Reverse Prospecting Works!
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Reverse Prospecting
Several months ago I received a call from a woman I had met 2 years prior. At that time she was thinking about selling her Long Beach condo. It was an investment property, little was owed on it and it was cash flowing nicely, I advised against the sale - in a hot sellers market. It was a good investment, was paying off nicely and was great retirement income. She could easily purchase without selling that condo.
Recently the same woman contacted me again. She wanted another investment condo. It had to be in one of two specific buildings, had to be on the 4th (top) floor and had to be a rear one bedroom unit with loft and a Downtown Long Beach view. There were none available. Fourth floor condos, like these, were not often available. I assured her that all was not lost.
Over the next few days I sent letters to the owners of the one bedroom with Downtown view, loft units, in those 2, and 3 other similar buildings. The owners were advised that I had a ˜specific buyer, who was very well qualified, looking for a specific unit - theirs. The letter stated that I was not necessarily looking to list their property, that this was a genuine request, not a mass mailing, if they were thinking about selling, at any time in the near future, to please contact me - as soon as possible.
About a week later I received a call from a very nice gentleman who owned the exact unit we were searching for. He had already relocated out of state, had a relocation company and had listed the unit, and of all wonders - it was not yet on the market, is this perfect or what?
He wanted to know if the letter was for real. We had a very nice conversation, he told me the listing agents name, fortunately I knew her. We pretty much had negotiated the sale before he informed me he had it listed already.
The listing agent was contacted and assured that we were writing on the unit, unseen if necessary, subject to inspection. She made it possible for us to see the unit prior to it being put onto the MLS (its good to know people), it was perfect (staged) and in excellent condition. My buyer wanted this unit even if it was in bad condition, she would have fixed it.
The buyer did not find the time to actually come in to write and sign the offer for two days, her husband was ill in the hospital and they lived a good distance from Long Beach. Those two days almost cost her the unit, they definitely resulted in her paying a higher price. The buyer had her own lender, who went to her home the evening before she came into my office to write the offer. I received an odd call during the meeting with several questions, it sounded like there was a party going on.
The next day my buyer arrived at my office in tears. She wanted this unit very badly. While driving in, her lender called to inform her that the interest rate would be upwards of 15% and that she would have to give him $10,000 under the table. This to a woman with FICO scores above 750.
I handed her my phone and said fire him or I am not going to represent you. I further explained that this was a felony and I didnt want to visit her in the pokey. She went ashen, dialed the phone and fired him. He called back repeatedly for several hours disturbing us until I took the phone from her, told him to stop whining, hung up on him and turned it off. She then informed me that the lender had been drinking heavily while at her home the evening before. I was appalled.
Now I had to get a new loan for her right away. It was already late afternoon. The property was going on the MLS in the morning and we were out of time, with no loan, just as sub-prime was exploding - great! I called a couple of the lenders I normally deal with, they were useless so I opened up Active Rain, got Brian Bradys phone number, gave him a call, thankfully, he answered his cell phone.
Brian made magic happen! Seriously! We wrote our offer, had a loan commitment letter and were able to submit the offer that evening. He actually drove all the way up from San Diego to meet with my client the next morning to take care of all of the paperwork. Folks, that is like a 2 hour drive each way. He made that trip several times over the course of the transaction!
The listing agent had our offer on her fax first thing in the morning. By the end of that day we were one of three offers on the table. Five, yes five, long days later, several counter offers, and $11,000 more in purchase price, we were told our offer had been accepted (it was still a great price). The listing agent told me the seller wanted to know which offer was from the lady he spoke to on the phone who had sent him the letter. Apparently that was the deciding factor in his choice. Persistence pays, yet again :)
My buyer had 20% down which was leveraged against the condo she had considered selling 2 years ago. The lender, who just happens to be Americas Most Opinionated Mortgage Broker, was able to work the financing out so that there were two low interest loans, by refinancing the original condo to acquire the down payment and placing a new loan on the purchase. We were also able to negotiate some closing costs and wrap the balance into the loan, resulting in deep savings for my buyer. Not one penny out of pocket for the buyer.
We closed on the unit without further problems.
Its good to have friends at ActiveRain.
Thanks Brian!
In a market that is flushed with inventory what are the chances of a buyer wanting something that is not available? Slim, at best? Owners know it is difficult to sell right now and that it takes time to sell most properties in todays market. If you reach them, with a genuine buyer, before they go on the market, in many cases they will negotiate rather than running the risk of not selling and going through the stress of being on the market. Reverse prospecting works if you know EXACTLY what your buyer wants and EXACTLY where they want it to be. Give it a try, you might be pleased with the results.
Reverse Prospecting works!
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| Laurie MannyLong Beach Realtor (562) 212-5420 |
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Main Street Realtors Belmont Heights 244 Redondo Avenue Long Beach California 90803 |
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· http://beachcityrealestateinfo.blogspot.comIt's not always what you know but often who you know..Nothing better then having a a great lender when you need him.. Your client is fortunate to have such terrific service.
Permalink May 07, 2007 03:37:24 · http://www.longbeachrealestatehome.com
Kaye,Isn't that the truth!?! I honestly don't think this deal would have happened without Brian. The other lenders seemed to be in shock from the sub-prime implosion, I couldn't even get them to do their job, it was strange. Something to be said for a level-head.
My client thinks Brian is a God.
Permalink May 07, 2007 04:47:35 · http://www.SarahCooperRealEstate.comThere is a REASON you guys are Active Rain Royalty!! It's because you put your clients above all else and work that magic! Loved this story, it's like a fairy tale with a damsel in distress, an evil villian and TWO heroes to save the day. Bravo!!!
