happened to be a distant relative of mine. She was so angry and upset, and I was so embarrassed that I sent her an actual handwritten letter to apologize. Save yourself the trouble and don’t bring yellow letters anywhere near your probate deal. Don’t Automate Your Responses Here’s yet another lesson I had to learn the hard way. When you put your contact information in the letter you're sending to the names on your probate list, do not include a number that sends them to a 24-hour hotline or an answering service. Much like with yellow letters, while answering services work in other deals, they are bad news in the probate process. If a person has lost a loved one, especially an elderly person whose spouse recently passed away, they don’t want to talk to an answering service; they want to talk to you! The probate letter is the only piece of marketing I have going out that has people calling me on my personal cell phone number. Ask the Magic Question When I get calls from the probate letter, I start the call by saying, “First, before we discuss your desires and the situation regarding your property, I want to express my condolences. I’m sorry for your loss.” Remember, it’s not what you say, it’s how you say it. You cannot come off like a salesman. You need to be sincere and genuinely sorry for their loss. Be sure to pause and give the other person time to respond. Then, after you’ve talked about that for a moment, I ask the magic question: “Tell me about your situation.” ... Cover article continued
This is an open-ended question, and that’s a good thing. They will immediately go to their hotspot and talk about what is most important to them. If they start talking about the property and the house, mentioning repairs, you know immediately that they’re worried they’ll have problems selling the house or listing it with a Realtor. They may also start to talk about the person who passed away, and you should engage in that conversation a little longer. “Tell me about your situation,” is such a good question because it gets to the heart of what this person wants and lets them feel like they are leading the conversation — though we know the person who asks the questions is really leading the conversation. After they answer the question, I’ll get into talking about the property. Keep in mind, discussing howmuch they want to sell it for comes last. Engage in the conversation in a warm and welcoming way so they want to talk to you. Probate in Action Dealing with probate can be challenging, but when you pull it off, it’s worth the effort. Take a recent probate deal I had. After I sent the letters out to the names on the list from last quarter, I received a call from a woman's son-in-law. Turns out, he’s a well-known Realtor in the area and a broker in charge of an independent firm, but the family didn’t want to list the property in the multiple listing service. Instead, they wanted to work with a real estate investor and just be done. When the son-in-law called, we had a conversation like what I outlined above and set an appointment to check out the house. Right away, I could see why they didn’t want to bother with the MLS. Though the house sat right on a golf course, it was built in the 1980s and needed a lot of updating. When I left, I did my research and came back with an offer. I bought the house for $140,000 and ended up putting $30,000 into the rehab process. When we were ready to list it for sale, it went on the market for $300,000. In the end there were four winners: • The heirs who got what they wanted and were able to close the deal quickly. • The next family who will move into that house. • The private lenders who funded the deal got a nice rate of return, safe and secure. • And I win, because I orchestrated a successful deal. Much like foreclosure, probate is a tricky topic. When you do these kinds of deals, it’s important you come from a servant’s heart. You need to come from a place of wanting to help people. People can tell when you are just trying to buy their house and get a good deal for yourself. When you’re in the mindset of wanting to help people move forward in their life and have a win-win-win-win situation, that’s when these deals happen.
John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. Titus 3:7 So that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. John 11:25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes inMe will live even if he dies… Have You Heard the Good News ... As It Relates to “Life Everlasting”?
–Jay Conner
Call Now! (252) 808-2927 • 3
Made with FlippingBook - Online Brochure Maker