How to approach owners with negative equity?

[Christophe Amet]

Hi guys,

I am just starting my career in real estate as a Realtor and I am looking for the best strategies to get leads.

I have also started to do door-knocking in Encino, CA. I approached someone last week and it turned out that this person has a $183,000.00 negative equity. Should I follow up with her and let her know that I can get the house sold so she can benefit from the current market trend that is slowly starting to shift? Is it a good idea to approach/target owners with negative equity? Can you motivate them by suggesting to go through a short sale before they default on the property? what are the downsides of going after this type of properties?

Thanks for your input!

[Wayne Brooks]

It’s going to be a short sale.  You need to team up with someone experienced in short sales, it is not a “learn as you go”.......you’ll screw up people’s lives by stumbling through it, making many mistakes.  Understand, many will do nothing until it is too late.