Craigslist Ghost Ad Concerns

I have nothing against Craigslist in fact It's great to use these
free online classified ads like Craiglist, Kijiji, or Backpage

Here is what I would say:

" Premier Redlands California
Real Estate
Investment Company

Purchase Investment
Properties from us at
50-60% of Market

Call Arnold Directly
for Special Pricing
(your number) "

This is so effective on REO's,
Short Sales, Foreclosures, or what have you!
And it works just about anywhere in the country
Good luck and Happy Investing
~Arnold

Hi Tom, I am from Minnesota and have been studying probate for the last couple of months. I believe the laws are pretty much the same throughout the country regaurding the transfer of real property, but check with your local attorney.
First you need to understand a couple of things. The difference between intestate, which means "no will" and testate, which means he had a will. Another difference is whether it is supervised or unsupervised. I seen in your letter that your uncle had no will and that there was multiple Personal Representatives. Being that your uncle died intestate, the probate court would appoint a PR. Had your uncle had a will, the PR would have been named in the will. If no one accepts the position of PR, there is fighting over the possesions, or the courts cannot find a person to do it, then the estate is supervised by the courts. If there is no fighting or multiple PR then the estate is said to be unsupervised. This is an estate that I would definitly be doing more research on if it were in my area. All you should have to do is ask the PR if they would take a reasonable offer on the property. If they accept your offer, all you should have to do from there is contact an attorney. Good Luck Mike

After reading the comment here I've re-evaluated my opinion of them . Do not have any investors/buyers yet and was going to use a full fledged ghost ad . Not now . I wouldn't want it done to me . With thought , SOME of these buyers have to prearrange for the money or get it . Then what ? Makes them look bad . Oops !!! ( Still trying and trying to figure the right to have and keep them ).

Yes sir it is a moral issue . As new as I am I agree with you that integrity counts in the long haul . Good ads that you can back up saves you stress too .

Not having tried any yet . I've been reading , watching and studying . Grabriel you convinced me that ones like yours are forthright . Have to try that way along with ones similar . Glad I took the time to go through these . Thank you .

Thanks for all the responses and great ideas from all of you guys. I never thought this forum would be so active...especially on a subject that has obviously been rehashed many times on this site. Just goes to show you how awesome the support from the DG Family is. Isn't it just GRAND!

David and Kerry, Kelly, Jenifer (War Eagle by the way!); you all make a great point with the Fake It Till You Make It approach. We do have to do this with most aspects of our RE businesses in order to be able to turn the tide to success. I firmly believe that confidence is the key.

Joel; I really like your idea on the privacy issue.

Arnold; your ad seems like a great one to use from a "service" type ad approach. David makes a good point though. Seems like it is one for the "long haul". Do you post in in the "Services Offered" section on CL or the "Real Estate for Sale" section?

Great food for thought everyone.

Jason / Gabriel(and all others),

Didn't mean to leave you out. Great points made!

I kinda have the same prob as some posters here in regard to being fully honest. Its not the way I like to do business and I have a small buyers list. I am working a niche that I think I can do well with here after I lock up my first property. I guess to each there own, I just want investors calling me on REAL deals, not that theres anything wrong with ghost ads, I know people have success doing them type of ads...Just a rookies opinion,lol...

I've had good responses with the Real Estate Section For Sale-Owner and RE Wanted as well as Rental Sections. Buyers scout those for properties.

I personally have buyers and seller ads running in Real Estate Wanted, RE for Sale, Rentals, Services offered and For Sale/Barter. (can be great avenues for leads as well) alot of times sellers will post their property and later go back to see it running...and come across my "I buy" ads. and when someone's not able to sell will alot of times post as a rental to at least try and make the payment.

Just track your marketing, by doing so...you will find where you are getting the most hits. If not getting much response change wording or location/section (but not all in the same week or you want know what adjustment made it responsive).

When I get a lead or buyer to call I usually ask the question of how they got my contact info and usually do say it's just to track my marketing. and have actually had buyers come back with "well I like you already"! lol

Best wishes and keep up posted!

Jen

Glad you took the time to rehash. Great way to learn. You just have to go for it. We have our life experiences to help us, I have done things far more difficult and even more risky and may not have given it near as much thought. This is what I have been learning for myself. I just need to take more action. Great conversations.

I run ghost ads consistantly on craigslist and in my local paper.When people call i tell them that the home is already under contract with another buyer and that deals go fast,but if they want i can find them another home thats fits the basic criteria of what their looking for.If someone asked me for a properties address which noone ever has i would just tell them that i cant give out the new buyers address because i respect their privacy.You dont have to run a descriptive add with features of a home that are make believe if you dont want to although i've found that it works better,at least in my area.If you feel that your lying to people and dont feel comfortable then just run adds like "homes available at whatever the discount price is or whatever strategy your using" instead of advertising something specific.

Hey Guys,

Just got another buyer added to my list! He answered the UGLY HOUSE ad I originally ran on CL. I rate him a 10 out of 10. He and his wife have been actively investing in the area since '97 doing rehabs, wholesaling, etc. A definite investor cash buyer. The call went soooo smooth! May be just the one I hook-up with my first deal?! What a confidence booster!!!

Now on to adding the next ten to my list....

Honestly guys this is how I got my first 6 buyers. My partner and I ran ads on CL with the generic thing and some pics of homes we viewed. When I got a phone call I have had several things happen. People get mad at me, People not respond, and people say heck yes here is my info and criteria. I only am looking for the Heck yeahs.

When they call I say I am sorry that home is not available. if they ask more I say honestly I am looking for those types of homes to wholesale over to buyers like you. I wanted to make sure I have you first before getting this property under contract. And I go forth from there.

