My advice: forget the phone.
Don't wait for them to come to you; YOU go to them! You're mailing directly to their house, so you already have their address. Because the mail is not being returned, you can assume someone is still living there and collecting the mail. Go visit and knock on their door.
When you approach the defaulted homeowners' door be careful.
Remember, these people have debt collectors call them all day long, and some of those collectors are NOT very pleasant.
Also remember that these homeowners have no idea who you are. They may assume that you're a bill collector, so don't dress fancy, like a banker. And don't drive up in a big, expensive car. Match your homeowners. Dress like them, drive a car like them. Knock on the door in comfortable, casual clothes.
Don't intimidate the homeowner by standing too close to the door when they answer. Knock on the door and step back. Give them some space.
If they aren't home, create a special marketing piece to leave behind informing them you stopped by with some helpful ideas for their situation.
If they are home, they may look through a window first to see who is knocking on their door. When you see them, say something different than the bill collector would say.
Open with, "Hi, my name is _______. I have some ways to help you with your house." Don't use the word foreclosure in ANY opening statements.
Always be friendly, smile and give your name. Wait for a clue from them before you attempt humor. The most important emphasis is on THEM, not you. Stress what you can do for them. Give the homeowner benefits relating to how you can help them.
What are these benefits that might convince them to open the door and sign your paperwork?
If they agree to let you help, you will in turn:
- Stop the bank from calling the homeowner.
- Stop the bill collectors and the other investors from bugging them, too!
- Treat the homeowner with dignity throughout the whole process (the bank doesn't often do that).
- Stop the foreclosure.
- Buy their house - or keep them in the house via Forbearance.
- Give them MORE information than anyone else in the foreclosure process.
- Charge NO FEE for negotiating with the bank to buy the house.
Show them this is the best deal they will find.
Many foreclosure solution companies don't buy the house or even offer to buy the house. So they promised to go to court for the homeowner. Big deal. Most homeowners don't go to court or need to go to court unless they are going to catch up all the money owed and start paying on the loan again.
Foreclosure solution companies also get the homeowner "listed" with a realtor. But if there was enough equity to put the house on the market in the first place, wouldn't the homeowner already have done that?
When these houses are over leveraged, or just financially upside down, (owe more than the house is worth), no equity exists. Therefore, there is no room in the sales price to add on a realtor's commission.
The realtor may list it for a higher price hoping that the house will sell for that amount, but usually no offers are made because the house is priced too high.
Those same "solution" companies make the homeowner pay around $1,000 before they do anything for them. And the results are often less than productive.
So although the sellers may not realize it, they need you to be bold and knock on their doors. You are their greatest hope and best solution. Make your presence known in a personal, friendly, helpful way. By knocking.
-------------------------
Deb McMillan, OPHP, CMI, is a real estate investor and writer, living in Hamilton, Ohio, and has written a home study course on Short Sale Success Systems detailing how to get deep discounts from the bank when buying pre-foreclosures. She teaches about bankruptcy and what you can and can't do once a homeowner files. Log on to www.shortsalesqueen.com for more information on how to make your deals close.
