Solicitation To Purchase Letter
I have gotten to the point of discouragement in my attempt to purchase my first commercial property.    Seems like every "deal" is already scooped by the Realtor or some extension of the Realtor, and the only things left are the listings that are just way over valued.

So,  I was thinking of taking a different tactic, cold calling (letter writing) to owners of record listed on property(s) offering to purchase their building.   

Has anyone done this?  Does anyone have and example of language used?  Or for that matter, do you have any suggestion for finding property?
[{"id": "cx4gmjf", "text": "I do it all the time on behalf of clients (good way to get listings too).  \n\nI typically try to call and get a face to face with the owner.  If that doesn't work I email.  If that doesn't work I send a letter.  \n\n\"Mr. so and so I inquiring about the property you own at 123 main st.  It seems to generally match my acquisitions criteria.  If you had any interest in selling I'd love to get more information on the property\".  \n\nIts not rocket science.  Just get in touch, figure out if they have any interest in selling, get more information (ask if they had a price in mind), figure out what its worth to you.  \n\nNote you are going to get a LOT of \"well i'd sell for the right price, what are you offering?\" where they are expecting 2x market value but won't tell you this until you have a couple days buried into the property.  I've started giving ranges on where I think the value would fall.  For example \"Well I don't have all the information yet, but just based on a quick an offer with all that information would probably be between $x-$y\".  the spread can be large.  I've found this gets you to their price much faster so you can move on if its crazy.", "replies": [{"id": "cx4m5w6", "text": "Thanks for the response.  Wasn't sure folks were trying this with commercial properties.   ", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "cxjdtyf", "text": "I work with a lot of value-add guys, and we also do this a lot. NumNum is right, you end up spending a lot of time only to find out the owner has ridiculous expectations, especially with the less sophisticated owners. They think the tired apartment building they inherited from their uncle that rents at $500 a month should sell for a proportional price as the brand new building down the street renting at $1200. \n\nIf you make a good impression with them and show them why the offer you are making is what is it, they will usually call you back a year or two down the road when the building needs a new roof and has 40% vacancy. \n\nWe have had some luck working with the local jurisdiction's economic development and code enforcement staff to ferret out problem properties that might just need better management, and you might also check with the city and county records for commercial properties delinquent on taxes. You'd be surprised how often the owners are desperate to sell, but losing the property is usually at the bottom of their list of financial worries.\n", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "czgu5pu", "text": "I like your idea of getting a face to face meeting- any good suggestions for tracking down phone numbers or emails?  (Aside from google) Our state just has an address in the public records.\n", "replies": [], "depth": 1}]