PROPERTY ALERTS
CONTACTING A PREFORECLOSURE OWNER
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Contacting the owner to express your interest in the property can be done on your own or through your real estate agent. Making sure you are prepared to buy before taking time to contact the owner will save you time and effort.
The owner of the property may decide to list the property for sale through an agent. You can then contact the listing agent, but once the property is listed with an agent you have less of a chance to bargain. There is still the possibility of striking a deal because the owner only has a limited amount of time before the bank either repossess the property or sells it at a public auction.
Most of the time, the owner does not have the property listed, so you will need to actively seek contact with them. Subscribers to jerseypreforeclosures.com have access to the owner's forwarding address which may be different than the address of the property in pre-foreclosure. Contacting the owner may be a little difficult, but the bargain potential is greater because the owner doesn't have to pay the listing agent a commission.
Once you have the contact information for the owner, the next step is getting a message to him or her that you are interested in buying the property and that you would like to come up with a purchase agreement that would benefit both of you.
In most states the owner has a few months after the initial foreclosure notice before the property will be auctioned. This time period gives the owner time to consider all options including refinancing and selling, so don't be surprised if you do not get a response immediately. Most owners usually do not want to sell, but selling is much more appealing than losing the property at a public auction and gets more appealing as the auction draws near. Calling the owner by phone is usually a last resort but is an option if mailing isn't effective.
Updated: July 31
