REI Marketing Tips

I spent a few days this past weekend at Preston Ely’s FreedomSoft event.  It was a lot of fun, great networking, and I got to meet a bunch of great people.  Actually before FreedomSoft even began, we had a small Mastermind at our home in Encinitas.  We had Darrel from here in San Diego, who is absolutely KILLING IT with short sales right now.  We also had Ed from IL, and Tim and his wife Suzanne from TX.  Also joining us was Minx from NYC, one of my coaching students who started with me last year.  Here’s a picture of us:

San Diego Mastermind 2010

We all shared a lot and learned a ton from each other, and came away with specific action plans to grow our business in 2010 to new heights.

The purpose of this blog post however, is to give you some insight into what is the best way to convert a lead into an appointment, and then into a deal.

I have a new realtor on my team, and I recently got a lead from one of my websites.  I had the realtor qualify the deal over the phone, and set up the appointment.  I had put him through some training, and I explained to him that you should ALWAYS email the client the paperwork in advance of the face to face meeting.  I do this because:

1. Short sale packets can be extremely large and overwhelming for someone to sit down and sign all at once, right away.  Letting the homeowner review the documents in advance can help you close the deal on the first in home visit.
2. I tell the homeowner that they should review all of the documents in advance of my arrival.  That way I can clarify any questions they have either before, on the phone, or once I arrive.  If I send the documents in advance, it removes the “I want to think about it” objection (more on how this isn’t even a legitimate objection in California)
3. The homeowner needs to gather all of their documents such as paystubs, bank statements, tax returns, etc.  By giving this to them as a “homework” assignment a few days before the meeting, they have an opportunity to gather all of this information in time, so you can submit a complete, accurate short sale packet the first time.
4. Even if the homeowner DOESN’T review the information, when I arrive for the appointment, I am in much more control of the situation, because I’ll just assume that they reviewed everything and printed it all out.  In fact, if the homeowner hasn’t looked at anything, it allows me to close the deal that much more easily because of the homeowner’s feeling of obligation to the time and effort we spent preparing the documents to send to them.

So here’s what happened: my realtor said that he spoke with the homeowner, but he DID NOT send him the short sale documents in advance.  I told him that when he shows up for the meeting with a huge stack of paperwork, it could be very intimidating for the homeowner to sign everything.

So my agent heads out there with paperwork in hand, but the homeowner has never seen it in advance.

So guess what happens?

The agent arrives, the homeowner says “I want to think about it” and he doesn’t pick up the paperwork.  My agent just wasted time driving to an appointment and then leaving with no deal in hand!  What a waste of everyone’s time.

I think that this convinced him to believe me and he’ll now start sending the short sale packet to the homeowner in advance!

My advice to you, moving forward, would be to send the package to the homeowner in advance.  Here’s a little script you can use when on the phone.

“Well Mr. Homeowner I look forward to meeting you on Thursday at 4pm at 123 main st in San Diego.  Now what I’m going to do it to send you a list of all of the documents that you’ll need to collect.  Things like paystubs, bank statements, etc.  Don’t worry about writing it down now, I’ll email you a list.  I’ll also email you all of our agreements.  I would like for you to print them out, and review them BEFORE I arrive.  If you have any questions, I’ll be able to answer them in advance, on the phone, or I can answer them for you this Thursday at 4pm.  This way, our meeting time will be much faster, and you’ll have had a chance to review everything before our meeting.  Doesn’t that sound like a good idea and the best use of our time, Mr. Homeowner?”

Now going back to my realtor, who didn’t send the package in advance, here is one sales strategy that you can employ, and how I would have handled that situation.  Here in CA the homeowner is given a 5 day right of refusal.  This means that up to 5 days after signing the deal, they can change their mind and back out.  So had I have been on the appointment, I would have closed the deal by telling the homeowner:

“Mr.  Homeowner, I know you want to think about this.  In fact, so do I, and so does the state of California.  You see, by law, you get a “5 day right of refusal.  That means that even after you sign all of these documents today, you have 5 days to changes your mind, and cancel.  We both know the foreclosure clock is ticking, and I’m out here anyway.  So to make best use of our time, and the time that is ticking with your home headed towards foreclosure, let’s get all of these agreements executed today.  That way, if you decide in the next days you want to cancel, no problem.  Otherwise, we’ll have to come back, and we’ll lose all of that time.  I’m sure you’ll agree that sounds like the best plan to help stop this foreclosure as soon as possible.”

