I got my first call back in response to a yellow letter and I'm panicking :-)

[Stacey Olson]

Hi all,

Okay, so I'm cracking up that I'm in this state of "oh crap what the heck do I do now?!"

A couple of weekends ago we went out and drove a few neighborhoods, took down a few property addresses (I guess it was about 20 over the course of two or three drives over 7 days).

Yesterday (YESTERDAY!) I sent out five (yes, FIVE) hand written yellow letters to as many absentee owners. Two of those letters were to addresses here in Washington State. Tonight one of those two called me and left a message saying, "I got your letter about my house in Tacoma, and I'm interested in talking to you."

So now, here's my plan, but I need some input on information to gather.  Keep in mind, neither my husband nor I have a broker's license and this is our first non owner-occupied potential property purchase.

1. During the first call, I plan to let her do much of the talking.  I want to use the time to build rapport and gather information about what is going on in the house and what her needs and the general issues are.  

2. Once I have gathered that information with as many specifics as I can pick up without sounding pushy, I plan on telling her that my husband/partner and I are going to pow-wow figure out how we can best help her/figure out what her options are and get back to her.

So, what questions do I need to ask in order to set myself up with all of the necessary information to explore the options and get back to her with an educated and helpful list of scenarios?

THANK YOU!!!