Re: No, this is a stretch… - Posted by Tom-FL
Posted by Tom-FL on June 29, 2003 at 18:10:12:
>> This is ridiculous. It would NEVER, EVER in the real world stand the laugh test before a judge.
>> “Your Honor: I called the guy personally because I thought he might want to sell his house.”
>> “Fine Mr. Roark $10,000 for an unsolicited call to his home.”
>> I don’t think so.
Or how about this, then:
Hal: “Your Honor: I called the guy personally because I thought he might want to sell his house.”
Judge: Personally?
Hal: Yes sir
Judge: How many other people in foreclosure did you call “personally” that day?
Hal: About 40
Judge: Is the day in question the first and only day you have tried to buy a house using this method?
Hal: No sir, I spend 6 hours every Tuesday calling preforeclosures.
Judge: Every Tuesday? Dating back how far?
Hal: About three years.
Judge: I see. How did you get all those numbers?
Hal: I subscribe to a foreclosure reporting service that gives me the courthouse information. Then I cross reference the name/address info to a phone number database on the web.
Judge: Uh huh, and have you “personally” bought a house using this method?
Hal: Yes, I have
Judge: How many in the three years you’ve been calling?
Hal: Maybe 60 or so.
Judge: And you’re telling me you’re just a guy who thought he might have a house for sale? Even though it was not advertised for sale, no sign on the lawn, and the owner specifically put his number on a DO NOT CALL list?
Hal: Yes
Judge: One last thing … you’ve been making 40 calls each Tuesday for the last three years resulting in 60 house purchases and hundreds of thousands of dollars in profit, and you you maintain you are not telemarketing?
Hal: That’s right, Your Honor.
Now that passes the laugh test.
Please let me know when your first court date is, I’m bringing lawn chairs and popcorn. It’s a show not to be missed.
>> I’m putting money into his pocket, not taking it out.
Ok, Joe seller’s house would sell for $100,000, the balance is $65,000. So, your offer would be for $100,000 … $65,000 to pay off the note and $35,000 in is pocket? Or would you offer something less than FAIR MARKET VALUE? Don’t kid yourself, don’t say you’re putting money in his pocket when you are taking it out. Of course, that’s how this business works, and I don’t want to start a thread on that. But when you go before the judge, just say that’s how it works, that’s how all businesses work: buy low, sell high. But don’t try to tell a judge you are enriching the guy in foreclosure when you are in reality relieving him of tens of thousands in equity. A judge will see right through that. And don’t tell the judge you are calling to “personally” buy a house when you are clearly doing it for business motives. Judges see through that kind of smoke and mirrors.
Well, whatever you do, have fun with it. Maybe you should call from someone elses’s house just in case.