Well there you have it.  But I would like to hear back from you.  Please tell me what state you’re in, and what you do: send the paperwork in advance, or show up with it and try and close the deal right then and there.  I’d love to hear what you’re doing and what’s working for you.

Have you ever received a lead for your preforeclosure investing business from the Better Business Bureau?  We have!  In fact, we’ve experienced an uptick in leads from them recently, and a new lead as fresh as this morning led me to write a blog post about it.

Unfortunately for those of us in the foreclosure prevention industry, there’s been more than a few bad apples who have spoiled the bunch.  Foreclosure scams have made things difficult for many honest, legitimate investors who run their business with nothing but integrity.

One of the things that I suggest to new investors is to immediately get their business approved with the Better Business Bureau.  It does cost money ($515 last time I checked) and does take time to get approved (1 year for online accreditation) but it is WELL worth it.

If you’re a new investor but you can tell a homeowner that you have a “Perfect Track Record” with the Better Business Bureau that is just HUGE for your business!

Not set up with the Better Business Bureau yet?  No problem!  Did you realize that when you subscribe to The Foreclosure Marketing Machine you instantly become part of the SaveMeFromForeclosure.com “family” and can now tell homeowners that SaveMeFromForeclosure.com has a perfect track record with the Better Business Bureau and an “A” rating? It’s HUGE helping you close deals!

Want to INSTANTLY get a foreclosure prevention website, a perfect track record with the BBB, outsourced loan mod and short sale partners, use of a new professional video, “done for you” press releases, exclusive access to leads, new free reports, advertorials, door knocker scripts plus a whole lot more?  Check out www.TheForeclosureMarketingMachine.com right now and you’ll be amazed the program that we’ve put together for you!  In fact, not only will the BBB exposure help generate more leads for you, but you’ll get EXCLUSIVE access to all of the leads in your county, PLUS we’ll even give you 100 FREE leads every month of homeowners who are either 30, 60 or 90 days past due on their mortgages (your choice).

There has never been a better time to set up your business for success in 2010, and reserving your very own SaveMeFromForeclosure.com territory is one of them.  You can check out everything right now, including a very special “case study” video right now at www.TheForeclosureMarketingMachine.com.

No matter what, your business, especially in the world of preforeclosures, needs an independent 3rd party to verify its validity to prospective clients.  What are you doing to address this?  You can build it yourself (you should), or you can have it done instantly for you (you should do this as well).

Dreama and I got the final report back on all of the people who purcashed FreedomSoft last night.

We decided to film a quick video, with a special guest, to announce the winners of the two contests.
Without further ado, here are the winners of the 2 contests:

We had an absolute blast during the contest, and congratulations to everyone who entered.

Dreama and I really looking forward to meeting all of the FreedomSoft Bonus prize winners here at our Mastermind in sunny San Diego, CA.

Also, special congratulations to Ken Hong, who selected www.unif2004.org as his charity of choice for our donation to the Haitian Relief Effort.  Dreama and I are proud to make a donation from SaveMeFromForeclosure.com

Dreama and I have decided to up the ante for anyone who orders FreedomSoft through out special link at www.REIMarketingTips.com/freedomsoft. In addition to the 2 original bonuses, we’ve added 2 more bonuses. Watch the video to find out exactly what they (you could win a new computer, and do something charitable!)

(Actually, before you watch the video, make sure that you grab the FREE business blueprints that Preston & Pete giveaway right here. I’ve personally been through this video and had a few “ah-ha” moments and implemented things into my business already. Get the blueprints here, if you haven’t already)

New, Improved Amazing, Insane Bonus #1:

Private Networking & Mastermind Event at Justin & Dreama’s Ocean Front Beach Home.

