For the past 6 months or so, I have been executing telemarketing campaigns to generate short sale leads.  We start out with old loan modification leads generated on the Internet or by direct response to a TV ad.  These leads are then uploaded to a predictive dialer and agents log in remotely to start dialing the campaign.

The script goes something like this..

Hello, this is ____from the Mortgage Help Center, we are following up on the inquiry you made in____________, did you get the help you were looking for? (pause) Do you still need help with mortgage or would you be interested in selling your home?

If the answer is yes, the telemarketer transfers the call to the agent.

The campaign has had mixed results depending on the area we have been targeting.  Below you will see the number and type of leads we got.

2000 calls to Southern California 32 loan mod leads 1 short sale lead.

1000 calls to New York City 16 loan mod leads 4 short sale leads.

1000 calls to Las Vegas 22 loan mod leads 7 short sale leads.

The conclusion I draw from these campaigns is that if you are trying to generate short sale leads, you must be able to offer the homeowner that is intent on saving their home alternatives to a short sale - loan modification.  After that process has been exhausted, then a short sale is appropriate.

Here is the 5 step strategy that I recommend. 

1.  Align yourself with a local, reputable loan modification company or attorney. 

2.  Execute a marketing campaign to contact people who have previously inquired about loan modification.

3.  Take loan mod apps from homeowners and pass them on to your partner.

4.  Get short sale leads from your partners old book of failed loan mods.  (about 65% fail)

5.  Repeat

As the commercial real estate market looks for footing, the volume of defaulting commercial loans is rising at the fastest pace ever.  Property owners and banks alike are scrambling to come up with solutions in an environment of shrinking rents rising vacancies and the absences of a commercial mortgage market.  All of these factors together create an opportunity for consultants to help property owners resolve their mortgage problems. 

CommercialModification.com, has assembled a group of highly experienced negotiators and processors to facilitate commercial loan modifications and other optimal resolutions for commercial property owners.  

CommercialModification.com is offering a branch affiliate business opportunity to real estate agents, mortgage brokers, consultants and attorneys.  Becoming a CommercialModification.com branch affiliate, instantly brings credibility and substance to the services that you currently offer your clientele.
Sales Support


CommercialModification.com branch affiliates get 100%, 360 degree support in everything from marketing and initial sales calls to customer acquisition and follow through.  The company offers advanced web based lead followup and sales cycle completion reporting.

Back Office Support
The commercial modification process involves extensive negotiations, in-depth market research, financial analysis and hours of tedious data collection, discovery, verification and reporting.  After we make the sale of the consulting services, the professional team follows up and executes the plan that is proposed.


Internet Marketing
CommercialModification.com provides a regional sub-domain website for each branch affiliate.  As the number one ranked website for commercial mortgage modification, www.commercialmodification.com gets the lions share of web traffic in this vertical market.  In order to attract local search engine traffic, each branch affiliate will have a unique website that will be targeted to generate local commercial modification leads.  An example of a regionally targeted sub domain is http://newyork.commercialmodification.com.  This website has already achieved a high rank on Google searches for "new york commercial loan modification".

Training
Initial training is conducted by weekly webinars.  These are 1 hour meetings with 30 minutes of prepared material and 30 minutes of Q and A.  The topics will include marketing, prospecting and client intake.  Branch affiliates will participate in the sales process and customer webinars.  You must attend at least 10 client webinars and complete a written exam to be qualified to conduct client webinars.  Each quarter there is a 3 day training seminar at the processing center in Arizona.


How to get started.

The first step is to register for a webinar.  Go here to sign up.  We will send you an invitation for the next scheduled webinar.

Watch this fascinating discussion about the next bailout and real estate crash with attorney Steven Meister on Fox Business.

 http://www.foxbusiness.com/search-results/m/27371346/fed-s-housing-fix-broken.htm

As readers of this blog know I had predicted this crash a year ago and the next "Mother of all bailouts", now finally has hit the main stream media.

