Conference Call Recap 1/5/09

From now on, I thought it would be helpful if someone posted a recap on the blog of each conference call so those who couldn't attend get the learnings and so our learnings every week are not lost. I suggest we all switch turns on doing the recap. I'll volunteer to do the first one from what I recall. Please add things I forgot. Sound good?

Recap of 1/5/09
Dealing with 2nd Mortgages
- Send the same paperwork to the 2nd mortgage lender as you did the 1st mortgage but with different cover letter.
- Tell the 2nd lender that the first mortgage has accepted (or is going to accept) considerably less than what's owed on the first mortgage and there is little funds available to other lien holders.
- However, it's best to play it nice and be the mediary. Don't rub it in their faces.
- Be the 2nd lender's hero by positioning yourself in their eyes as fighting for them to get more money from the 1st lender.

What Marketing is Working?
- I (Jordan) gave some results of different marketing lists and letters I've been using to market my business.
- Predictive NOD lists (pulled using a variety of credit sources and predictors) have not been successful. I find many of these homeowners are not anywhere near default and not at all motivated.
- Pre-NOD lists (30-60-90 day; homeowners behind in payments but not yet received NOD) can be successful. I got many calls from these lists and some people I may be able to work with. I think these lists would have been much more successful with a more clear (rather than vague) letter about what I do.
- NOD lists did not produce many calls. The calls I did get were all last ditch efforts with a trustee's sale scheduled within 1 week. Possibly a more creative letter would have been more effective.
*Note: I have recieved about 130 responses from the 1500 letters I sent out (almost 9%). Half of the letters said something like "I will buy your house" and half were from my realtor saying "I have a buyer who's interesting in buying your house". The former got more calls.
**Learning: I used a phone number on my letters that went straight to voicemail and emailed me when someone called. However, about 60% of callers did not leave a voicemail. If they had called my cell phone, at least I would have had a chance to speak to 60% more homeowners.

Effective places to find homeowners in default
- Several people (including myself) seem to have had some success with subscription-based investor/home posting websites. I'm guessing 95% of investors aren't willing to pay a little to get access to such websites. This leaves the door open. My experience is that most of these people have never been called.
- Most cities offer homeowners relief information and services one Saturday a month outside the City Housing Division. This can be a great place to find homeowners seeking assistance.
- Mortgages brokers. They get called every day from people who want to refinance their home but can't because they have no equity. These people drop off their radar but can easily be referred to you.
- Real estage agents with existing short sale listings. Keep trying, many are skeptical. I've personally found several agents who will probably give their next short sale property to me as a result of a 15 minute conversation over coffee.

Influencing the BPO
- Think of the things that would completely turn you off from buying a house if you were the end buyer and then do some research on the Web to find these things in your property's area.
- Sexual predator lists
- Narcotics anonymous meetings
- Sober living housing
- Crime indexes or recent crime reports
- You also might want to remind the BPO agent of the new law that went into effect Jan. 1 about it being illegal for BPO agents to inflate a BPO, force the property into foreclosure, and then hopefully get an REO listing (see the blog posting).

I know there was MUCH more we discussed, but that's all my exhausted mind can remember right now. Please add to this post by commenting on it. Thanks!