Getting Rich with Bank Foreclosures

Posted on October 14th, 2009 by saman

bank-foreclosures

As bad as the real estate bust has been for people who have lost their homes, it’s been no day at the beach for real estate investors. But when the going gets tough, the tough get going (to coin a phrase!). With the financial picture getting brighter every day, the huge number of bank-owned home foreclosures out there is presenting equally huge opportunities.

Opportunities for whom…? For those of us with the right know-how and can-do skills to profit from them in a very big way!

It All Starts With a Plan

As with any business opportunity, capitalizing on the bank foreclosure market begins with developing a business model (pricing; profitability; marketing &; sales expenses, other overhead; competition), and a business plan (what to do, and why; when to do it, and how).

Your business planning needs to include a detailed marketing strategy with as many creative promotional, advertising, sales, client-building and other business development ideas as you can think of. Looking for tips to the test?

Try These:

Contacting banks for available properties! You will first want to have met as many local bankers and loan officers as you can to present your credentials, experience and reputation. Once you’ve built your credibility with these key players, brief them on your business model and marketing plan, and show them how helping your business will enhance theirs.

· Identifying the most attractive foreclosed properties in your area. The tighter your market focus, the better the results. Again, working with and trough local bankers will put you on the firmest ground in the foreclosure market.

· Obtaining home inspection reports. Here’s another area where your rapport with bank officers pays off. This information about homes is of critical importance to prospective buyers.

· Identifying qualified prospective homebuyer prospects. Do everything from online advertising and Web searches to leaving stacks of business cards at banks, credit unions, retail stores, and car dealerships. That is, wherever people are buying! Your objectives…? Getting interested buyers to contact you!

· Seminar selling is a terrific, cost-effective way to reach your marketplace. Part of your plan for “filling the room” will be deciding if you’ll have to feed attendees to get them in the door. Typically, if what you’re selling is attractive enough you can usually skip the meals! Just be sure your seminar presentation uses plenty of visuals, with handouts; that you ask plenty of questions (and have someone there to keep track of who asks what questions, and why), and that meet briefly with all seminar attendees one-on-one before they leave. That’s the best way to weed out the window shoppers from the serious buyers, and improve your closing ratio.

· Converting qualified prospects into customers and clients. Use simple, direct telephone scripts for all contacts (do not wing it!), from breaking the ice with interested callers, pre-qualifying them as prospects, inviting them to seminars, arranging to meet them at properties in which they’ve shown an interest, and following up with them to the point of sale, and beyond (customers buy from you once; clients will buy from you again and again!).

The key to the bank foreclosure market will be getting ahead of the curve. Trust me: Bank foreclosure marketing is not going to a neglected marketing opportunity for very long! As the financial picture brightens, the big prizes will go to those who are heads-up enough to strike before the iron is too hot to handle!