There are a few very common questions I get asked, and one of them is… “Marty, where do I start?” This question is asked for very good reason. There are SO MANY PLACES you can start and SO MANY WAYS to market! So where should you start?

Let’s break it down this way.

Here are the possible marketing methods:

Direct Mail (both to pre-foreclsoure list and to a pre-NOD list)
Bandit Signs
Realtor referrals
Word of mouth
Newspaper
Craigslist
Internet
Voice Broadcast
Door Knocking
etc…

So which one should you start with?

Well, let me answer this with a specific example. The latest person to ask me this marketing question was a real estate agent from Georgia. He is tight on money and for the past 6 years has been the top selling agent in his brokerage. The market has turned, and for the past 6 months, he has had a hard time selling… so what should he do?

Here is what I would do if I were him.

1. If I were him, I would contact all the agents I know. I would start in my own brokerage and find out who has expired listings, who has listings that are priced too high and probably won’t sell. Let everybody know that if somebody comes in the door (or calls) and the brokerage thinks they can’t help the homeowner, to send that person over to me. There is a VERY GOOD CHANCE that there is enough business just within the office, that I could get off to an awesome start! In fact, there might be enough business just within the office to keep me more busy than I even want to be. And here’s the best part… THE MARKETING IS FREE!!!!

2. Go to brokerages and agents outside my brokerage. Tapping into just one or two other brokerages will explode the business. Be careful, because if done correctly, you will have more business than you can handle.

Ok, so how do you structure it? That depends. Are you working the business as an agent or as an investor? If it’s as an agent, just see if you can get the listings. If the other agents consider the deals dead, then they’ll probably be more than happy just to hand them to you. Now you can call the lead and see if:

a. They want to keep their house but can’t afford the payments (LOAN MOD!!!)
b. They want to sell but owe too much (SHORT SALE!!!)

See where I’m going with this?

Ok, so what if you’re not an agent? Well, the ideas above should be exciting you, because if you’re an investor, you can use the exact same techniques. Start with agents you already have rapport with. Work some deals with them and get some testimonials, and then start working with other brokerages.

This is a much overlooked marketing method… give it a try and let me know how it works for you!

To your success!

Marty Schulting
Top Foreclosure Training
Accelerated Loan Mods
Co-Founder and Coach

Let’s briefly go over a few things you need to know about door knocking. I’m writing this brief Blog post because I want the information to get out to all of you as quickly as possible.

A few years ago, I wrote a complete course on door knocking for pre-foreclosure leads. I’m in the process of revising that course and adding a loan mod specific section to it. The course is not ready yet, but this information is so critical, that I’m going to summarize some of it right here for you.

1. You need a good opening line. Try this:

knock on the door… when homeowner comes to door…

“Hello, my name is Marty, and I’m with Accelerated Loan Mods. We help people who need help with their mortgage. We offer a variety of solutions for homeowners, including a loan modification program which typically results in lower payments, lower interest rates, and a 30 year fixed rate mortgage. This is not a refiniance, so credit scores do not play a role. Our evaluation is free of charge. Tell me a little about your situation and what we can do to help you.”

Of course, you can make that opening line a little shorter if you like, just make sure you answer the following questions to the homeowner who answers the door…
a. who you are
b. why you’re there
c. what you can do for the homeowner
d. what it costs

2. Knock only on the doors of people who are on your list. Where do you get your list? Go to www.acceleratedloanmods.com and click on the training link at the top right of the page. That link will take you to a training page where you will be able to order marketing materials (marketing materials link). That’s where you order your list.

Can you just canvas door knock? (knock on EVERY door?). Sure you can, your door knocking will be a little less effective, but you can do it.

3. Leave Behinds. We are in the process of getting you a door hanger. It will be ready in a few weeks. That will be available in the marketing section also.

Those are the highlights that will get you going.

Oh, one more thing. Don’t expect to walk away with loan mods. Sometimes the follow up calls will get you the deals… so be certain to get a phone number from the homeowner!!!!!

And remember to treat everybody like they’re your brother, sister, mother, or father.

Now go get some deals!!!!

To your HUGE success!!!

