Why leading with the default filing on a pre-foreclosure call can end it in nine seconds
For anyone new to this channel: a notice of default is the document a lender or trustee records at the county when a borrower is far enough behind for foreclosure to start. It's public, and that's the basis of most pre-foreclosure mailing lists. A typical case worth studying: a mailer of 240 pieces across three counties, roughly $1.05 a piece plus list cost, call it $300 all in. Nine callbacks over three weeks is a normal response rate. Say one caller is a woman in her sixties in a 1980s three bedroom, worth around $280k, owing about $196k by her own account. Real equity, real motivation, an auction date eleven weeks out. The mistake that shows up often in these calls is opening with an explanation of how the caller found the homeowner. Something close to "I saw the default filing on your property at the county and I help people in that situation" sounds respectful but lands as an invasion. The homeowner hears exactly how much of her private situation is on a public website, unprompted, and shuts down. "So everyone can see that," followed by a hang up, is a common reaction, and a caller who calls back twice only adds pressure to someone who already feels chased. The better pattern: never explain where the name came from unless asked, and if asked, answer in one sentence and move immediately to what can be done about the situation. One follow-up call is appropriate; a second one reads as pressure.