When you purchase the Platinum (VIP) version of FreedomSoft by visiting http://www.REIMarketingTips.com/freedomsoft Preston is going to invite you to 3 day FreedomSoft event in March in San Diego, CA. Justin & Dreama are going to host a special VIP Mastermind event at their private ocean front beach home for people to come and mastermind. This special 1 day Mastermind event will be held the day BEFORE the FreedomSoft event begins (and if you missed out the video of how amazing the location of the mastermind is, watch the first 40 seconds of the first video I did):

• Learn what’s working right now
• Learn what’s not working right now
• Discover how Justin & Dreama travel all of the time and enjoy life
• Meet other like-minded investors, superstarts, and “A” players
• Hot tub, swim, surf, cocktail hour and bonfires
• Exclusive access to pick Justin & Dreama’s brain about how they have built a real estate investing business in 3 different markets
• Plus much, much more

New, Improved Amazing, Insane Bonus #2:

Waived Set-Up Fee For Your Very Own SaveMeFromForeclosure.com County

When you purchase the Platinum (VIP) version of FreedomSoft by visiting http://www.REIMarketingTips.com/freedomsoft Justin & Dreama will WAIVE your $2,497 set-up fee to get your very own county at SaveMeFromForeclosure.com. To see exactly what is included in your SaveMeFromForeclosure.com county please visit http://www.TheForeclosureMarketingMachine.com. We have NEVER made this offer before, so this is a fantastic chance for you to grab this.

New, Improved Amazing, Insane Bonus #3:

Get entered into a draw to win a brand new Dell Inspiron Netbook computer

New, Improved Amazing, Insane Bonus #4:

For every single order place at http://www.REIMarketingTips.com/freedomsoft Justin & Dreama will make a donation to the relief effort in Haiti. To make things even more interesting, if you are the FIRST person to order after this video is placed on the Internet, just forward us the name of the charity of your choice, and we’ll put EVERY single donation that we make to the charity that you chose!

DISCLOSURES:

• If you buy Freedsoft through my affiliate link, Preston pays me a commission
• To qualify for the bonuses, you MUST order the Platinum (VIP) version of the software.  If you purchase the GOLD or SILVER level of the software you WILL NOT be eligible for my bonuses
• Once you activate your SaveMeFromForeclosure.com county you will NOT have to pay a set-up fee, however, there is a monthly fee associated with each county that you will have to pay.  To see a list of available counties, please visit www.TheForeclosureMarketingMachine.com

FreedomSoft is the lastest and greatest software to hit the planet and was developed by Preston Ely from Real Freedom Properties. I’ve put together a “NEVER DONE BEFORE” bonus package that you’ll get if you pick up a copy of FreedomSoft through my link.  NOTE THAT YOU MUST SIGN UP FOR THE PLATINUM (VIP) version of FreedomSoft to qualify for my bonus. Watch the video below to get the details:

FreedomSoft launches to the public on Thursday, January 21^st at 12:07pm EST (9:07am PST). When you purchase the Platinum (VIP) version of FreedomSoft through my special link at http://www.REIMarketingTips.com/freedomsoft you’ll qualify the following amazing, insane, bonus package:

Amazing, Insane Bonus #1:

Private Networking & Mastermind Event at Justin & Dreama’s Ocean Front Beach Home.

When you purchase the Platinum (VIP) version of FreedomSoft by visiting http://www.REIMarketingTips.com/freedomsoft Preston is going to invite you to 3 day FreedomSoft event in March in San Diego, CA. Dreama & I are going to host a special VIP Mastermind event at our private ocean front beach home for people to come and mastermind.  This special 1 day Mastermind event will be held the day BEFORE the FreedomSoft event begins:

• Learn what’s working right now
• Learn what’s not working right now
• Meet other like-minded investors, superstarts, and “A” players
• Hot tub, swim, surf, cocktail hour and bonfires
• Exclusive access to pick our brains about how they have built a real estate investing business in 3 different markets
• Discover how we travel all of the time and enjoy life
• Plus much, much more

Amazing, Insane Bonus #2:

Waived Set-Up Fee For Your Very Own SaveMeFromForeclosure.com County

When you purchase the Platinum (VIP) version of FreedomSoft by visiting http://www.REIMarketingTips.com/freedomsoft we will WAIVE your $2,497 set-up fee to get your very own county at SaveMeFromForeclosure.com. To see exactly what is included in your SaveMeFromForeclosure.com county please visit http://www.TheForeclosureMarketingMachine.com. We have NEVER made this offer before, so this is a fantastic chance for you to grab this.

