All Forum Posts by: Derek Smith

@Rashad S. 

COMPITENT people, this one I cannot stress enough. You can have a solid business plan and high end equipment in place, but the mistakes of the collectors can and will be costly. Now granted, this is only if they get caught and reported for wrong doings. If I recall correctly I heard that FDCPA violations are being raised from $1,000 PER incident to $1,500. So you can see how quickly that may eat profits away. My second suggestion is having MOTIVATED collectors. Those that come in because the salary is enticing, they will seek will sink your ship before you ever set sail. Having an emphasis on bonus payouts has been something I feel holds weight, especially when they know their bonus may be affected negatively by their performance.

The use of scripts is becoming more common in collections. With every call there are requirements that must be meet, such as identifying yourself (the collector) yet not providing debt specifics without a proper verification. This is why you need not only COMPITENT collectors but a lawyer who is as well. They will help outline those parameters/requirements to keep yourself safe while staying profitable.

Hope this helps!

To me that is just bad business practice, regardless if human error took place or not. I tend to follow up on things I send out by phone for two reasons. 1) This confirms receipt, if there was no reply already stating such and 2) I can either answer any questions the potential client may have or proceed to closing the deal.

I will say that, with my background in customer service/escalations, when it comes to customer service (and I do consider this as that) I will pick the service apart with a fine tooth comb. If one company/person is not able to deliver, the way that I expect them to (within reason, because mistakes do happen), I will take my business else where.

In this day and age, its frightening to think about going an entire 24 hours without connecting to the internet at least once. With that being said what are the websites (professional/personal) you visit on a regular basis? Aside from BP of course! Some of mine are as follows:

www.finance.yahoo.com

www.fool.com

www.realtor.com

www.bankrate.com

I personally enjoy reading about finance and taxes, in terms of a professional realm. For personal, I've been using the following:

www.codeacademy.com (teaches website coding)

www.pluralsight.com (more advanced style of coding and then some)

www.espn.com (gotta have my sports!)

Not sure, but it looks as if there should be more to this?

@Kevin Barrett and @Wayne Brooks 

The process does sound a bit off, however, I will be the first to admit that our process didn't always happen in the order it should be. Meaning, our agents on the floor would constantly use the reference of an approval letter often because that was the end goal in mind. Now, in regards to the order of the process taking place, because our agents sometimes decided to follow their own unbeaten path, they would sometimes find themselves trying to procure documents they should've gotten in week 1 versus at time of closing.

It is difficult to say exactly what is going on other than the bank doing what to do best, take they ole so sweet sweet time!

@Kevin Barrett 

Not too long ago I worked for a third party company that would help facilitate short sales for a big bank. Now back to your question about the approval letter. In our world, at least, it meant EVERYTHING. If we did not have an approval letter on file (a scanned copy of what was being sent to the seller) that property would go no where PLUS we as a company would NOT get paid without that letter.

In regards to the time frame, every transaction will operate faster/slower that the one before it, no two deals typically moved in the same amount of time. Based on what you're saying you're in good shape to close, just have to be more patient. Now that's not to say it'll close 100% because stranger things have happened, so unless your clients the buyers walk you should be okay.

@Account Closed 

From one Derek to another, I personally would want a lawyer to review my contract. Nothing else you'll receive peace of mind and a valuable experience working with the lawyer. Once the contract is drawn to your liking, write it off as a business expense, then continue using your contract till the ink wears off.

In theory this should be a one time expense so it is highly unlikely you'll be returning month after month (or even yearly) to update your contract IF it is done correctly the first time around. Maybe you can get lucky and take one of the lawyers out to lunch and ask a few of your questions versus paying for an entire formal meeting. I keep hearing that as a suggestion, one I have yet to try but have it on my networking bucket list.

@Joshua Dorkin 

HOORA! what a HUGE win!

@Lindsay M. 

This is my personal view on obtaining a real estate license. It is a MUST! Yes, you'll have business expenses associated with the license, however, the power you receive in return is worth more value. I recently enrolled into classes myself in order to take more control over my real estate investments.

Now, in order to buy and sell property you'll have to be an independent agent for a broker regardless if you're only buying/selling for your own personal gain. In addition, if you represent yourself in any way shape or form that must be disclosed.

@Rashad S. 

This is such a LOADED question, but I'll to provide a sample of what you may need to do.

1. get an attorney, most definitely should be step one in your process, as they will be able to help discuss the most detailed specifics of your situation.

2. understand collection laws (FCDPA, Gramm-Leach-Bliley, TCPA, FTC, FCRA, etc.) these are federal level; however, you'll also need to understand how collection laws operate on a state level because some states have their own laws that may supersede those on a federal level. EVERY state if you're planning on providing services outside of your home base.

3. get licensed! this will go hand and hand with step one I'm sure.

4. get insurance! lots of it!

5.  beyond this comes the business side of things. phone lines, collection fees, tax structure, ability to record phone conversations, etc.

When you hear the saying, "There is no rest for the wicked" I am certain they are always referring to bill collectors. With having a window of 13 hours a day (6 days a week) to collect on a debt, you must make the most of every minute of every day when doing collections.

This is just the tip of the iceberg. I've worked collections, managed/trained teams of collectors, and helped build a start up site. However, I've never done a start up business for collections, so my experience/knowledge is more so on the operations side of the house. Yet, this should provide a decent start position.

Good Luck!