By: Jarad Severe
In most cases, when homeowners have defaulted on their loans, and have been issued with some sort of notice of default, they will be bombarded with letters, phone calls and knocks on the door from investors, attorneys and real estate agents. You can use whatever approach you feel comfortable with, it's really up to you. Some investors will knock on their door or call them. I like to send them letters with a business card.
Students always ask me, how do I find the homeowners phone number? One of the best resources you can use is the internet. There is a website called infospace.com. It's database has millions of names and phone numbers of people across the country. I have used them several times when I'm trying to find individuals. It's a little scary in a sense when you see how much information is on there. You can also use next door neighbors. Most of the time they have friends in the area. Ask the neighbors who their close friends were in the neighborhood. There is always someone close by they gave their new phone number to.
When you send out letters to homeowners, which is what I personally like to do, it's a good idea to imagine if you were in their shoes. Keep in mind they've received several letters from attorneys, banks and possibly other investors or real estate agents. So knowing this, you've got to be different. People in this situation are usually embarrassed. So keep that in mind as well.
First let's talk about the letter itself. You should always come across as non- threatening. You never want to appear as though you are looking down on them or they will just throw your letter away. You are sending this letter to them because you want to help them. Your letter should come from the heart and be sincere. It's a good idea to personalize your letters inserting their first name. Let them know who you are. As far as length, it doesn't matter as long as it's not boring to read and you get your point across. I like to always include the line “If this is not true, then I apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused by sending this letter” because there will be mistakes.
Now, when you send these letters you need to stand out, you need to be different. So don't put your letters in a standard envelope. Get creative. Go out and buy the multi-colored envelopes that look like wedding announcements or invitations. Anything that looks like another letter from the attorney will probably be thrown away. Personalize the front so it looks like it's coming from a friend. And don't forget to throw in your business card with the finders fee on it. This will typically generate a few more calls for you. It's also a good idea to add testimonials of all the other people you have helped.
One strategy that works well is to set up a 1-800 number. It's free to use for them and on every 800 number it captures the callers phone number, even if it is a blocked number. So you can set up extensions with answers to questions homeowners face when in foreclosure. Then you can follow up with each one who calls your 800 number. For a sample of how this is set up you can view some of my sample letters.
If time permits, I like to send at least 2 and sometimes 3 letters. Homeowners go through many stages when they are faced with this situation. First they are angry so they may through your 1st letter away. They they are in denial so maybe they will throw your 2nd letter away. Then they become desperate so they begin digging through the trash trying to find your letter and then the 3rd one arrives and they call.
If you would like to see examples of letters you can send to homeowners in foreclosure, I have collected a few to give you ideas or you can use them as a template. If you go to Sample Letters you will find a few different samples of letters. Remember to be creative. There is no right or wrong letter, however it is important to test different ones to see which ones have a better response.
