Getting
Your Seller to Say "Yes"
By Bruce Norton
I am often asked by new investors as well as seasoned investors how to get
the homeowner to agree to doing a short sale. With the number of investors
targeting foreclosures at an all time high, it is tough to separate
yourself from the pack. I have worked with homeowners who receive more
than twenty or thirty pieces of mail each day from investors promising to
"save" their house. The vast majority of people I speak to ask to do
business with me and here are two reasons why.
I don't try to be someone I am not. It isn't about tricking someone
into doing business with me, or using any special words or phrases some
national speaker says works. It is about simply being who I am. I do
genuinely care for these people who have found themselves in a situation
where they are about to lose their home. I also am in business to make a
profit and I don't hide that fact, nor am I afraid of it. Depending on the
amount of rapport I may have built with the homeowner, or the tone of the
conversation, I may say something like I have said before, "I just want to
make sure you know that I am the enemy. I am a real estate investor and
just like every other real estate investor who has contacted you, my job
is to get your house as cheaply as I can. Some go as far as to say my job
is to steal houses from homeowners. That is why it is so important for you
to have someone looking out for your best interests. The only difference
between me and everyone else is that I don't want to trick you into doing
something. I want to make sure you know full well the truth about what can
happen from this transaction." Of course I say all of that with a smile on
my face. And I don't use those exact words all the time, although it might
surprise you that I do use the words "steal" and "enemy" pretty often. By
adding blatant honesty to just being who I am the homeowner sees a
genuineness that they don't normally see and it fosters trust.
The second thing I do is to set expectations. I let them know exactly
what is going to happen in the short sale. I prepare them for the fact
that the bank will initially decline our offer. I prepare them for the
amount of very personal paperwork they will need to supply. I tell them
about how long it will take. We discuss the need for an attorney and a
financial advisor and I encourage them to have both. They know up front
that they cannot receive any cash at settlement. We discuss the deficiency
judgment (the real reason they should agree to a short sale), and the fact
that it is becoming more common for the lender to pursue a deficiency in
one manner or another.
Then I prepare them for what they are going to encounter from other
investors who are working foreclosures. I tell them about how some
investors are going to promise to do many of the things they will want,
but will not be able to deliver. I warn them about signing deeds and
powers of attorney. I warn them about all of the little tricks many of the
national speakers teach investors to do, some of which are illegal and
most of which are predatory. Then, more often than not, I will get calls
from my homeowners to tell me about someone who called or knocked on the
door and did exactly what I told them they would do. Not only does it turn
out to be a light-hearted conversation as we laugh about what happened,
but it also strengthens my credibility and the homeowner's trust in me.
There is so much more I would like to write in this article but space
doesn't allow it. But, if you would only add these two things to the way
you work with homeowners and stop trying to trick them into giving you
their house, you will find yourself more successful in building the trust
needed for them to give you the house. Be real, be honest, be ethical, and
set expectations. It is a very simple formula that anyone can duplicate.
Bruce Norton, AKA "Dr. Preforeclosure" is the leading authority on
honest and ethical foreclosure investing. Through his member website
located at
http://member.drpreforeclosure.com Mr. Norton teaches students
nationwide how to become successful wealthy investors with a focus on
foreclosures, pre-foreclosures, and mortgage notes. Mr. Norton has been
recognized nationally as well as locally as the, "go-to guy" for
foreclosure investing. Mr. Norton also negotiates short sales across the
country for Realtors(R), attorneys, title companies, and investors, as
well as providing teaching and coaching support for other national
speakers who share Mr. Norton's emphasis on honesty, ethics, and
integrity. Go to
http://www.realfinancialsolutions.com to find out more about these
services or to hire Mr. Norton's team.
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