DISCLOSURES:

• If you buy Freedsoft through my affiliate link, Preston pays me a commission
• To qualify for the bonuses, you MUST order the Platinum (VIP) version of the software.  If you purchase the GOLD or SILVER level of the software you WILL NOT be eligible for my bonuses
• Once you activate your SaveMeFromForeclosure.com county you will NOT have to pay a set-up fee, however, there is a monthly fee associated with each county that you will have to pay.  To see a list of available counties, please visit www.TheForeclosureMarketingMachine.com
  

Just a quick reminder that I’m hosting a FREE training teleseminar tonight with a national Title, Closing & Escrow Expert to discuss the latest updates with what’s going on with short sale flips.  All of the details can be found right here, including dial-in and webcast information:

To listen live by phone you can dial 813-262-0467 and use conference ID 686172 or you can listen for free, online at http://www.attendthisevent.com/Classic/?eventid=10876476

This is a free training call, and NOTHING will be sold.  On this teleseminar tonight here’s just a few of the things that we’ll be covering:

1.    Are Option Contracts Dead?
-What’s the best paperwork for me?
(Option Contract Vs. Purchase Agreement)
-How to use Addendums that work (to get your files to be
seen as “legitimate” in the eyes of your lender
-Disclosure! (Why not having the proper disclosures in
place could land you in a very bad place…)

2.     Are Back-to-Back Closings A Thing of the Past?
-How to structure them for success (and what lenders won’t
even consider them)
-Secrets of Transactional funding requirements (how to
ensure that the funds show up, your deal closes, and you
get paid)
-The single biggest secret to becoming the “Owner of Record”
(Hint: if you mess this up, you won’t be able to sell the
property to your end buyer)
-The surprising truth about what other options are
developing (get the information to remain on the cutting
edge of doing short sale flips)

3.     30-Day Closing Restrictions Are Being Enforced!
-WARNING: We are starting to see a Return of Funds
-The shocking truth about what happens if you are subject
to a “Return of Funds”, and what it means to your deal)

4.     Understanding and Correctly Using Business Entities.
-The secrets to closing as an LLC that the other big-time
investors don’t want you to know
-The simple trick to keeping your entity valid and up to date
-The one thing you must never do when closing a deal
(hint: we’ll be explaining why you can’t use your DBA)

5.     FHA Waived the 90-Day Rule!
-How to understand what it means in short sale flips
-What we learned when we took a closer look at the waiver
(And What are the new restrictions, if any)
-The single biggest impact on the “C” Lenders
-The surprising truth about Predatory Practices (and whether
or not you should be concerned)
-How does the FHA define ‘Flipping’ (and whether or not they
consider it illegal)
-How to “get around” the 20% guideline in the waiver (it’s not
as difficult as you think)
-Understanding “The seller holds title to the property” (and
knowing how to get around this clause for your back-to-back
closings)

Excited?

You should be.  Remember, this training is ALL-CONTENT.
NOTHING IS FOR SALE (however you can feel free to send in
thank you emails when we’re done)

Remember, get the call details and ask your questions here:

http://www.attendthisevent.com/Classic/?eventid=10876476

Remember you can ask questions as well, in advanc, and during the call.

Great news for all short sale investors: FHA just announced that they are NO LONGER requiring 90 day seasoning for people to purchase properties.

So what does this mean for you?  Let’s break it down into the most simple terms.

Many people who were using the technique of using short sales for “back-to-back” closings had difficulty in finding “end buyers” who could be approved for financing, because FHA wouldn’t allow them to buy these homes.

In other words, investors were finding it increasinly difficult to find an “end buyer” for their “back-to-back” closings because that end buyer was NOT allowed to use FHA financing (per FHA guidelines).

Well come February 1st 2010 the FHA has decided to WAIVE that for a 1 year period.

You can read the entire waiver directly on HUD’s website right here.

Here are some hilights:

• 90 day seasoning rule waived for 1 year beginning February 1st 2010
• No pattern of previous flipping activity exists for the subject property (ie no multiple flips within the past 12 months)
• The property was marketed “openly and fairly” by MLS, auction, FSBO, etc
• If the increase in price is over 20% of the seller’s acquisition cost, a 2nd appraisal may be required
• All transactions must be arms-length, with no identity of interest between the buyer and seller or other parties participating in the sales transaction

More directly from the HUD website:

The policy change will permit buyers to use FHA-insured financing to purchase HUD-owned properties, bank-owned properties, or properties resold through private sales. This will allow homes to resell as quickly as possible, helping to stabilize real estate prices and to revitalize neighborhoods and communities.

