. - Clearly identify your objectives. 

You are handing your reputation to a copywriter who doesn't understand your thesis or your investors.To break the cycle, you must flip the order:Founder-Led Strategy: Define your voice and ideal investor yourself.Prove It: Land the first few investors to validate the message.Delegate: Then hand the playbook to an agency to execute.If you can't explain why your marketing works, you don't own your business—you’re just renting your revenue.The Question: For those who have hired agencies in the past—was the biggest issue: a lack of leads, or that the content just didn't sound like you?

How do you explain the concept of the mortgage staying in their name to a homeowner in a way that is transparent but doesn't scare them off?

I'd simply have language that clearly explains the tenants are on the hook and if payment is missed you'll be treating it like any other eviction proceeding. 

That actually explains some of the discrepancies I was seeing when I tried to reconcile escrow payments against actual disbursements.

The point about "operator drift" really stood out to me—seeing a lot of people chasing shiny objects lately.

What do you do to get past the "if it pencils" phrase and they do not explain further?

The heir still technically owns the property and she's actively delaying the foreclosure process which explains why the property has been vacant for so long.

And then you have to be able to explain what you bring to the table and how your service would benefit them.

In our case, what we usually do is ask them to send us a formal signed letter explaining the specific reason why they need to pay their rent in two installments (usually because of how they get paid at work).We also ask for their permission and the contact number of their employer to verify the information.