When potential buyers are interested in a home that has been listed as a pre-foreclosure – send postcard should be their first thought. Although it may seem impersonal or like a bulk mail out, for a buyer looking a home in pre foreclosure, send postcard, send letter or make a phone call are really the best options rather than an in person visit. While making an in person visit is still a good option, it also may be very intrusive to the homeowner, plus it requires that you travel to the home and simply take the chance of actually finding the owners at home, which can be challenging, especially if you live in a different city or area.
From a listing service, determine which homes are in the area that you are interested in and are currently in pre-foreclosure. Send postcards to the homeowners, but try to address the card directly to the current owner, not just with a generic greeting such as "Dear Homeowner". This little personalization will ensure that the homeowner understands that you have at least taken the effort to look up their name and are not simply mailing out to everyone in the neighborhood or area.
The sample for a pre-foreclosure send postcard template can be found on many different real estate investment sites, but typically the format of the postcard will be similar to the example provided below. The general format of the postcard should include:
• A sentence to the homeowner explaining why you are contacting them regarding the purchase of their home.
• An interest in working with the homeowner to avoid foreclosure and the negative affect it will have on their credit score.
• Contact information for you such as an email, business or personal phone number or cell phone number.
• Information about you – are you a sales agent or marketing company, a listing service or in interested potential private buyer.
The format for the pre foreclosure postcard should not look exactly the same as what other companies or interested buyers are offering. The more personalized and supportive the postcard is, the more likely the homeowner will be to take the time to call you or make contact. For a property you are interested in that is in pre foreclosure, send postcard first, then follow up with either a longer letter or a phone call about a week to two weeks after the original postcard has been sent. If the homeowner is not interested in discussing a possible sale at this time, ask if you can call back in a month, which will give them time to work with the lender and make the decision to short sell the house or refinance.
When you have entered the world of real estate investment, either as a full or part time job or opportunity, it is important to have a series of pre-foreclosure scripts. Telephone talk outlines and checklists are essential both when you are talking to the homeowner as well as when you are talking to the bank or lender and discussing or negotiating a short sale. These pre foreclosure scripts, telephone talk outlines or checklists should be developed well in advance and reviewed to ensure that you have included everything that you need to cover in the phone conversation. Nothing will irritate either a homeowner or a lender more than having repeated calls from the same investor to keep filling in information missed when there are no pre foreclosure scripts. Telephone talk outlines can be found on the internet or in investment courses, however they can also be developed with a bit of thought and consideration.
To develop your own personalized pre-foreclosure scripts, telephone talk outlines or phone checklists consider the following key elements:
• Include a space for the property physical address and location, the name of the current homeowner and the name of the lending company
• Keep a space or blank line where you can write in the loan or foreclosure officers name and direct line phone number. This will help you be able to call them back and address them by name during the conversation.
• Provide a short two to three sentence blurb about yourself and your experience as an investor. Banks and lenders do want to know who they are dealing with and what their current level of knowledge is about the process.
• If you have dealt with a loans officer from the particular lender before, be sure to mention this in your introduction or script. A great idea is to leave blanks in the script, print it out and fill in the blanks with the relevant information before and during the call.
• Provide the information that you may already have on the home including the owners hardship situation, the property's market value and the price at which you are willing to start negotiations.
• Include a list of questions you may wish to address directly to the lender regarding the short sale process or the documentation required to start the short sale.
Practice your pre-foreclosure scripts, telephone talk outlines and checklists to make sure they sound natural and not like you are reading off a page. Keep in mind that you need to be flexible and respond to the person on the other end of the line, not just follow along with the script if they are asking questions or providing further information.
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