Posted by ScottE on April 20, 2002 at 17:48:08:
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Opening line for preforeclosure door kocking - Posted by Hank
Posted by Hank on April 19, 2002 at 20:29:28:
What do you say?
Some suggest that one should say they do it all. That means refinancing , private loans as well as buying the subject property. A “foreclosure consultant” is what it’s called. That job description sounds like B.S. to my ear. I don’t use it in my mailings.
I’ve got a guy that can do the first two choices but all I really care about is the latter choice. I’m not sure I’ll mention the first two – but if it get’s me in the door…
What would really get me in the door is telling these folks what they want to hear.
“I’ll make up your back payments and all the other cr*p - then lease back to you. You don’t have to leave”.
I don’t like that idea for a multitude of reasons, but if you like it, please tell me why?
How would you dress?
I’ll reckon I’ll dress as I always do. Marlin Perkins meets the crocodile hunter with topsiders.
Some say one should wear a tie and proper trousers.
Should I bring my pistol?
Re: Opening line for preforeclosure door kocking - Posted by Rob FL
Posted by Rob FL on April 20, 2002 at 21:27:57:
I always ask if Mr. or Mrs. xxxx is home. (I like Joe’s idea of asking for the owner though.) I then say my name is Rob and I know about the foreclosure suit and wondered if they had any plans to get it caught back up. Then I listen.
Most will try to blow you off with some excuse. I always try to see if they will entertain my “back-up” offer just in case things don’t work out. I always leave them a flyer with my info on it before I go.
Also keep in mind that subject to often won’t work with foreclosures unless they aren’t far behind. If there is no equity and/or the property is in disrepair, subject to probably won’t fly unless you have thousands to get it caught up. The solution in this case is a short sale.
Re: Opening line for preforeclosure door kocking - Posted by JoeKaiser
Posted by JoeKaiser on April 19, 2002 at 22:41:07:
Forget the tie . . .
Think “non-threatening.” That’s the main focus when you walk up to that door. You want to get a dialog started, and a suit and tie will keep that door from ever even opening.
Wear non-business attire. I prefer shorts and sandals, though I leave pucka shells and Hawaiian shirt in the closet. It’s hard to feel threatened by a guy in sandals.
The “opening line” is the easy part. Don’t sweat it. I don’t have some line down pat, but usually just start off with something like:
"Hi, is the owner around??
They?ll usually say, ?Who wants to know?? or say ?that?s me, what do you want?? or ?he?s at work.?
In case you haven?t noticed ? ?conversation? has now started . . .
Depending on the response, I adapt, but the main point I drive home goes like this:
?I stopped by to give you a ?heads up? about the foreclosure that was just filed down at the courthouse and to see if you guys need any help catching up the back payments."
The only thing I want going through the owner?s head at this state is . . . ?my, what I nice young man,? and maybe ?hey, dude, nice sandals ;-).
That?s the message I want to make clear . . . I?m here to help any way I can. Heck, I even went out of my way to give them a ?heads up,? how threatening can I possibly be?
That?s how it starts . . . how it ends is up to you.
Joe
Hi…my name is Hank… - Posted by JT-IN
Posted by JT-IN on April 19, 2002 at 21:52:47:
“and you can relax, because I left my pistol at home…”
Hank:
Of course you are joshing about the pistol, and from my experience, unless you are trolling the wrong neighborhoods, (on the other side of the tracks), there is no need to bring the “iron”.
Keep in mind, just as any other “sales typed call”, it is a numbers business. If you knock on enough doors, someone will say yes, regardless of how poor your opening line. Now, if you have a sincere attitude and approach matters in a rather humble way, your batting average WILL go up.
The stories of folks approaching preforclosures with strong-arm tactics, is way out of touch… just knock, smile and mention that you are in the business of helping folks in distress, due to foreclosure, and you wondered if they would be interested in taking 5 minutes to hear about how you could help them…? Keep in mind that, the majority will still tell you that “they have this handled”, or their “brother-in-law is buying the house”, or a whole host of other crap… and there is no way to turn these folks around. Do not fight them, just work the numbers; go see another door.
Most folks who work pre-f’s, talk themselves out of contacting homeowners, due to these mis-nomered horror stories. Yes, you may run into some jerks out there, but you will run into far more decent people, that due to some bad breaks, or their own stupidity, they are between a rock and a hard place. Most of them, you will not be able to help out of their problem, anyway. Too deep a hole…
Think of these approaches, or calls, as being a Minister, Priest or Rhabbi, and you are doing some form of social work when stopping by to chat with these wayward folks. This can actually be heartening, as long as you do not expect to score a sale on every doorstep. I would wager that if you made it a point to approach 10 or 15 homeowners per week, in the above manner, that you would have a hard time not doing a couple of deals per month… unless you make a terrible Minister-like figure. Go try this approach, and let us know how it works.
Just the way that I view things…
JT-IN
PS. As to the attire question, just wear something comfortable, and half way business-like. Forget the suit and tie, for sure. I have made some powerful calls in Jeans, as that was what I was wearing at the time… Dress is secondary to attitude.
Re: Opening line for preforeclosure door kocking - Posted by Ronald * Starr(in No CA)
Posted by Ronald * Starr(in No CA) on April 19, 2002 at 21:51:07:
Hank-------
I suggest that you put “preforeclosure” and “knock” into the search engine here on this main bulletinboard of the CREONLINE.COM website. You’ll have hours of interesting reading ahead of you.
Good InvestingRon Starr**********
Re: Opening line for preforeclosure door kocking - Posted by Clare Z
Posted by Clare Z on April 19, 2002 at 20:54:10:
I know of one successful foreclosure guy who has used “Do you want to talk about your loan?”. They know what you mean and they might be willing to share, as they are probably feeling pretty stressed, or maybe even resigned over it.
CZ
Re: Opening line for preforeclosure door kocking - Posted by ScottE
Posted by ScottE on April 20, 2002 at 08:34:19:
Hey Joe,
You mean standing in the front yard and yelling “How ya gonna keep me from buyin’ your house!” (ala Wee Willie McCorkle) won’t work?
Scott
Re: Opening line for preforeclosure door kocking - Posted by JoeKaiser
Posted by JoeKaiser on April 19, 2002 at 22:16:29:
“No,” I suspect, would be the next word uttered in that conversation.
Joe
I’d probably use a postcard for that (nt) - Posted by JoeKaiser
Posted by JoeKaiser on April 20, 2002 at 18:31:14:
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You mean don’t wear that shirt that says… - Posted by Ben (NJ)
Posted by Ben (NJ) on April 20, 2002 at 17:31:08:
“YOUR LOSS IS OUR GAIN!” lol