Pre-Foreclosure Marketing Question

[Account Closed]

What are your recommendations for pre-foreclosure direct mail pieces? Yellow Letters or Post Cards.

[Roy Schauer]

Good points Gary, there are a lot of restrictions, just make sure you understand them and work within the the guidelines. We personally don't do Subject To's unless we have the ability to completely pay off the loan to the bank because its a possibility that could happen, but mainly because even though its legal to do Subject To's, where we are anyways, they really give the impression of a scam, especially if something goes sideways in the deal.

Hi Mark,

We do something very similar for preforeclosures. We don't just blanket direct mail. We "pre-qualify" houses first to narrow the list, reduces cost and time wasted on property that you can't really do anything with. Then, even though its a little more work, we tape our "mailing" to the front door instead of using the mailbox. Our response rate has been in the 15-25% range. But people move slow and take time to chew on things. Don't expect an immediate response, give it a week. By doing it this way, if someone is calling in regards to one of our mailing, we are 90% sure we can help them and we already have some basic info on file about their house so we seem like we are more professional and serious. Put yourself in their position, whether its their fault is irrelevant, in their opinion they are running out of options and are "hyper" sensitive. If the numbers work, from that point on worry less about making lots of money and more about how to reduce their stress and find a creative solution. I've had several people tell me in the past that they've had "sharks" offer them lowball offers on their property. At that stage their dignity is about all they have left. People work more with us because we care, not because we are taking advantage of their situation.

Sorry for the long response. But like most of the experienced investors will tell you, this is a problem solving and a high people contact business. If you don't feel comfortable working with highly stressed people and making them feel comfortable enough to trust you to help them, then there are other ways to handle real estate that require less human contact.

Btw, I put peanuts in my envelope along with a postcard they can put on their fridge that says "you'd be nuts not to let us help" on one side and our information on the other. The nuts are a gimmick but it entices them to open the envelope because they wonder what the heck it is. Getting the homeowner to look at your contact is the biggest step. Think outside the box. Break them out of their funk and maybe even put a smile on their face. It could be the difference between a call or not. Hope this helps.