, much of the marketing process can be automated:
- Software automatically sends each email or text in the drip campaign sequence to the prospects
- Automatic removal of leads who respond from the campaign so that you can then review and respond to them
- Automatic removal of prospects from a campaign ensures compliance with laws
A great CRM makes it easy to start reaching out to and following up with prospects, and help you work your leads from first contact in your campaign all the way through the deal due diligence, purchase, and even remarketing of the deal to your cash buyers.
Otherwise, if you are not using a CRM, and are just using an email or text messaging campaign creation software, you may have to send each email batch separately to each prospect, either one-by-one or in bulk.
Once a prospect responds, you may have to manually remove them from the campaign, to comply with laws regarding opt-outs.
REI/kit is the only system you need to find, reach out to, and follow up with Subject-To sellers.
From Lead Lists to Subject-To Campaigns, to a robust CRM, we are the one-stop shop for this real estate strategy.
Sign up for a risk-free trial with a Success or Scale plan, and get access to all the tools needed to start marketing Subject-To:
Wrapping Up
In this article you learned the four key elements of how to build a Subject-To email or text marketing campaign that are crucial to its success: understanding the mindset of the Subject-To seller and what makes them take action; the powerful AIDA marketing model; and finally, how to create your multi-touch communication campaign sequences.
In addition, you learned how to get started quickly with three simple steps to market to Subject-To prospects.
The end result? Deals that are a win-win, providing sellers with the means to move on while also opening up profitable investment opportunities for you.
Subject-To marketing doesn’t have to be complicated. With REI/kit’s done-for-you automated marketing emails and text campaigns, reaching out to motivated sellers is easier than ever before.
