Can I ColdCall PreForeclosure Homeowners & ask to buy their home?

Question

Hey everyone. So I'm sending letters out to pre-foreclosure properties found in the daily paper(aka online through county website).. however some get kicked back. Either the home is vacant or not deliverable.

Anyway, by using anywho.com you can actually type in the address and get the full name & phone number..

CAN I call them legally? Or will I get slapped with fines IF someone complains. I know people make a living off fining cold callers.

I'm running an LLC right now. any info would be great.

Apparently I heard you can call as a " survey company" and IF they agree to letting you follow up then you can call as a "sales pitch". So I'm going to see if I can work off that.

and to clarify, these are people who have not gotten my first letter since it was undeliverable -- otherwise the gig is up.

Jay Hinrichs · Answer

@Chris Martin  don't you just love it  :)  ?

Jacob  make sure you check to see if there are any laws pertaining to contacting folks in foreclosure many states have enacted these.

Like here in Oregon you must be a foreclosure consultant and licensed to do that..

fines are 6k and 1 year in jail..

Chris Martin · Answer

Well, your definition of "reach out" needs to be consistent with ORS terms and conditions. See also your state laws in ORS       646A.700. Or, better, talk to an attorney about your business and compliance.

Chrissy Parsons · Answer

@Jacob Hanson If you want to be legal for ALL TELEMARKETING:

• Register as a telemarketer on the federal website https://telemarketing.donotcall.gov/
• then scrub your list against the people who have registered for the do-not-call (DNC)
• you can't call a cell phone, regardless of whether or not it is registered with the DNC. It will cost the recipient money if they don't have unlimited minutes.

You will end up with a very small number, as about 90% of the population have said that they don't want calls (are you one of them?)

Conventional wisdom and best practices for ALL MARKETING is that you don't say (or write) anything that indicates the list you are using.

• You can start with "I'm hoping to buy a house in your neighborhood - have you thought about selling? 
• But  anything like "I can help solve your problems buy buying your house," is strictly off limits. It indicates that you know that they are in pre-foreclosure.

Chances are you won't be prosecuted if you call people on the do-not-call, lord knows they don't go after the big guys based on the number I get. I agree with you @Margie Fuller - phone calls are time consuming and unwelcome by the recipients. There's a reason we all signed up for do-not-call

You are right about Surveys, political calls and non-profits being exempt, but that is a slippery one.

Margie Fuller · Answer

@Jacob Hanson LOL, I wish I could fine people for cold calling me! They have found a way to use a phone number resembling mine to call me on. Obviously fake. There's no way for me to track them. I think cold calling is too much work. Surely there is a better way to reach that target market. What about direct mail? I know it will cost more, but time is money, and you'll spend lots of time on the phone and perhaps a fine according to some of the above posts for cold calls. :|

Chrissy Parsons · Answer

@pratik p.

You have misunderstood the nuance. You are selling something - you are selling a home purchase.

The only 3 exemptions are survey companies, political and non-profit.

As a mailing list broker, I was selling a lot of lists with phone numbers until the new law went into place. I did a lot of studying and received training from my vendors who had teams of lawyers doing the interpretation.

Under certain circumstances I can get all available phone numbers, but it is based on the scrutiny of the intention and acceptance of the script presented.

Pratik P. · Answer

I don't call pre-foreclosures but from what I'm understanding, the DNC list only applies to us if we're selling a product or service. Us investors are asking to buy something from the person so I think we're okay.

To be extra careful, just don't mention the foreclosure. Just talk to them like you're calling any other potential seller.

Johnny Duke · Answer

@Chris Martin Thanks for the link there. I ended up reading through the laws late last night and didn't see anything that would suggest you can't contact a homeowner about the foreclosure process, as long as you're representing yourself, i.e. you can't be a real estate agent contacting the home owner for an investor. That's what I understood at least. Thanks again!

Johnny Duke · Answer

Wake up thread! @Jay Hinrichs so in Oregon you can't reach out to people in pre-foreclosure/foreclosure at all (e.g. through mail), or is that just in regards to cold calling?

Chris Martin · Answer

https://www.ftc.gov/tips-advice/business-center/guidance/qa-telemarketers-sellers-about-dnc-provisions-tsr

Can I ColdCall PreForeclosure Homeowners & ask to buy their home?

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