Pre-Foreclosure Advice, getting the ball rolling

[Jim Bryant]

So I think I understand Pre-foreclosures pretty well.  The mortgage is not being paid and the bank is going to foreclose.  The homeowner can avoid this through selling it for an amount that the bank is willing to accept.  Super.

The only issue is how do I make a move on the property.  It seems as if I have to contact the homeowner directly.  Any info on how to find contact information for the home owner?  Do you usually use official sources such as court documents, or go through the white pages?  

Finally, what's your strategy, do you send a letter, call them?  Do you make an offer or do you ask them what they think would be fair?   Also, does the pre-foreclosure process allow for any inspections of the property and such, like a contingency in conventional purchasing?

[Tucker Cummings]

@Jim Bryant, I agree with @Jonathan Greene. There is no real way around it other than to contact the seller directly through some type of channel and direct mail is usually the best bet. However, I always try to cold call and email first and if I don't get a response (or even if they shut me down, they won't remember me) I'll move them into direct mail. You can burn through leads a lot faster by calling & email and it doesn't cost. A lot of people may disagree with me, and that's fine, we all have our methods, but I also come from a sales background with a lot of cold calling and cold emailing, so I've had a lot of practice at getting rejected and disarming prospects that want anything but to talk to you.

As far as ways to get contact information, I use Propstream, which is great for getting property and owner information, comps, distressed situations, etc. and then you can skip trace them within Propstream to get the contact information. It's $97/month, but the time I've saved in just being able to run comps in there is well worth the price.