Permalink May 07, 2007 07:43:41 · http://www.longbeachrealestatehome.comSarah, Thank you for your kind words. You crack me up, lol.
Permalink May 07, 2007 13:10:54 · http://www.LiveInLosGatos.comLaurie that is a great story and lesson to folks who take the time to read it. Wow, your poor client got some war wounds while learning, huh?
About a year ago I did a reverse prospecting letter for a client. There was exactly ONE home that would fit their needs in one area, it was an expired listing. I hand-wrote a note, with my home address on the return envelope, and explained why "John and Jane Smith" (not real names) wanted to live in that neighborhood.
It worked! I did not want the listing either, I just wanted to get my buyers into a home! They liked their old agent, got ahold of her and within about 72 hours we put the deal together.
It does work. It really does.
Permalink May 07, 2007 23:08:21 · http://www.luxuryhomedigest.comReverse prosepecting and forward results. Your client's gotta love you and Brian!
Permalink May 08, 2007 00:15:53 · http://www.longbeachrealestatehome.comMary, I always say, if you don't try, you will never know. What does it take to write a letter and ask?
One home huh? Talk about a needle in a haystack. That was a miracle.
It does work. It really does.
Permalink May 08, 2007 01:21:25 · http://www.longbeachrealestatehome.comRoberta, My client has become a friend, we speak on the phone most days.
Permalink May 08, 2007 01:22:20 · http://www.YourPropertyPros.comThat's what I call PERSEVERANCE!! That is such a great story with a happy
ending! Go Laurie and Brian Brady!! (now I'm doing the cabbage patch again).
Permalink May 11, 2007 16:19:31 · http://www.longbeachrealestatehome.comHi Ines, Brian is the best! We have become a strong team.
Cabbage Patch?
Permalink May 12, 2007 00:20:42 · http://www.angelabetts.comAnother reason to make that call? A potential seller may be teetering on the fence trying to decide which direction life is leading them and whether or not they should sell. If you make that contact, whether it be a letter, phone call, whatever, you just might be instrumental in saving their marriage, health, job, etc. and moving their life forward to the next chapter. Nope, I'm not kidding. :-)
That's what happened to us 15 yrs ago when my husband was put in a position that forced him to have to drive 3 hrs one way from home to work (it wasn't a pd relo situation). I had dug my heels in for 8 months in hopes he would be switched back. It wasn't happening.
He called from work one day to tell me this time, not ask me, to call an agent and list our 21 acres and home. I still hesitated. Pay attention here because he DID NOT tell me WHICH agent to call. Believe me, between the 6 hr round trip drive, work, and sleep, he hadn't even had an opportunity to look up an agent much less contact one. Cell phones weren't an ordinary part of life at that time so contacting one during that drive wasn't possible. He was a RR conductor so calling FROM work wasn't possible either.
Anyway, within 2 hrs of his call, an agent called me out of the blue to ask if we'd be interested in selling just a couple of acres of our land, not the whole 21 acres, mind you. She had a buyer looking for a small piece of land just outside the city limits and was having difficulty locating a property that fit their desires/needs.
Needless to say, I took that call as a sign that I was to give up my battle to stay put, list our property, and get on with an easier life for my husband. Although our property didn't sell to the buyers she originally called for (we didn't want to divide the acreage due to right-of-ways, etc), she did sell it within two weeks to another buyer that came along just a couple of days later looking for exactly what we had.
Our marriage is still going strong, we've had to move FOUR more times since then (it's easier when you're not attached to your locale, and I've learned to go with the flow and enjoy the adventures along the way), and the buyer is STILL there loving his land and home last we heard.
So there ya have it...go make the call, write the letter, whatever you feel led to do. You're doing more than just selling homes and properties for people. :-)
Permalink August 19, 2007 18:01:52 · http://www.longbeachrealestatehome.comAngela, I cannot thank you enough for sharing your story with us. You are right, one never knows. If we don't reach out and make contact, opportunities will just pass us by.
I am curious. Had that agent not called you at that very moment, how would you have gone about looking for an agent?
Thank you again for stopping by and sharing your story, I wish you many happy adventures.
Warmest Regards,
Laurie
Permalink August 19, 2007 18:33:02 · http://www.angelabetts.comYour welcome, Laurie.
I had several friends in that area and my employer, all of whom I respected for their high level of integrity, who all had large networks. I would have called them and asked for their recommendations.
As it turned out, the agent that sold our property was the TOP new agent in the area. She had only been in RE for about a year at that time. She was a go-getter, but she was also mindful of the emotional roller coaster I was riding at the time. I've always appreciated how she handled the whole situation and the sell of our property.
Permalink August 20, 2007 10:55:44 · http://www.longbeachrealestatehome.comAngela, We always love success stories here. Thank you again for sharing yours, my hat is off to your agent, she sounds terrific.
Stop by and visit anytime.
Warmest Regards,
Laurie
Permalink August 20, 2007 23:42:10 · http://www.uterms.com
Laurie,
I found this post from an entry you submitted on Trulia.com. What a great story! In this market, i bet that the gentleman that owned the unit would want to risk having his condo on the market, but would be very excited to find someone who expressed an interest in buying it!
I have a website (in beta) that works to connect aspiring buyers with homeowners, listing agents and buyers agents that can help them find the house they want. I would love to use your success story as a sample of how reverse prospecting can and does work!
Tim
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