Call, Care, and Educate.

Call, Care, and Educate.

Sharing a little experience that has made it easier for me to talk with Sellers and close more deals.

Call:

First of you have to make the call. I hate making the calls, so I set a total number of calls that I have to call daily, and sometimes I pass quota.  Set a minimum amount of calls that you "need to make" to reach your goals.

I have been calling 20 difference Sellers a day all week, and I was well prepared on 4 of the phone calls.  I had already done my research on those 4; I knew the value, the comparable sales and had a strategy.  You know what happened?  None of the 4 home sellers I research answered the phone or have returned my calls since Monday. And it’s Friday today.

But of the other calls, I have two homes under contract, one already has a buyer going to see it Saturday, and I was not prepared with any data about the homes.  It a volume business the more people you call the more deals you will find.

Take the time to stop what you’re doing and pay attention to the call, don’t do it while you’re driving because you can’t take notes, you can’t review the information online on the fly, and you could get into Wreck.

The exception is if you are beginning or don’t have any leads to call; then research every lead you get and that way you get practice doing the research and analysis of the property.

Rather than marketing, I would also suggest you buy leads if you can get them reasonably priced in your area.  I think it would be much easier than trying to manage a marketing campaign when you’re getting started.

Care:

When calling try to think around their schedule, this is a trying time in their life, don’t call at 5pm when they are just getting home from work, try 8-9pm when they are relaxed. Ask about their day or talk about the weather, (the upcoming superbowl ) brighten the mood of the conversation with good thoughts.  Show them you enjoy the little things, that you’re a real life person not a corporate executive reading a script.

Now I am not getting into how to take the call itself because that is what I sell on this site;  helping you make the call learn about interacting with Sellers and getting the contract.

But these are some points to cover on the call:

LOAN BALANCE, INTEREST RATE, MONTHLY PAYMENT, DOES IT INCLUDE TAX AND INTEREST

REPAIRS THE HOUSE NEEDS, ask age not condition, judge the condition yourself by the age and number of people in household.

WHAT THEIR GOALS ARE, HELP THEM THINK INTO THE FUTURE, where do they want to go in the future, can they see themselves in another house.

Educate:

Based on the information gathered educate them on some possible options. If they are a mortgage assignment candidate then mostly likely they are also candidates for a Short Sale, Forbearance, Loan Modification, Deed in Lieu.  Give them all the options then explain how they work.

If you need all the options explained in detail I can help you with that or its available for members.

After you explain their options then suggest one based on their goals, I.E. if they have not a dollar, and are behind on their mortgage, and don’t have a place to go.  A mortgage assignment is not the best option.  I would refer them to Realtor to help them with a short sale or suggest a loan modification just to buy time until they could get some money together.

If the Seller needs to move but is current on payments, can’t sell due to lack of equity.  This is a good candidate because they can make the payments until it sells; they have money to move on, and can possibly save their credit based on the buyer’s payment history.

Educate so they understand the concept, it not our choice, but you can provide the information you have on all the options and show them how a mortgage assignment  in some cases is the best option.

Don’t forget the disclaimers: This strategy could fail as it has for me on multiple occasions, so explain that to the seller.  You should also deliver disclaimers about the due on sale clause, the need to foreclose if the buyer stops paying, and possible damage to the seller’s credit.

Hope you enjoyed it- Karlos

Call, Care, and Educate: Negotiating with Sellers : Is the name of my next Real Estate Investor's guide.  http://mortgageassignmentsuccess.com