Reverse Wholesaling in Action: 3 Deals from One Probate Campaign

Probate leads are some of the most motivated sellers in real estate but they're also some of the most sensitive. 

Investors who treat these conversations like a transaction often lose the deal to someone who treats them like a person. 

Isaiah with Sunflower Fields Real Estate learned that lesson early, and it's been a core part of his business ever since. Here's how one probate direct mail campaign generated three deals, $17K on the first alone, and a 669% marketing ROI.

The Challenge: Standing Out in a Seller's Mailbox and in the Living Room

Isaiah F. has been wholesaling and flipping properties since 2016, starting with a reverse wholesaling strategy to build up capital before scaling. 

He was already using direct mail to source deals, but like most investors mailing to probate lists, he was competing with multiple offers on every viable lead.

The problem with probate marketing isn't usually the list, it's what happens after the seller calls. Inherited property owners are often grieving, overwhelmed, and dealing with a house they didn't ask for. Most investors show up, run their numbers, and make an offer. That approach puts you in a pile with everyone else.

Isaiah needed a way to get the appointment and then differentiate himself once he was in front of the seller.

The Plan: Probate Direct Mail With a Relationship-First Follow-Through

Isaiah's marketing strategy was straightforward: mail a handwritten-style greeting letter [link to greeting letter product page] to a targeted list of probate and inherited property leads in his market.

The greeting letter format was the right fit for this audience for a specific reason because it doesn't look or feel like investor marketing. For a homeowner who just lost a parent and is sorting through a pile of "we buy houses" postcards, a letter that looks like it came from an actual person stands out. It gets opened, and more importantly, it gets read.

But Isaiah's real strategy wasn't just in the mail piece, it was in how he handled the conversations that came from it.

The Execution: Winning the Deal by Listening, Not Pitching

The seller in this deal had inherited her mother's house and was ready to sell. She called in response to Isaiah's greeting letter campaign and she wasn't short on options. Multiple investors had already made offers, some of them higher than Isaiah's.

She chose Isaiah anyway. Here's why, in his own words:

"The seller picked me because she said I was sensitive to her situation, even though she had multiple other offers above mine. I could tell she wanted to talk about her mom and the memories, so on the appointment, I spent time afterward listening and asking questions about her mom."

This is one of the most important and most overlooked skills in real estate investing, especially when working probate leads. The homeowner wasn't thinking about price. She was thinking about her mother. Isaiah recognized that and gave her the space to talk.

It cost him an extra hour. It made him $17,000.

The Deal: Reverse Wholesaling an Inherited Property

Isaiah locked the property under contract and exited through a reverse wholesale, a strategy where you find the deal first, then match it to a buyer. At the time, this was Isaiah's primary approach for building capital without needing rehab funds or long hold times.

He has since moved away from reverse wholesaling. As his buyer's list grew and his reputation in the market solidified, he found he could move deals quickly through his existing network. But for investors who are early in their business and working with limited capital, reverse wholesaling remains one of the fastest paths to consistent deal flow.

The Results: 3 Deals From a Single 3,000-Piece Campaign

This campaign didn't just produce one deal. Through consistent follow-up — working the leads that didn't convert on the first touch — Isaiah closed three total deals from the same 3,000-piece mailing.

Here are the numbers on the first deal alone:

• Exit strategy: Reverse wholesale
• Net profit: $17,000
• Mailing piece: Handwritten-style greeting letter [link to greeting letter product page]
• List: Probate and inherited property leads
• Volume: 3,000 mailers
• Total mail cost: approximately $4,500
• Marketing ROI (first deal only): 669%

And that ROI doesn't account for the two additional deals he closed from the same campaign. The total return on that $4,500 spend was significantly higher.

 

 

Want to build a probate campaign that gets sellers to choose you, even over higher offers?

Schedule a free strategy call with our team

We'll help you put together a mailing plan tailored to your market, your budget, and your deal goals.