Status of Latest Deal & Mailout, and Some Prospects

Latest Deal
After running the numbers a few more times, I was able to validate my initial concerns for this deal. The numbers were just too tight for anything other than a Sub2. So I called the homeowner back Friday evening and explained to her the situation. I felt in our initial conversation that she didn't seem too motivated even thought she said she would have to be out by the end of the month. Sure enough, I explained to her that the only way I could purchase her property would be to take over her payments. She asked for clarification of what I meant, and I basically told her that the loan would stay in her name. Her immediate response was that she would never do such a thing. I tried persuading her of the consequences, but she held her ground. I thanked her for her time, and wished her the best of luck in selling her property.

Mailout
I'm really disappointed in the response I've gotten on my first postcard mailout last week. So far I have gotten only three calls, however, just one of those left a message. The other two I'm thinking were people who were curious about my ad and/or who had a property they wanted to sell retail. After listening to my voicemail greeting, they probably got the hint that I was not in the retail buying market, and, therefore, never left a message.

Perhaps I'm just being impatient, but I had thought I would have gotten more than just a single call by now. I still plan to do two more mailouts in the next two months, which will pretty much cover my farm area. Hopefully, the exposure will start generating calls, which will turn into a lead or two.

Prospects
My wife has been on a garage sale binge for about two months now. So, we've been getting up early on Saturday mornings and going out for a few hours to garage sales. I hate it because the weekend is about the only time I can sleep in these days. However, I've taken the opportunity to use the time to scout for potential deals. This past weekend was the first time actually found anything promising - actually, THREE properties. After we got home and got settled, I did a little research on the properties. None had any "For Sale" or "For Rent" signs in the yard even though they were in pretty nice neighborhoods, but they just had that 'no one has been living here for a while' look. Two of the three were owned by people who lived out-of-state (California, specifically - hmmmmm). The other was owned by someone who lived on the same street.

Sometime this week, I'll send all three my postcard to see if any would be interested in selling. One of the three was bought a few years back and has a DOT for only $70k, so I'm guessing they put 20-25% down when they bought it. It's worth about $135k right today. PErhaps an equity split?