Most of the time I just say: I am sorry its not available honestly I posted the ad looking for someone interested in that type of home. Is that something your interested in. The reason I ask is because I am a property locator and I want to find homes just right for you. do you have time to talk?

I have even had a guy call on several of my ads yell at me tell me I was shady and down right dishonest and I explained to him how am I being dishonest. I let you know up front its not available and that I am looking for people interested in those types of homes. Whats even funnier is that I met him at an REI meeting he didn't even know who I was and then later on called on another ad I had on a real property and I still got his info By the way my name is very Unique so its kinda hard to not to recognize when you hear it:)

My point is.... so what... people get mad at you. Just like people will get mad at you when you make your low offers. And out of those 10 that got mad 2 will come back asking for you to please take it. All you need are the ones who respond and trust me you will have them:) there are tons of investors out there who do the same thing we do.

You may be thinking a little too far into it. No one is going to prearrange funding before they call on an ad, and the very first time you talk to them you're going to tell them that the property is unavailable. Then get their information and go find something they can get funded for....or don't. In the end it's up to you as long as you're putting something out there thats going to get the results you want.

Glad to hear it, I hope it turns into something big for you!

So GHOST ADS are pretty much just listing a house that you (we) do not have under contract just to build up the buyers list?

I thought this forum looked familiar when I saw it. Can't believe it's been 11 months since originally posting this!

Travis,

The answer to your question is YES!

Wow!!...thanks for sharing John. As a newbie I think like many others who have posted in this discussion, I was both hesitant and unsure of myself on the phone after I posted Ghost ads because I was concentrating more on the "negative" what ifs Vs. the positive ones, and I felt like I was being dishonest. Now, if I am to be truly honest though, neither is posting a bandit sign that says "I buy houses any condition..." either because we don't do we??? We assign or double close or birddog, so I think it really boils down to not getting beat down, shouted down or intimidated by one investor or other who demands info or is rude (do you want that type of investor on our list anyways??) It is also a question of modeling success, being confident and faking it till we make it (as several have said). Its like a job interview, where your trying to get in the door without experience but you know you can do the job!! Well, if you do then you surely do whatever it takes in the interview (or in this case phone call with the investor) to gain their confidence so you can move on to the deals...

Congratulations John and thanks again for starting a very relevant discussion

Prince Adhola

Yes sir! LOL. But, great post John. I just post one on CL about 4 hours ago. Haven't gotten any leads in yet though. I'm going to post it on a few other sites.

Wow,

Even though this Ghost Ad thread ran almost 2 years ago. It has helped me a lot.
Like you John, I do not feel good about these responses to my ghost ads. I do have the information on the house and I can answer almost any question about it(I did my homework), but still, I don't have control over it. I like the other suggestions that we given and I will use those instead.

I especially like the feeler ad... where you put a property up and let people know you are doing that to get some feedback. I think investors /buyers can appreciate that.

So Thanks John and others on the thread!

PS: I have been scouting a lot of REI Websites, and I have to say, even though some [postings are old, Dean's site seems very helpful and without charge. More so than the ones that do charge. With the exception of one other site(that was low cost). Every suggestion, from Dean and /or his site I have put to action has brought me a response. Its like my first deal is coming to me closer and closer every time I make a Dean move,lol.

So now I am getting nervous>>> ... but i will continue my agenda, building a buyers and sellers list.

Thanks again,
phoenix1

Thanks for the suggestion Elix,

I don't like ghost lies. I did it and got a response. It made me very uncomfortable. It felt like my mom was standing behind me listening and shaking her head. I am going to use your ad if that's okay.

phoenix1

Hi Everyone honesty is the bridge to the future, no matter how you look at it with our selves and others if we cant be honest who in there right mind will trust us, honesty is like a beautiful flower that never withers and never falls off and its the firm fondation in all our relationships no matter what they are, to remain firm and strong and word of mouth is faster than the speed of sound and with out it( honesty) from the very start to ever after. With out it we will fail in what ever we do we cant hide it sooner or later it will surface you cant hide it will always come to the surface. So lets all be very honest and our labors will blossom forth and we can hold our heads high because we did everything with integrity, honesty,honor and respect.Tell me how many of you would want to be lied to, nothing will destroy a relationship quicker than a lie and being truthful will last forever.Alot of people and businesses have come falling down due to dishonesty I dont want it around me in anything I do, happy investing, Jim

I've heard really good stuff about running ghosts ads but i guess sometimes they can not be good at all? they can cause loss in your reputation. Which is not good!);

So far I've used two ghost ads and for me ot worked out pretty well. I got 2 cash buyers and like 20 tenant buyers. Never had anyone question me and sure don't want them too lol

Success to US all!(:

Checking my responses from Craigslist ghost adds this morning and got this. Copied and pasted from the e-mail I received. The ad was a simple: 3 bed 2 bath thousands below FMV. Wont last long!
This was my first response this morn.

I’m going to block you from using this “owner only” space. Give everyone a brake and do your advertising in the “broker” area—You always come back and say—sorry but this one sold as soon as it was listed B.S.

Bunch of lies—lies—lies--- Starting tomorrow if I see these in any city—your FLAGGED

At first I was REALLY mad.
Then I finished my first cup of coffee, and have been smiling about it ever since.
The poor guy was really upset and wanted me to be as mad as he was.
Just thought I would share this. Put a smile on your face.
Onward and upward
You all have a GREAT day
Garold

on Craigslist, Backpage, and connectedinvestor it's not an ad for a property it's more of an ad for investors. I posted it last night at 11:56pm and this morning when I checked my email at 9am I had two contacts, I called them and qualified them using the investor qualifying worksheet I have and now I have TWO buyers on my buyers list.

The ad is a variation of all of the ads I found on this site, sort of a mishmash of ideas. The ads work so try them, call the people that answer and GET IT DONE!!!

Live abundantly