How to get motivated sellers to call you
By Josh MillerUpdated 5 min readSellers call you when the right owner hears from you in the month they're deciding, with a message that sounds like a person and a number that rings your phone. Mail to owners with a recent filing, timed to when that list sells, gets the most inbound calls per dollar for most investors; search ads catch sellers already looking, at $13 to $35 a click.
Every investor wants the phone to ring. Sellers call when three things line up: you reached an owner who's actually deciding, you reached them in the month they're deciding, and something about you made them trust you enough to dial. Most marketing gets one of the three.
1. Reach the right owners
The single biggest lever is who you contact. In the county records, owners with a foreclosure filed sold off-market at about 13 of every 100 within a year, and expired listings at about 12. Free and clear owners, the most-mailed list in the business, sold at about 1.5. Mail the first two and the phone rings more for the same money. The full count.
2. Reach them in the right month
Each list has a window. Expired listings sell early: in most counties, the biggest share of their off-market sales came in the first 3 months. Foreclosure owners sell late, mostly after month 3. A letter outside the window is a stamp spent on someone who isn't ready yet, or anymore. See the window for each list in your county.
3. Give them a reason to dial
- Sound like a person. A local name and a plain sentence beat a glossy postcard with "CASH OFFER" in red.
- One number that rings your phone, answered live, or called back within the hour.
- Something true about you: how long you've been buying in the area, that you'll tell them if listing is better.
- Come back. One letter rarely does it. The owner who calls has usually seen you several times.
The channels, compared
| Channel | Who it reaches | Typical cost |
|---|---|---|
| Direct mail to a filing list | Owners with a recent reason to sell, before they look for you | 70 cents to about $1 a piece, all in |
| Search ads: "sell my house fast" | Sellers already searching | About $13 to $35 a click |
| Pay-per-lead services | Sellers who filled out a form | About $39 to $300+ a lead |
| Driving for dollars | Vacant and run-down houses you spot | Your time and gas |
| Referrals: agents, attorneys, past sellers | Warm introductions | A thank-you, or a referral fee where legal |
Then answer the phone
A seller who gets voicemail calls the next number on the next letter. Answer live, or call back within the hour, and have your first-call lines ready.
Questions investors ask
How do I get motivated sellers to call me?
Reach owners with a recent reason to sell, at the time that list tends to sell, with a plain message and a phone number that reaches you. Then answer every call, fast.
What is the cheapest way to get seller calls?
Per call, it depends on your market. Mail to a well-chosen list usually costs less per call than paid search, and driving for dollars and referrals cost the least cash but the most time.
How much do "we buy houses" ads cost?
Ahrefs put the US cost per click at about $20 for "we buy houses," $13 for "sell my house fast" and $35 for "sell my house for cash" in October 2026. Most clicks don't call, so cost per lead runs much higher.
Why aren't sellers calling my letters?
Usually the list or the timing: mailing owners who aren't selling, or mailing a fast list too late. Check which lists actually sold in your county and when.