Real Estate Investing Facts

The First Deal Jitters

By Mary Kay

Picture this. You’ve been on the phone with the homeowner many, many times trying to help them solve their financial nightmare. You’ve tried getting their existing lender to approve a loan modification. You’ve asked them to call family and friends to see if they can bail them out. You’ve had them call your mortgage broker for a refinance or a new junior loan. You’ve guided them through the process of listing their house through an agent, or doing a “for sale by owner”.

Whatever the reason, you now have a homeowner who can’t make any of these solutions work. And the owner says to you, “Hey, I’m sick and tired of trying to save this house…. Why don’t you just buy it from me?”

WOAH!!! What do you do? Are you ready to jump into the fire with both feet?

Don’t think this won’t happen. When you treat a homeowner with dignity and respect, as Alexis has taught you, you can bet that sooner or later this WILL happen. It’s not a matter of will it happen, but when will it happen!

Just two weeks ago I got a call from one of my Coaching clients (and Lab graduate) LJ. She was breathless and didn’t know what to do first. I guess you can say she had amnesia from the Lab she just took a few months ago. It was time to recap the entire process again. But that’s what I’m here for…

L J is a stickler for following directions, so after completing her Six Steps to Mastering Foreclosures, home study course and Mastering Systems Lab, she did what Alexis told her. She called neighbors and relatives first. She tried to reach him by phone. But that yielded no luck; nada; nothing. So, L J loaded up her husband on a sunny Saturday and drove to the house in default, in hopes of talking to the homeowner. Low and behold…. he came out of the house and spoke with her.

“Not to worry” the homeowner told her. “I have two or three other people already trying to help me”. Hmmm… L J begins to ask the right questions. “What happened? Why are you still in the middle of the loan process after 3 weeks? What has your lender said? What about a loan modification? Why do you think Bankruptcy is a good idea? Tell me more about this “staying in your home sale-leaseback”? Why are you dealing with someone who is trying to scam you into an illegal agreement?” She asked the right questions at the right time and listened intently to the owner’s answers.

The homeowner immediately recognized that L J knew what she was talking about and immediately bonded with her. L J set the wheels in motion and told the homeowner she would return with information regarding Sale/Lease Back Schemes.

L J had driven home and returned back to the owner’s house that same day with printed information on scams and bankruptcy. The owner then gave L J her private home and cell numbers. Now she was in.

The next step was getting the homeowner hooked up with a legitimate mortgage broker who would give an honest answer within 72 hours of the request. Can she afford to keep the home, considering her current financial picture?

One week later L J follows up with the homeowner and finds out he can’t get a loan. No job; No income; No loan – Even with 35% equity (not unless he wanted to contact a Predatory Lender). Sensing the homeowner’s frustration, L J drives to the house and the owner hands her the Trustee Sale Auction Notice that was posted on the front door a couple of days prior.

Uh oh…. L J turns to the homeowner and asks, “What’s your back up plan? Can your mom and dad help you?” He answers “No way…. Hey L J, why don’t you just buy my house and help me out of this mess? I TRUST YOU. You’re the only one who actually cared about me and tried to HELP me.”

L J and I got to work by phone handling the details. We crunched the numbers, wrote the contract, opened escrow, reviewed title, found and negotiated with her contractor, and created a plan to sell the property – all the stuff she learned from Alexis just a few months ago, but had so easily forgotten. This is a scary time for a new investor. I am so glad I could be there for L J, to walk her through it. Deal now done.

Great job L J! Onto the next homeowner who needs our help!

Your Friend,

Coach Mary Ka

Foreclosure Properties

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Tags: deal jitters, first deal, first deal jitters, foreclosure properties