Marty Schulting
Accelerated Loan Mods
www.AcceleratedLoanMods.com

Hello again!!!

One of the things that seems to challenge people is that initial conversation with the homeowner. I have started recording my conversations with homeowners so I can provide them to you, so you can hear exactly what I say, and how I handle objections or questions.

There are two recordings below. Please listen to them in order to best understand the situation and to get the most from the recordings.

Enjoy!

Audio #1. Listen to this one first. I explain the situation.

The actual Conversation

I’ll upload more for you as the conversations happen.

To your success!!!

Marty Schulting
Top Foreclosure Training
Accelerated Loan Mods
Co-Founder and Coach

Ever wonder what Marty does day to day? Well…

…two days a week, I have the opportunity to take Milo to preschool. While he’s there, I go to my favorite coffee shop, Caribou Coffee, to do some work. Here’s an opportunity to see where I do some of my work, as well as what I’m working on today. And did you see the paper today? Wow! It gives you even MORE of a reason to learn this business!

Don’t forget to leave a comment! (Upper right of this screen).

Talk to you again soon!

Marty Schulting
Top Foreclosure Training
Accelerated Loan Mods
Co-Founder and Coach

After working non-stop for the past few weeks to get ready for 2009, I finally took some time to relax! As many of you know, in addition to being a Co-Founder and Coach for both Top Foreclosure Training and Accelerated Loan Mods, I’m also a Reservist with the Air Force where I’m a KC-135 pilot. Last Monday I went on one of our training missions to refuel the C-17. I took my flipcam with me so you could see some of the action.

I look forward to a very successful and profitable 2009 with you!

Take care,

Marty Schulting
Top Foreclosure Training
Accelerated Loan Mods
Co-Founder and Coach

This is awesome! On December 24, 2008, The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development released the “Mortgagee Letter 2008-43″. What does this mean to you, the real estate investor? Well, to summarize:

1. Change in NET to lender. First, let’s cover the “bad” part. Well, it’s sort of bad, but if you play this right, it’s going to be irrelevent to you. The original NET of 82% has changed. The new NET is 88% if sold within 30 days, 86% percent if sold within 60 days, and 84% if sold after 60 days. Why does this not REALLY matter? See #2.

2. Removal of 63% or greater property appraisal versus debt. This will help everybody! The old FHA guidelines called for the appraisal to come in at or above 63% of the loan balance plus past due interest and late fees not including attorney fees. This guideline has been removed, which opens up FHA short sales for those areas that have seen huge depreciation as well as those properties that require massive repairs!

3. Property (by exception) no longer needs to be owner occupied. What this means is that FHA will still allow a short sale, even if the property in not owner occupied. The details are in section B (Mortgagor Qualifications) in the mortgagee letter. It will be interesting to see how the lenders interpret this section over time.

4. Increased amount to Junior Liens. FHA now allows up to $2500 to Junior liens ($1000 of this comes from the Seller Incentive).

5. Up to $1000 in seller incentives. FHA will allow the homeowner to receive up to $1000 at closing as an incentive for participating in the short sale program. However, the NET to the lender must still be at or above the 88%, 86%, or 84% as discussed above.

6. Lender MUST e-mail or fax the appraisal if requested. Ever wonder if the loss mitigator is lying to you about what the appraisal came in at? Guess what, if the homeowner or the real estate agent request a copy of the appraisal, the lender MUST disclose it! Wow, this takes ALL the guesswork out of the numbers required to pay for the property. Cool, huh!

7. The discount comes off the as-is value, not the full retail. Ever wonder what number drives your discount? This isn’t necessarily a change in the guidelines, but the mortgagee letter clearly states that the lender is to take their discount off the as-is value, not the full retail value!

Holy smoke, do you see why this is so cool!?!?!? All the guesswork for your FHA deal is now gone! From now forward, you know:

- What the appraisal came in at (lender required to send you a copy of the appraisal)
- What your number is that you must pay for the property
- That the appraisal can come in at ANY number (old 63% guesswork is gone)
- You can even get vacant FHA deals done

If you haven’t done an FHA deal ever, it’s time you got one!

To your success!

Marty Schulting
Top Foreclosure Training