I have doorknocked in the past but never made a routine out of it. I also work for Titanium Solutions but I usually don't get too many assignments all at once. I wanted to start marketing more so I started mailing postcards/letters to homeowners in default but, did not get the results I was hoping for and it cost some money.Today, I decided to doorknock on the doors of some homes that have a Notice of Default (I'm in California). They were spread out but I mapped them in such a way that they were all in the same general area. I came up with a flyer which contains some info. that applies to their situation. It's a Sunday and it looked like it was going to rain soon so I headed out about noon time.I planned on introducing myself as an agent in the area specializing in helping homeowners in distress and handed them my flyer with information. Some homeowners did not open their doors- maybe they weren't home or they had an idea of why I was there. So, I left the flyer at their front door. Some opened the door, took the flyer, and said thank you and closed the door without leaving much room for conversation. One of the homeowners said she was working on a loan mod and quickly took my flyer through a smaller opening in her front door. Another, looked at my flyer and said, "I think we're okay". He wanted to give me back the flyer but I told him to hold onto it. The homeowner that actually took 2 min. to speak with me said she's been working with the bank for 2 years and is trying to modify her loan. If it does not work out for her then "f**k the bank" and they can have the house. She said thank you and that she would not consider a short sale. At least two people looked afraid and unapproachable. There was a woman who said she's been getting a lot of "people like me" at her door. She said that she plans on keeping her home and that the only reason she is not paying right now is because that's the only way she could get a modification done. Anyway, the rain started to come down harder so I was done for the day.It wasn't an encouraging experience. I know that we must "keep trying" though, it's difficult. Does anyone have something to add that may be helpful?
Hi sraM.
well all the advice that you have gotten is honest and true. and it comes also from experience, in 2006 I started researching Short sales, but all i could get was from the point of view of an investor that wants to buy a property at a great price and then flip it. and all of them wanted to sell you the secret. But this trainings were very risky becouse we have a Real estate license. what am getting at is that if you check the people that have responded one designation stands out CDPE. i wish i could it found that training in 2006. but I donot regret it. get bthe knowledge invest the time. get a system, memorize your your scrip till it comes out natural. Short sales has one basic Idea . But they are all diferent, one loan 2 loans 3 loans, insured Not insured , fha , fnmae freddy M, this bank that bank. The knowledge wil give you the confidence. and yes there are lots of other ways to get listings than knocking on the doors. am not saying it does not work, i know it does 2 people in my office started doing it and they got results. once you get them into your office fine tune your individualize presentation to 30 min. it will be hard at first. the numbers will speak loud to them.don't want to be long. in short sales Loosing is Winning for the borrowers with a hardship.explain the diference between a Shortsale & a Foreclosure sale. and there is allways life after a shortsale. Work on your Psychological People skills. Borrowers are stressed out and depressed. even if they come out swinging at the end they will hug you. AND allways ask for their referrals. that will be a diferent feeling when you go and knock on their door
It will take several rounds of this self introduced orientation to get the attention needed. Suggest you send each one a letter and include more info. If you are persistent one of them will call you. I suggest you get them come to the offie
at least they know where your office is not a thug..... If you can get them to provide an eMail send them one... It will take some time for them to weigh all the options... You may have a shot....
Titanium Sol'n is a good paid training ground for door knocking.... Practice your line and you will be rewarded....
Dont give up I have also worked NOD's for two years the bulk of my business was short sale in 09 I personally closed 25 short sale transactions last year I am in California San Bernardino & Riverside Counties the heart of the deaults are in these counties. I would like to encourage you to keep it up you are taking the bull by the horns keep it up remember its a numbers game and with so many homeowners in need of help I would look into Wells Fargo they just rolled out a short sale to purchase program use that as you ticket to get your foot in the door. Not everyone will qualify but I as well as all of you that their are some homeowners that may be current now and the thought of a short sale has crossed their mind this will spark some intrest and you will get calls for questions the you can set appointments and go out and explain the program. While your their you will find out their situation and have the opportunity shine and gain their trust and I least give them some good information so they can make a educated decision on what they want to do. I would add you should knock every door in your farm area and not just NOD's because you just never know who is in need of help plus remember with all the delays in the NOD filings the banks have done some people may be late and not on the NOD list yet get them before they get on the list keep up the good work. I have also just come across an awesome short sale platform that will help my business and stream line the short sale process and speed up approvals no its not Equator its better if anyone would like to judge and see it for themselves then we can blog about it email me so I can forward the link to you team.dominguez@yahoo.com
My computer is acting up so I am going to keep this short!