If you want to get short sale leads in your area you might want to get a domain that targets your specific area and combines your place name with the phrase "short sale".  An example of this is http://south-lake-tahoe.shortsaleleads.org.  This website is targeted to generate short sale leads in the South Lake Tahoe area.  By integrating the place name in the domain name, the search engines will give higher relevance to your website.

Placing links back to your website with keyword anchors you also increase the ranking of your site and acheive a higher placement than a site that does not integrate the place name in the domain name.  Be sure your site includes references in context to your taget area.

Last week government bank regulators officially put their blessing on the practice of "pretending and extending" by issuing guidance to banks that allow them to modify commercial loans without being viewed unfavorably by their regulators. It has become clear to Washington that the next banking crisis and government bailout is right around the corner. They have taken this step to ease the pain that is sure to come.

Analyst estimate that there is about $270 billion in negative equity that has to be resolved in the next few years. This comes from about 1.5 trillion in debt that is maturing on CRE loans. This property can not be refinanced because of the negative equity. If the banks were to foreclose and not modify the loans, they would be forced to show the real value of the property on their books, wiping out the profits they reported earlier this year and causing a liquidity crisis in an already overstressed banking system.

By allowing the banks to modify these loans, the bankers and property owners are allowed to "kick-the-can" down the road some more years.

Prior to this change in guidance, if a bank were to modify a loan, and the loan amount was greater than the market value, the loan would have been considered "adversely credit classified". Such a loan modification would not have been considered prudent based on sound banking principles. This new guidance allows them to modify the loans even if the loan amount exceeds the market value.

Property owners ought to contact their bank or a professional that specializes in commercial loan modification.

Have a look at this video with Larry Kudlow discussing the FHA and its rediculous underwriting.

Blog: FHA the new sub-prime hazard http://bit.ly/46vkQ

SB 94 has been signed by Governor Schwarzenegger. In a statement regarding the veto of the more restrictive AB 764 he said.. "Although I support the prohibition of individuals charging advance fees for mortgage loan modifications, I do not agree with the provision of this bill that will only allow fees to be collected if a modification is successful. This could adversely affect legitimate businesses that provide loan modification services. As such, I am signing SB 94 that accomplishes this prohibition against advance fees without unnecessarily harming legitimate companies."

The law applies to mortgages on primary residences and does not restrict the ability of attorneys and consultants to collect advance fees for modification of commercial mortgages.

Going to a gun fight with with a knife isn't likely to end very well. With the passage of SB 94 this is exactly what the California legislature and the Governor are asking California homeowners do.  The sweeping law, that will be signed next week by Governor Schwartzenegger will make it a crime for anyone, including attorneys to accept a fee in advance for the purpose of loan modification.

The bill authored by Rep. Calderon was heavily backed by banking interests and lobbyist for the banking industry. The law carries an urgency provision which makes it take effect immediately upon the Governors signature.

Oddly enough, the bill does not make any provision for banning advance fees earned by attorneys and others who work on behalf of banks and loan servicing companies prior to a successful loan modification.  These lawyers are still able to collect large fees from banks to ensure that the collection and foreclosure process works to the banks benefit.

The Danger Point

Danger does exist of the means taken proceeding to unwholesome inflation.  If the Government does not carry out its intention of reducing its expenditure and so of balancing its budget, and makes up tremendous deficiency by borrowing, with a consequent continual emission of notes, the people would lose confidence in their currency, and there would be a flight from the dollar...

Interesting current events?  No, this is a quote from "The Sydney Morning Herald. - Mar 11, 1933" (http://tr.im/AzVK). In an article describing the government attempts to cause "wholesome" inflation.

At that point in our history, we were emerging from the great depression.  Deflation was countered with inflation of a sound money supply because federal reserve notes (dollars) were exchangeable in gold at the Federal Reserve Bank.

Today, we find ourselves in a  similar situation.  An asset bubble has burst and the government is attempting to reflate it by use of inflation.  The key difference today is that the government can't come out and say they are trying to cause inflation because Federal Reserve Notes are nothing more than paper and can not be exchanged for gold.  All they can do is print more and hope that no one notices that they have no intrinsic value like real money.