Mail Cadence for a Free and Clear List: Touches, Spacing and Monthly Re-Pulls

A free and clear owner has no recorded loan and no lender deadline. Nothing forces a decision this month, which is why one letter rarely does the job. The owner who ignores you in October may be ready in March. Cadence is how you are still in the mailbox when that happens, without wasting postage on people who already said no.

These lists are also big. In Boulder County, CO, October 2026 data, 54,650 properties are free and clear. The data for all of them costs $1,093.00, but mailing every row several times is a different budget. Plan the cadence first, then size the list to fit it.

Tier the list before you mail

Not every row earns the same number of touches. Sort first:

• Tier 1: free and clear plus one or more other entries in signals, such as absentee, vacant or tax delinquent.
• Tier 2: free and clear only, with a long years_owned.
• Tier 3: everything else.

Tier 1 gets the full sequence. Tier 3 might get one letter, or wait until you have budget left over.

A sample sequence

The schedule below is illustrative, not a benchmark. It is a sensible place to start; track your replies by touch number and adjust once you have your own results.

1. Touch1

   Week 0: the introduction letter

   Who you are, which property, and your offer in one line. For free and clear owners, mention that you can pay cash or talk about terms such as seller financing, if you actually offer both.

2. Touch2

   Week 3 to 4: a postcard

   Short and different-looking, so it doesn’t read as a copy of the first letter. Your name, the street, one line on what you offer, how to reach you.

3. Touch3

   Week 7 to 8: a second letter

   A new angle: no repairs, a closing date they choose, or a tenant left in place. Say this is a follow-up to your earlier note.

4. Touch4

   Week 11 to 12: the last letter for now

   Say plainly that you’ll stop writing for a while and that the offer stands if their plans change. Owners often find this one easier to answer than the first.

Space touches far enough apart that each one arrives as its own piece of mail, not stacked with the last. Three to four weeks keeps you consistent without piling up.

When the monthly drop arrives

Data refreshes monthly. Each time it does, re-pull the same area and list, and compare the new file with your mailing log on apn plus county_fips. Then sort every row into one of four buckets:

1. Step01

   Still on the list

   Keep them on schedule. Nothing changes.

2. Step02

   New to the list

   Start them at touch 1, in their own tier, with this month’s date.

3. Step03

   Dropped off the list

   A loan may have been recorded, or the property may have sold. Check last_sale_date and owner_name. A new owner means stop: the person you were writing to no longer owns it.

4. Step04

   Finished the sequence with no reply

   Rest them. Bring them back after a few months with a fresh first letter, if they are still on the list then. Anyone who opted out stays out for good.