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Targeting Water Leads | Absolute Best Lead List

Typically people get their water shut off for one of four reasons:

Cannot afford bill – good for investor
They moved – good for investor
Pipe Burst – Good for Investor
Just sold house and are transferring utilities

Knowing this, you can send an open records request to the city secretary or the city attorney, not the water department, for all residential properties with water shut off within the last 30 days. As an investor, understanding marketing is the key to closing sales.

The Public Information Act (Texas) gives the public the “right” to request access to government information. A “RIGHT” is key, rights cannot be denied. You may get resistance from the Texas Utilities Code, which allows for information to be kept private (does not fall under Public Information Act). Counter this by stating in your request, “You may redact all confidential information required under Texas Utilities code 182.052.” Public Information Act allows 10 days to give you the information or the denial. The denial must be sent to you as well as a formal letter to you and the Texas Attorney General listing the reason for the denial. They must provide the address per the law.

SYSTEMATIZE AND DELEGATE

Hire a virtual assistant to put all of the cities within a 75-mile radius into a spreadsheet.
Add the county to which each city belongs
Find the Central Appraisal District for each city (Used to cross-reference owner)
Paid Column – Does the city require payment for the list
Bookmark (The City Website) – Where on the site is the Public Records Request
Email of the city contact person
Method of Request (How is the request preferred, Online, Mail In, Email)
Was List Received
Was Marketing Sent

ONCE YOU GET THE LIST

Do as many as you need to do to learn the process, then train someone to do it, when they learn it, have them train a VA to do it. Ultimately, you want the VA to file the request every 30 days. Use the abundance mindset, hiring out to VA to do less valuable work.
Hire an in-house assistant to figure out the list
Then the in-house assistant manages the VA, the sends mail-outs to the
Get bulk mail rates
Do mail-outs, calls – DAILY
Record the response
All buyers must file for tax auction, name, contact information

OTHER POTENTIAL LISTS OF PUBLIC INFORMATION

List of everyone who filed to purchase at a tax auction – these are potential buyers.
Code Violations
Enforceable detainer suits
Third-degree felony or higher

HOW DO I MARKET TO THEM?

For Water Leads, postcards or call them.

CLEANING THE LIST

Get the list, scrub it for anything that has just sold.
From a highly scrubbed list, skip trace the list
Cold Call those leads

BUILD THE AVATAR OF ALL POTENTIAL WATER SHUT-OFF CLIENTS

Know specifically who these people are
Who is it that let a pipe bust
Who abandoned their property
Who couldn’t afford their water bill.
Create rebuttals to all their possible rejections.
Offer solutions to any possible problems

WORDING OF THE REQUEST

I am requesting a list of all residential properties in your city that have had the water shut off any time between ——– an ———-. I only need the property addresses. I do not want any customer information or reason for shut off. I authorize you to redact confidential information in accordance with Section 182.052 of the Utilities Code.

ALL PROPERTIES WITH WATER SHUT OFF FOR AT LEAST 6 MONTHS

This is almost always an abandoned property
Scrub and remove all bank-owned
If water off for 6 months or more, you are likely dealing with the debt of the owner
Skip Trace the homeowner
Larry Higgins, Skip Genie
Likely skip tracing dead owners, get more details and find a relative