DOOR KNOCKING #1

Hello everyone,

I want to know does anyone do door knocking, and have they been successful?

My money is really limited so I knock on doors.

Does any one have any suggestions on how to approach the homeowners.

I was listening to this tele-seminar, and the speaker said I should try to do a forbearance agreement with the bank to help out the homeowner charge $500.

I thought the homeowner had to do that!

How often does a bank do that?

I’ve never personally done this myself but I did know this investor that started off her business this way going door to door and she swears by this method. She’s tolled me that this is how she has been able to help most people. Good Luck!

Door Knocking is Great, espiscially if you hire others to do it for you.

I’m new to REI, haven’t even made my first deal yet but Door knocking on Preforeclosures seems pretty brazen to me. I couldn’t imagine anyone being receptive to someone coming to their house (looking to purchase it for pennies on the dollar) while they’re vulnerable and in the process of losing it. Some might say that sending a letter is just as intrusive but at least you’re giving the home owner the opportunity to deal with it on their terms.

Most seasond experts all agree that door knocking is the most effective & cost effective way to get pre-foreclosures. Because, the person is flooded with mailings, and now they get to talk to some nice person without having to be proactive. It may sound brazen, but homeowners about to be foreclosed on are often very complimintary because they’ve run out of options, and you’re comming to them willing to get them out of this situation fast.
Don’t be afraid of door knocking, it’s very effective and freindly if done correctly.

I think door knocking is the VERY best way. It’s better to pre-screen your targets as much as you can…call on the most promising first. As STORM stated, people are flooded with mailings, etc. If you get your leads quickly, you can have the deal wrapped up before the flood starts. A couple of hints when door knocking:
-Develop some common ground with the homeowner (pets, flowers, cars, anything)
-Don’t say the F(oreclosure) word until the homeowner says it
-Gather as much info as possible, schedule a follow-up, and follow through
-Be professional, understated, and dress casually. Humor can break the ice.
-If I’m invited in, I always ask if they have received any mailings, etc. I tell them that I’m always interested in my competition, and give them $1 for each mailing they give me. (it gets a bunch of competition out of the house)

It takes a strong will to do it…we all hate rejection, especially face to face.
Remember, though, it’s BY FAR the best way.

Good Luck
Bob

HI, I have done door nocking with few success. I take with me my business card + some flayers that I made that say " avoid foreclosure do not loose your equity" When I talk to them I mostly get, I already have someone working with me, I am going to send the payment tomorrow or something else. I try to get their phone numbers to do a follow up call but 1 out of 10 gives you their phone number. These leads are fresh out of the county court they are maybe 1 to 3 days old from the recording date. Is it feasable to put ad in a realiable news paper or one of those coupon booklets?? Anybody doing something else…

It’s much more effective to NOT use courthouse leads for DOOR KNOCKING, use those for other promos.
The key to door knocking is getting there BEFORE it ever gets to the courthouse.
PRE-FORCLOSURE, while the person is scrambling, does not know what to do and you walk in a show them a good solution.
Go knocking in neighborhoods where there is a lot foreclosures, abandon homes, etc.

Storm-

noobie question. So you just knock on people’s door and ask them if they’re having a hard time paying their mortgage and tell them how to avoid foreclosure?

there’s a little more science to it than that, but basically you’re choosing the right neighborhoods and going to every door.
The question your asking them is NOT are YOU having trouble…
But "I’ve heard there are people in this neighboorhood who may be having trouble with their mortgage, and need to get out before they forclose…Do you know anyone around here is this situation? This not only gets them to tell you about their neighbors, but allows them to start asking questions without having blatently admited they are having problems themselves.
The real success is when you hire others to do this for you, and you’re just comming in on the tail end of the deal.
Storm-

Door knocking may be a better method, I am about to give up send letter to the owner because it doesn’t work. But how do you hire someone to do the leg work for you? Do you posted on the newspaper, and what qualification should I look for?

I’m not really the expert on the topic, I learned it from a course which told about how to do it by Dan Doran.

Basically, you’re hiring that are go-getters and willing go out and work the streets from the leads you give them. Normal hiring qualifications apply.

Door knocking on pre-foreclosures is the most effective method if it is done right. I buy many properties every year doing this. Also, you are actually helping out homeowners with no other options.

This is more good info. I might have to try and get the cajones to do this.

Here’s a question: If the owner is currently living at a different address, do you still knock on the door of the new address? Do you handle it differently?

Yes,

I handle it the same or call them by phone if they are located out of area. Remember, it is unlikely that they will shoot you (Ha!Ha!) or even recognize you if they saw you on the street next week. This is purely a numbers game with a little finesse on the contact and negotiating techniques. Also, remember, you must get your feet wet and realize that if you fail or get rejected it is nothing personal against you and use it as a learning experience.

TWK

I wanted to bring up the forbearance that was mentioned several post ago.

I spent about a year helping home owners stay in their home. There are three main ways to put a foreclosure on hold and give the home owner a chance to get back on track. The Forbearance, a Loan Modification (can only be done if the property has at least 30% equity, and the other is a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy. All of which a home owner has to qualify for.

I no longer help save homes, I now go door to door with the intentions to buy. When talking to the home owner I offer to give them solutions to save their home if this is what they want (free of charge). The chances are they are not going to save their home. Which, at this time I have created trust and a very good rapport with them.

Ok, im a newbie in the REI game, and I’ve spent a few Saturdays knocking on a few doors. I got the information from a weekly publishing of a county newspaper that lists information and what day the house is being foreclosed on. Is that not pre-foreclosure? If not, where do i FIND preforeclosures? Most of the places I visited, people were either a) not home b) rude c) new owners. What do I say, how do i basically do this? I dress casual, am very friendly and happy, and offer help. I’m itching to get started here, and am I taking the right steps?