BiggerPockets

How current was your property information? If its old, the motivated sellers probably already called someone.

Mail continues to get less and less response. We live in an online world. I ended all snail mail 7 years ago and have gone totally virtual.

Online or direct contact in person. Telephone is becoming obsolete. Think text messaging, social networking, etc.

I had a terrible response when I started with Pre-foreclosures as well. I couldn't understand it, these people should have the motivation!!

A couple things that helped increase it..
Invitation envelopes, Handwritten envelopes, and mail merge. Not many people will throw away a handwritten card in an invitation envelope. I know I have never gotten handwritten junk mail. In every letter I include the date of Lis Pendens, their note holder, their name and address. Most of the time they get my piece before they get served.

I changed my copy 4 times in 4 months and slowly saw an increase. Keep it up, you only need one to pay for all the letters.

I've heard adding a 1 or 2cent stamp on the envelope increases response but I have yet to try it.

My current copy -

Dear «First_Name»,
Time is running out…
and time is your worst enemy right now.
I'm sure you know by now that «Company_Name» plans to foreclose on your home at
«Address_Line_1»
They have hired an attorney and filed a
Lis Pendens against you on «Title».
You don't have to sit back and watch your house get taken from you!!!!
We are in the business of solving real estate problems. That means that we have the solutions to help stop your home from going into foreclosure AND to get you cash back in the process. It doesn't matter if you owe more than what the house is worth, or how much repairs are needed.
So «First_Name», what are your options?
-We can help negotiate your back payments over time with your lender
-We can help you "quick sell" your house - even if you owe more than the house is worth!
-Refinance the home - regardless of how far behind on payments you are
-Find another home that's more affordable - We've got other properties available

These are just a few of the many options that are available to you. The bottom line is that you DON'T have to lose your house. In most cases, we can stop foreclosure from happening - because as you know, a foreclosure on your record can ruin your credit for up to 10 years, making it difficult to get another house, car, credit card, are any type of credit whatsoever.
The call to find out your options is free. It doesn't cost you a dime to find out what your options are, so don't wait until the last minute…
CALL NOW!
Sincerely,
Donovan Ryckis
Core Property Group, llc

P.S. «First_Name», it doesn't matter if you want to sell your house or keep it - we can help you. Call or log on to our website now for your free report.

So, text messaging, Twitter, Linked In, Facebook... How do you use those to contact people on a pre-foreclosure list?

I disagree with the above information that mail & phone does not work. I still have success (Mostly through direct phone calls).

Aside from using spokeo.com it would be pretty difficult to contact these homeowners via social websites as some of the responses have suggested.

The internet is a great way to procure leads, but I use this in addition to my direct contact approach.

Realty Robot said:

"On the MLS, look for expired listings that are currently in pre-foreclosure by comparing with your pre-foreclosure list."

How does one find pre-foreclosure data? Or more importantly, how does one find accurate and timely pre-foreclosure data?

Thanks,
Reid

Great advice Jason. Thanks for the tip.

1 letter to 200 people is just not enough to generate a response. If you are confident that you have a good (and timely) list. I would send at LEAST 2 more letters before I gave up on the list.

Why? Because these people are probably paralyzed into inaction... They're in a bad situation and unfortunately most people are inclined to continue doing what they were doing before, which is NOTHING.

If the list is good and you have committed to several mailings, you should examine the content itself. General copywriting rules would apply: don't try to sell the drill, sell the hole.

@DonovanJoe has a good sample to use...

DonovanJoe:

In your letter, the line that refers to "They have hired an attorney and filed a Lis Pendens against you on «Title»."

What is the "title" you're referring to?

Thanks.

Lynn (FL)