How many contacts attempts Do you make on pre-foreclosure Leads?

Question

I’m new to wholesaling and have been studying pre-foreclosure leads in Indianapolis.

One thing I’ve noticed is that a lot of properties show strong equity, but finding accurate owner contact information can be tougher than expected.

For those with experience:

• How many contact attempts do you usually make before moving on?

• Do you rely more on calls, direct mail, or email?

• What’s your average response rate from pre-foreclosure leads?

I’m here to learn and build real relationships in the industry. Any advice is appreciated.

Chris Seveney · Answer

I would tell you that pre-foreclosures with strong equity are probably the worst leads to follow up on, because these borrowers most likely have no place to go if they are foreclosed on or sell their home and they have significant equity. Many have emotional equity, so at the end of the day their safest and best route would be to file bankruptcy, in my opinion.

Igor Ganapolsky · Answer

Chris's point about strong equity pre-foreclosures being dead ends is exactly right. The owners have no reason to sell — they'll file bankruptcy and stay put. So the real question isn't how many contact attempts to make on pre-foreclosure leads. It's which pre-foreclosure leads are actually worth contacting.

Here's what changed my approach: instead of pulling a generic pre-foreclosure list and blasting all of them, I cross-reference with two other county databases first.

The county tax collector publishes tax delinquent property lists for free. The code enforcement office has open violation cases. The clerk of court has probate filings. When a pre-foreclosure property ALSO shows up on the tax delinquent list AND has open code violations, that's a completely different lead than a pre-foreclosure with strong equity and a well-maintained property.

The converged properties — the ones on all three county databases — are where the owner has financial stress (tax delinquent), property stress (code violations with documented repair costs), and likely life stress (the pre-foreclosure itself). Those are the owners who might actually pick up the phone.

The pre-foreclosures with strong equity and no other county flags? Chris is right — those owners will fight to stay. Don't waste your contact attempts there.

But the pre-foreclosure that's also tax delinquent AND has $15,000 in documented code enforcement violations? That owner has three independent government entities telling them the situation is unsustainable. That's a very different conversation.

So my answer to "how many contact attempts" — it depends entirely on whether you're contacting generic pre-foreclosure leads or converged distress leads. The quality of the lead determines the response rate, not the number of times you call.

One more thing: the county tax collector's tax delinquent list is free and public. You don't need a paid service to get it. Start there, then layer on the code enforcement and probate data to find the convergence.

How many contacts attempts Do you make on pre-foreclosure Leads?

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