REO sales
Marketing
This is the key to your business. If you are not doing the proper marketing to get clients to call you, a short sale cannot be initiated. We always want Homeowners to come to us and we do this by sending letters directed at individuals that have already started the foreclosure process.
Sending letters is the easiest and most efficient way to get Homeowners to contact you about their foreclosure situation. The number one reason people do not get called or do not meet with enough Homeowners to do short sale deals is because they do not send letters fast enough or they do not answer their phone from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. This is a simple marketing plan, once you get the newspaper with a list of daily or weekly foreclosures, just send letters that next day. Let me tell you, these two things will get you short sale deals , but you must meet with the homeowner ASAP.
Letters
The key to getting responses to your letters is to hand write the homeowners address on the envelope and use regular postage stamps not bulk mail. When the homeowner receives your letter, they get the sense that this is someone who knows them since the envelope is hand written. Your letter will be opened along with the 20 other letters they received from people wanting to do the same thing you're doing. The difference between you getting this deal and someone else is you answering your phone. The person that receives these letters will start calling the letters one at a time. The first person to answer the phone is usually the person the homeowner is willing to work with. If you do not answer your phone, the homeowner will just go to the next letter and sign up with the first person they get to talk with.
Once you get the list of homeowners in foreclosure, always send letters to the homeowner the next day.
Always answer your phone from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. two to three days after the letters were sent.
Example: First Letter
December 11, 2006
Ms Jane Doe
8888 North Lane Ave
Columbus, Ohio 43211
Dear Ms. Doe,
Hello Ms. Doe. My name is (Put Your Name Here) and I can help you with your home.
You could put your house on the market and try to sell it yourself, or you could take your chances and list it with a real estate broker. However, right now it takes about four months to sell a house in Franklin County.
I specialize in helping people in Franklin County who are in foreclosure. And I can help you, too! All that you have to do is to pick up the telephone right now, and call me at (888) 888-8888 to set up an appointment so that I can make you an offer to buy your house today.
I will handle all of the details of the sale and deal with your lender and the title company processing all of the paperwork that is necessary to transfer the property's title.
I look forward to hearing from you very soon and to working with you to stop your lender from foreclosing on your house.
Sincerely,
Your Name
This is the letter I use, but each market responds differently so experiment with different letters.
Example: Second Letter
Hello Bob,
My name is Jane Doe. My wife and I would like to BUY your home. We are not realtors and we do not charge a fee for this service.
Please call or email us at:
Cell Phone - 888-888-8888
Email us at - stopforeclosure@hotmail.com
Thank You.
Jane Doe
Door Knocking Technique:
The key to successful door-to-door sales is to be friendly and really personable when approaching somebody about buying their house.
The best time for door knocking is:
1. 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Monday through Thursday
2. 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. in the mornings
3. 9 to noon on Saturdays
I personally do not door knock. I get enough responses from mailings. Door knocking takes a lot of time and my time can be used more efficiently.
Basic Door Knocking Script:
Hello my name is Derek Carter. (At this point I will hand them some information like a one page info sheet)
"Bill, these are some of the services my company offers. I understand you may want to sell or get rid of your home. I would like to talk with you and your wife about buying your home."
"Can I set up a time to talk with you or do you have time now?"
Where to get the list of foreclosed homeowners
We currently get our list from the Daily Reeporter, which is a legal newspaper in Columbus Ohio. We pull the list of foreclosures from the Internet every day.
Link to Site
Source News - Daily Reporter – www.sourcenews.com
Once you have pulled the list of foreclosures from the Internet site, the letters go out the next day. The longer you delay the letters, the less of a response you will get from your mailing.
Some cities publish the foreclosures in the daily newspaper. Look in the legal section to find a listing of the foreclosures. Some cities may print the foreclosures only once a week. There are other foreclosure sites that for a fee will sell you the list for your area, but be careful, most of them send out lists monthly and that info is old and not worth the money.
Bandit Signs:
Another way to get people to call you if their house is in foreclosure is to put up bandit signs. However, some cities have strict policies on bandit signs.
I place the signs at busy intersection either on telephone poles or in the ground with a metal stake.
Check out our marketing section to get more great ideas on finding motivated sellers.
Class 200 - Talking to Homeowners
Phone Call From Homeowner
There are two main reasons people are not calling you. You are not answering your phone from 8am to 10pm at night the 3 or 4 days after you send mailings or you are not sending letters fast enough. If you are going to be sending out mailings every day like we do, then answer your phone. Here are the main reasons a homeowner said they called me: first reason is because I was the first letter they received, and the second reason is that, I answered the phone.
Use the informational sheet to ask questions on the phone to get the information needed. Try not to sound like you are reading from a script but rather hold a conversation and get your questions answered in that manner. Use the same Client Information form every time you get a prospect on the phone, remember to be consistent with what you do.
I tell the homeowner on the phone that I may be able to work with their lender to buy their home to prevent the foreclosure. Ask to set up appointment to see the property ASAP and tell them what paperwork will be needed by the bank to buy their home. If you don't, they may speak with another investor. If you can't meet with them the same day ask them to please not speak with anyone else until you can sit down face to face with them. Often, homeowners will agree to your request and be very open minded when you meet with them.
What to Say When a Homeowner Calls:
Realtor Script
Homeowner says: "Hello Jim. I received a letter from you about buying my house."
Realtor says: "Phil, good to hear from you. That's great that you received my letter and thanks for calling me. What type of situation are you in?" (Let them talk, empathize and gain rapport)
Homeowner says: "Well Jim I got behind my house payments and my wife and I just cannot make up the payments. We just want to be done with the house and move on, is there any way you can help us?"
Realtor says: "Phil I would be glad to sit down with you and your wife to go over this process. I have a few questions to ask you before we set up a time to meet. (Check out the phone interview questionnaire below) What's a good night we could meet for a half-hour to an hour?"
Phil may ask if you are a realtor and you will say yes. Explain to Phil that you can help them get out of foreclosure by negotiating with the bank to sell their house.
Investor Script:
Homeowner says: "Hello Jim. I received a letter from you about buying my house."
You say: "Phil, great to hear from you. I know you received a letter and thanks for calling me. We help Homeowners by negotiating with the bank to buy your house and keep the bank from doing anything with the home. What type of situation are you in?" (Let them talk, empathize and gain rapport)
Homeowner says: "Well Jim I got behind my house payments and my wife and I just cannot make up the payments. We just want to be done with the house and move on, is there any way you can help us?"
You say: "Phil I would be glad to sit down with you and your wife to go over this process. I have a few questions to ask you before we set up a time to meet. (Check out the phone interview questionnaire below) What's a good night we could meet for a half-hour to an hour?"
The scripts are basic and very simple but please make the script your own. Whether you are a realtor or an investor you have to gain rapport and once you do that, any objections they throw at you can be overcome.
Call Information Sheet
Homeowner Name ______________________________________________________
Phone: _____________________
Email ______________________
PROPERTY Address:____________________________________________________
City: County: State: Zip:
AS-IS VALUE:$ ARV: $ REPAIRS: $
Describe Repairs:
1st Mortgage Payment: _________________ 2nd Mortgage Payment _________________
How old: Garage: Basement:
Used as rental or residence? Currently occupied:
How much is owed on the first?
Is there a second loan or third loan?
Who is your lender?
Motivation to sell?
Seller needs?
Will you sell the property for what you owe?
Is the property listed?
Appointment Date:
Follow-up Date:
posted at
7:30 PM
