Transcription
I love niche lists because of the immediate gratification of them. In one day, you can have a prospect enter your system, give them a call, schedule an appointment, even get a contract, and you go from nothing to deal in almost no time at all.
In today's video, I want to share how I found a property, the conversation I ended up having with the seller, and what I ended up having to do to stop that foreclosure sale and ensure the property. In the video today, I'm going to go over how I use niche data and niche CRM to find this property, have a conversation with the seller, and I'll show you that conversation in this video today, and then what I ended up having to do to stop the foreclosure sale and ensure that I ended up getting profit on the property.
So, a few mornings ago, I logged into Niche CRM, hoping that I was going to find a good opportunity that day. I went into my prospects and I filtered by properties that had high equity, meaning in my area $100K or more and properties that had 10 days or less until the foreclosure sale. There was a particular property in South Missouri that had a lot of equity. I also found that the homeowners had passed away, both husband and wife, meaning that there was likely a situation where there may need to be some probate or I'd have to track down the heirs.
I went and looked at the relatives and niche CRM that were already pre-skip traced from niche data and I found a couple of the daughter's names. I went ahead and called those numbers. Wasn't able to get a hold of anyone, but then as a part of the vacant property process, I went ahead and found those people on Facebook. And I'm going to share the message that I sent to the heir that ended up getting a response.
So, here's the message, but it says, "Heir, sorry for the random message. I was reaching out for your about your family home on Gulf. It looks like there's a foreclosure sale next week, and I have helped over a thousand families navigate foreclosure over the years. I'd be glad to walk you through some options. We've dealt with plenty of difficult probate situations over the years and can guide you through that and even pay for probate."
She answered within a few minutes. Guys, when I'm saying immediate gratification, I found this lead. I went through the vacant process. Probably took me 20 minutes. I sent her a message. What is it? Within an hour, she responded back and she said, "I'm on the phone with the bank at the moment since I just found out that the house was in foreclosure and that my dad passed away 2 days ago." Crazy. My dad had a trust in place and I was never notified of his death.
Within a few more messages, I gave her my phone number. We had a call and I want you to listen to that conversation now. Enjoy.
>> I spent all Sunday night trying to find an obituary.
>> Wow.
>> Or anything on him. I end up having to go to like that been verified thing.
>> Yeah.
>> To find his death date, which was September 24th of 2023. So, a little over two years ago.
>> Okay.
>> Um, house payments have it's 6 months behind.
>> It's due to go on sale the 20th.
>> Yep.
>> Um, to pay it off is $8,5596.
>> Okay. So, we have a very low payoff. You said around 9,000 bucks.
>> Yep.
>> Okay. So, the good thing is there's lots of equity. The bad thing is we have very short amount of time. Everything has to be done by Friday.
>> Okay. So I I can do that definitely. Can you tell me a little bit? I know the family dynamic is difficult.
>> Heard heard. But I have I have navigated situations like this more times than you can imagine. So we've got your father. He passed away two years ago.
>> Okay. So your father your mother is is she
>> passed away? No, she passed away April 15th of 2017.
>> Okay. So, your mother passed away as well. Then your mother and father had you and I know you've mentioned a sister. Are there any other siblings?
>> No, we are it.
>> You are it. Okay. Did your father or mother have children from a different marriage at another point in their life?
>> No.
>> Okay. So, it's just you and your sister. And you said your sister and yourself, you're not on a speaking basis right now.
>> I haven't spoken to my sister since the year my dad went to go live up. My dad had Alzheimer's and he was very violent.
>> And my sister tried saying that I was starving him to death and decided she wanted to take him. And I was like, and I haven't spoken to her since then. whenever she tried saying that I was starving him to death.
>> Oh my gosh, my my family's going through case of dementia right now. I know how painful that can be.
>> That was in 2020.
>> Yeah.
>> So, um yeah, he he moved up there right before Thanksgiving of 2020.
>> Okay. So, are are you local to the home or are you
>> I am.
>> Okay. So, you're local down there. Where is your sister? Do you know where she lives currently?
>> North Carolina.
>> She's in North Carolina. Okay. Okay. So,
>> my sister has not stepped foot in that house other than to go grab what she could get of value of my dad's. She left all of my mom's stuff there. She left my mom's ashes in that house.
>> Oh, for goodness sakes.
>> My mom was cremated and my mom's ashes were still left in that house.
>> Yeah.
>> She just went and got whatever she could get of value that was my dad's.
>> Jeez. Okay.
>> So, I couldn't have anything.
>> Yeah. So, tell me a little bit. I think you mentioned in our text that there might be a will. Is that the case? Or was it in a trust? I can't remember what you said.
>> There's a trust.
>> Okay.
>> She's tried having me taken off the trust, which she legally couldn't do.
