?How to Generate a Listing From a Pre-foreclosure?
Last time we had spent considerable time together establishing that a Pre-foreclosure was the best source of leads for you as an Agent. If you missed last week's training on that, you can find it by clicking the link below:
http://ezinearticles.com/?cat=Real-Estate:Foreclosures
So, how do you take that Pre-foreclosure lead and turn it into a listing? I'm glad you asked because that is exactly what we'll cover today together.
Before I get into the step-by-step on how to do it, I want to cover one very important point. How do we get the Pre-foreclosure lead?
Pre-foreclosure Information
There are just about as many sources for foreclosure information as there are for leads for other sellers that may want to sell their home. With Pre-foreclosures however, there are some even better (specialty) sources of this information.
"Real Time Data on Foreclosures"
Foreclosure Data Service Providers, like RealtyTrac, provide (sometimes up to the minute) real time data on foreclosures in any particular area. These service providers are often tied into your local county recorder's office. When a property goes into default, a legal notice is filed for public viewing. These foreclosure data service people are tied into your local recorder's office so they get this information the minute it gets published and forward the data to you.
It gets better... They take the data regarding the property and merge the homeowner's name, liens on the property, the fair market value (estimated), and sometimes even the homeowner's phone number.
How good (current) is this information?
Well, the information is only as good as your local county recorder's office. If they are computerized (most are nowadays) and up-to-date with inputting the data into their system, you can get information that is very current.
Are foreclosure data service providers the only source?
No... In some counties (especially the ones that are a little behind the times) your local title / escrow company can be a great source for the data. If you have an established relationship with one of these companies, ask them if they have their own data collection system in place. They often have a staff member at the county courthouse who helps other real estate professionals (YOU) obtain the data. They may even give you access to their system. It sure beats going to the courthouse (which you could do) and getting the data yourself.
Prequalification
Now that you have the information and know who has just entered into default on their property, what do you do?
"Some Can Be a Total Waste of Time"
Well, the next step for you is to pre-qualify or generate interest. Believe me... some of these leads can be a total waste of time. Don't get me wrong! I said some, which translates to a small percentage. But those very few can waste enough of your time that it's well worth having a prequalification system like we've built in our Foreclosure Mastery' program.
Do you want to build your own Pre-foreclosure Prequalification System?
Here's how... I suggest that you create a letter or a postcard (or a campaign of them) that you send to the homeowner who just entered this stage of foreclosure. Here are the ESSENTIAL elements for you to include:
1) You must first gain their attention by focusing on their problem from their perspective. Help them feel their pain, but also help them understand that this challenge is a very common one and that they are not the only ones in this mess.2) You have to warn them and differentiate yourself from your competition. Who is your competition? The Greedy, Underhanded, Despicable Real Estate Investor.You must also establish that the reason you are different is your fiduciary responsibility to act in their best interests.
3) You have to prove your case by sharing with them your experience and establishing your credibility. You should also focus on building value for the client regarding saving them time, money, stress, etc.4) You have to wrap up this communication with a little hope and a call to action. Give them a gentle reminder that time is not on their side and that's exactly why they need an expert (YOU) to help them.Getting the listing
Once you've gotten in contact with the owner by mail the next step is the phone.
"Your Confidence Will Win a Face-to-Face Appointment"
You may have received a call from them once they've acknowledged there's a problem, and talking with you just may be the answer to solving it. Or you've picked up the phone and started using some great phone scripts (like the ones included in Foreclosure Mastery?). I suggest scripts because a homeowner in this type of dilemma must feel good about the person talking to them. How you achieve that is the image you portray by having your ducks in a row. Your degree of confidence will win a face-to-face appointment over the phone, and that can be achieved using scripts.
Once you get yourself in front of the client, you do it all over again. Everything that you've communicated to them in your letter(s) or postcard(s) has to be revisited. These sellers are very motivated. If you thought that emotion was hard to control when you were in front of sellers before, just imagine when you turn up the heat on those emotions and your would-be clients are now in a do-or-die situation.
"The Rest of the Listing Presentation Will be Easy"
Once you hit it out of the park building trust & credibility, it's time to close the deal. The good news is that the rest of the listing presentation will be easy. In fact, you may not even have to go through your standard listing presentation. If you do well with the first half of your meeting they likely won't care to hear how many homes are on the market or why you need to price it at $$$. All they care about is that you know what you are doing, you care about helping them, and that you can rescue their equity by selling their home as quickly as possible for the greatest amount of money.
Conclusion
So, the best source of new leads from Foreclosures can be found in Pre-foreclosures, and you now have a plan on how to generate a listing from them. This new source of business could mean another 100 - 600 new, very motivated (seller) leads that are desperate for your professional help. And that's only for a market of 100,000 homes. Your market could have even more.
Why hasn't this opportunity been made available before?
Well, before now, all the pieces were not readily available. Today, the technology is in place, the turnkey business-in-a-box-system is built, and the market for this business is very ripe & growing.
So, if you are tired of your competition and are interested in carving out a brand new niche for yourself that 99% of Agents don't know about, you can find out how by visiting our website.