I knock the NOD’s for three years and have gotten good response after the second year. What I learned was not to just knock the subject home. When I started knocking around the subject I got better response. Plus I made it a third party message when I started my script. My script started with “Please forgive the interruption I know that you are busy yet I need to get the word out. It will only take two minutes of your time, this market effects everyone. Then ask a question like, how long have you owned your home? (Pause) “As you know the real estate market is ________ which effects ever homeowner. Do you know someone that may be having a hard time keeping pace with their mortgage? (Don’t wait for an answer) I say right away, like someone you work with, friend or maybe a family member? Pause… I then point to my letter not a flyer… In bold print it says, you have choices and pay no one for this service. The rest of the message is giving them an explanation of choices to prevent them from loosing their home?
When I started doing that I would get a way better positive contact…
Always follow up with a letter of interest to them. If they show better then average interest I send them a CMA!!!
There is more but this got me into conversation with them without pointing out they are in trouble!
Door knocking is thankless, but I do it. You are all correct, people don't want to accept reality. I was knocking on Saturday and towards the end of the day stared off my pitch by saying that I had bought during the height of the boom and wondered if they had also. I quickly also stated that I was wondering if anyone they knew might be in trouble. I will perfect this next weekend, but the response was a lot better than starting in on their situation. Also, I offer free help with loan mods. I won't actually do them, just show them how.
I read in a marketing book that the return on unsolicited mail is 1 on every 1000, I started sending 1500 postcards to a list of homeowners who purchased their homes between 2005 and 2007 I am narrowing to specific geographical and demographical areas. it cost me about $700 a month for the list, postcards and postage. I stared last month and I am doing it every month, so far I have 2 listings from that. in March I will do the same with a different list for 3 months, my goal is to get 3 to 5 listings every 3 months from that, I know it doesn't sound like a lot, but keeps me in front of the clients.
Any realtor can list a short sale, but remember to let those homeowners know why you are better than the other thousands of realtors out there. Not that you are better realtor, but that you are better for them and their needs.
Don't get discourage, remember that dealing with short sales is time consuming, my goal for this year is 20, and I know I might need 40 listings for that. I need about 4 every month, so I need to find a way to get those 4, if you work your SOI you would get at least 1 every month, and those are cheap, 1 from flyers, 2 either of the following newspaper ad, website, social website, craigslist, seminar, Titanium, etc.
Remember it is a numbers game, I am a true believer of the 80/20 rule, work backwards, if you want 20 transactions you need to talk to 100 people, and you need to reach out to 500.
Good luck and I hope in a few month you can give us some great news when things start to work for you, let us know what work and what didn't, I am sure you will find what works for you, I really admire your initiative and enthusiasm.
In my area, there were real estate agents charging up to $4000 for loan mod help. This is from people that I've talked to that said they've paid and got no where...unfortunate.
I admire your initiative, and all your efforts to assist homeowners. Here's the problem, they do not want to be contacted unless you are offering them an immediate solution i.e. CFK's. In all liklihood they have already been beat up by the lender trying to collect the debt, plus other creditors (it is rare someone is on time with all their other debts, and just behind on the mortgage). This is why scams are so prevalent...They show up on the doorstep and tell the homeowner exactly what they want to hear, which is usually to good to be true.I have seen cases where the homeowner paid $1500. for a loan mod to a company that "specializes" with no results to signing away their rights unknowingly so they can remain in the home. An honest REALTOR trying to assist them & telling them the truth usually just doesn't work.
Many people who are in trouble just will not accept the reality of their situation. I don't mention that I know they are in default until I meet face to face with them. I would call first, try to make an appointment. I ask if I can help them get their house sold and ask when it would be convenient for me to come to take a look at their home. If I don't get the appointment initially during that call, I mail or deliver them a package which includes testimonials of some sellers, whose house I sold quickly, and then follow up with a call. Often it takes several contacts. Just don't give up. Call at least twice a week.