Note the last sentence in the paragraph above: “This will allow homes to resell as quickly as possible, helping to stabilize real estate prices and to revitalize neighborhoods and communities.”

That tells me that HUD and other lending institutions are finally starting the see the value that short sale and preforeclosure investors are bringing when it comes to rebuilding America’s housing market.

This is GREAT news for you, because now your end buyers are allowed to use FHA financing!

To give you a better understanding of this, and the ever changing landscape of short sale investing and flipping, please join me for a free, content-packed, special training teleseminar this Wednesday evening, January 20th at 6pm PST/9pm EST.

On this call I will be join by one of the nation’s leading title company experts, who is currently closing deals in all 50 states!  My special guest and I are nto only going to be discussing this groundbreaking announcement from the FHA, but also discussing short sale flips, closings, HUD1’s, title companies and insurance, back-to-back closings, working with realtors, plus MUCH much more.

Please note that this content only teleseminar will be ALL audio.  It will NOT be a webinar.  Also please note that there is no registration.  You’ll be able to either dial-in OR listen via the Internet.  Also, you can ask questions about ANY do to with short sale investing.  There is a question box on the teleseminar page.

I am looking forward to having one of America’s leading short sale closing and title experts on the line with me this Wednesday evening, January 20th at 6pm PST/7pm MST/8pm CST/9pm EST.  Get your questions ready, and I’ll “see” you on the call!

I sincerely hope that everyone who reads my blog and my emails has a wonderful holiday season.

No matter what holiday you celebrate, whether it’s Christmas, Kwanza, Hannukah or anything else, I truly hope that you and your friends and family have a wonderful holiday.

What has become annual holiday tradition is a present from me to you. This year, it’s a training video and a PDF that I recently did titled “5 Ways To Get A Deal Without Spending A Penny”.

Many times I’m asked how someone can get started investing if they have no marketing budget. Well this PDF and video should get you on your way.

This training is exactly the type of stuff that comes to you in print and on a DVD in my Foreclosure Master’s Coaching club. It’s only $49.95 a month, but you can get a free trial in it by visiting this page, or clicking on the banner at the top of this page.

That’s all for now. Dreama, Stella, Sebastian and I are making the move, and we’ll be leaving Vancouver on December 31st and arriving in San Diego January 5th. To keep us with us, our move, and life and business in general, you can follow me on Twitter, friend me on Facebook, and you can also follow Dreama on Twitter and friend her on Facebook.

Here’s the links to the PDF and video again.

Happy Holidays!

I’m hosting Mike Warren for a very special webinar this Thursday night, December 3rd, at 6pm PST/9pm EST. We recorded a very special video to invite you to join us, if you haven’t already registered. If you think that Mike is animated and excited, wait until you see me!

The topic is new and exciting, and something we’ve never talked about before: getting options (for only $1) on liens and judgments against real estate.

I had a chance over Thanksgiving to personally review Mike’s course, and I can tell you that this is a strategy that we will absolutely be implementing in our real estate investing business once we get settled in our new home in San Diego in January. It’s easy, and PROFITABLE!

Join Mike & I this Thursday night, December 3rd, so you can discover one of the best real estate investing stategies I’ve seen in while. Click here to register, and we’ll see you at 6pm PST/9pm EST for this webinar.

I hope that everyone today, no matter where you live, has a great Thanksgiving. One thing that I’m very thankful for is that when I got started in real estate investing, Dreama was working a full time job while I was “figuring out” how to creatively invest in real estate.

It wasn’t always easy, but we (thanks to her) built a successful business that enabled her to quit her job.

I know that many of your aren’t fortunate enough to have that kind of support, so recently I did a training on how you can get started investing in real estate if your marketing budget is $0. If you don’t have a lot of money to spend on marketing your real estate investing business, you need to watch this video.

First, download the PDF that’s the profit map that accompanies this.

Then print out the PDF, and take notes on it while you watch the video.

Happy Thanksgiving!

By the way, if you enjoyed this video, this is exactly what you get delivered to your home, each and every month, as part of my Foreclosure Masters Coaching Club. In addition, you get a live coaching call each and every month. You can take a test drive of this for only $7.95 and get a DVD and a CD shipped directly to your door. Sign up now.