Jose, I am also a CDPE. I tried their postcards and the advanced microsite and haven't gotten any results. I mailed to 60/90 day lates. Then, I tried a letter with a handwritten envelope and didn't do much. The reason that I thought doorknocking may be better is because they are getting so many mailings that I was hoping reaching out in person may be better. I'm sort of tired and frustrated with mailings but my next attempt is to mail to a community of 180 homes which were built in 2005 and I feel that there will be a couple homeowners in trouble. There have been about 5-6 short sales that have either sold or are currently listed in the development. I also called and spoke to the property manager and he said that, of course, he cannot give me permission to doorknock the community but he is aware of some of the homeowners' financials because he also sees their assessments (hoa fee records). What do you think?
Comments
well all the advice that you have gotten is honest and true. and it comes also from experience, in 2006 I started researching Short sales, but all i could get was from the point of view of an investor that wants to buy a property at a great price and then flip it. and all of them wanted to sell you the secret. But this trainings were very risky becouse we have a Real estate license. what am getting at is that if you check the people that have responded one designation stands out CDPE. i wish i could it found that training in 2006. but I donot regret it. get bthe knowledge invest the time. get a system, memorize your your scrip till it comes out natural. Short sales has one basic Idea . But they are all diferent, one loan 2 loans 3 loans, insured Not insured , fha , fnmae freddy M, this bank that bank. The knowledge wil give you the confidence. and yes there are lots of other ways to get listings than knocking on the doors. am not saying it does not work, i know it does 2 people in my office started doing it and they got results. once you get them into your office fine tune your individualize presentation to 30 min. it will be hard at first. the numbers will speak loud to them.don't want to be long. in short sales Loosing is Winning for the borrowers with a hardship.explain the diference between a Shortsale & a Foreclosure sale. and there is allways life after a shortsale. Work on your Psychological People skills. Borrowers are stressed out and depressed. even if they come out swinging at the end they will hug you. AND allways ask for their referrals. that will be a diferent feeling when you go and knock on their door
GOOD LUCK
at least they know where your office is not a thug..... If you can get them to provide an eMail send them one... It will take some time for them to weigh all the options... You may have a shot....
Titanium Sol'n is a good paid training ground for door knocking.... Practice your line and you will be rewarded....
My computer is acting up so I am going to keep this short!
I knock the NOD’s for three years and have gotten good response after the second year. What I learned was not to just knock the subject home. When I started knocking around the subject I got better response. Plus I made it a third party message when I started my script. My script started with “Please forgive the interruption I know that you are busy yet I need to get the word out. It will only take two minutes of your time, this market effects everyone. Then ask a question like, how long have you owned your home? (Pause) “As you know the real estate market is ________ which effects ever homeowner. Do you know someone that may be having a hard time keeping pace with their mortgage? (Don’t wait for an answer) I say right away, like someone you work with, friend or maybe a family member? Pause… I then point to my letter not a flyer… In bold print it says, you have choices and pay no one for this service. The rest of the message is giving them an explanation of choices to prevent them from loosing their home?
When I started doing that I would get a way better positive contact…
Always follow up with a letter of interest to them. If they show better then average interest I send them a CMA!!!
There is more but this got me into conversation with them without pointing out they are in trouble!
Any realtor can list a short sale, but remember to let those homeowners know why you are better than the other thousands of realtors out there. Not that you are better realtor, but that you are better for them and their needs.
Don't get discourage, remember that dealing with short sales is time consuming, my goal for this year is 20, and I know I might need 40 listings for that. I need about 4 every month, so I need to find a way to get those 4, if you work your SOI you would get at least 1 every month, and those are cheap, 1 from flyers, 2 either of the following newspaper ad, website, social website, craigslist, seminar, Titanium, etc.
Remember it is a numbers game, I am a true believer of the 80/20 rule, work backwards, if you want 20 transactions you need to talk to 100 people, and you need to reach out to 500.
Good luck and I hope in a few month you can give us some great news when things start to work for you, let us know what work and what didn't, I am sure you will find what works for you, I really admire your initiative and enthusiasm.
-
1
-
2
of 2 Next