>> And what does
>> She did cancel She did cancel the insurance June 6th of 2022. That would have paid that house off if my dad died.
>> Oh gosh. Okay. What what did what does the trust say?
>> I don't have the trust. I'm in the car.
>> Oh, okay. I didn't know if you knew by memory.
>> It just Well, I I know some of it. It just says that everything is to be left between me and my sister.
>> Okay.
>> And we were supposed to split it, but like I said, she's tried taking me off of it and she obviously doesn't give two, you know, two shits about this house because she's letting it go on foreclosure.
>> Okay. We
>> Her house in Colorado went into foreclosure. She's using my uncle who bought the house in North Carolina
>> whom now I no longer I haven't spoken to him in three years. I did call him to find out why all these people kept calling me about foreclosure
>> right
>> on my mom and dad's house. That's how I found out my dad died.
>> Oh my gosh. This all happened within the last few days.
>> Um Sunday.
>> Wow. I'm so sorry that you had to find out that way. Um, but I'm at least glad we were able to connect and we can figure out a path moving forward. Um, this trust obviously they they've done it in a way that uh will help you avoid uh going through probate. Do you know if the trust was notarized and was that filed with the county?
>> It was.
>> Okay. And then do you know I know it's new to you may not know but do you know what date it was filed with the county?
>> June June 6th of 2017.
>> June 6th of 2017. Okay. And you said you have a copy of that.
>> I do.
>> Great. Okay. So that that makes things a little bit easier that we have that trust. So that will be our our first course of action to use that to be able to uh move forward, get a sale stopped. Worst case scenario, if for whatever reason they do not validate the trust or they say that it's it's void for whatever reason, which happens sometimes, your parents have passed away long enough ago that we can do what's called an affidavit of heirship.
>> Okay? An affidavit of heirship just means that your mother or father has passed away more than one year ago. And because of that, any creditors can no longer come after them uh for for any pass due uh notices of any kind. So in that case, you wouldn't have to go through a full probate. Basically, I would need your signature. I would need your sister's signature. and you both would say, "I knew my parents because they're my parents." And then you can use that document to bypass probate, but more than likely
>> get anything from Sarah,
>> right? And and that's part of my challenge is navigating the bridge of a broken family situation. Um, there's there's so much equity in this house that it would be an absolute shame that it it wouldn't be capitalized. I can't imagine that your you would your father's last memory would be this. Um, but in the event that we're not
>> she didn't even do what his last wishes were. She literally just had him cremated.
>> He had a barrier plot paid for.
>> Yeah. Yeah.
>> And she had him cremated and she capitalized on his life insurance policy cuz I haven't seen a penny of that.
>> Yeah. Things like that are are really really challenging and I wish money didn't have to come in between families. But
>> that's the thing though. I can care less about the money.
>> Yeah.
>> But you're not going to get anything out of her. She wants this house gone.
>> Yeah. Worst case scenario, this is what happens. I'm going to try to get a hold of her and you very well may be right that she doesn't want anything to do with it. Worst case scenario, this is what will happen. The house will foreclose on what you say the the 20th. Something like that.
>> It's it's for sale on the 20th.
>> Yeah. It will foreclose on the 20th. There will be someone that buys that house on the steps. I don't know what they'll buy it for. 50 grand, 100 grand, who knows what they'll buy it for. Okay. There is a concept called surplus funds. Have you heard of it?
>> No.
>> Okay. Surplus funds basically means that you guys, let's just call it 10,000. You owe 10,000 for a round number, right?
>> Let's say that someone bought that house for 50,000 at the courthouse steps. We don't know what that number is going to be. The difference between what is owed and what it goes for goes to the homeowner or the heirs. So in this case, there would be $40,000 that would go to the heirs
>> and you can file separately from your sister.
>> So technically she would get 20 and you would get 20,
>> but we can help you recover your end of the end of the money without her involvement.
>> Okay?
>> So no matter what, you're going to come away with something. I would just prefer it not to to foreclose because then you have to go through the legal gyrations of of the the surplus funds.
>> So, what what would your ideal outcome be? I know you said you wanted to to keep the home, but could you kind of paint a picture for me of what you're looking to accomplish?
>> I'm wanting to I'm wanting to keep it from going in foreclosure. I want to fix it up
>> and I would like to sell it to a family member.
>> That way it's still in the family.
>> Mhm. For sure. For sure. And then have have you been in
>> I mean obviously it does. Yes. I have been in it.
>> Is that what you were going to ask?
>> Yeah. What What's the condition like? I saw a couple of pictures of the exterior. It looks like it needs some work, but
>> it it does. The whole basement um apparently some water pipes have been busted. The whole basement is covered in black mold. It has to be completely gutted.
>> Yeah. Yeah. So, it's probably something like a $80 to $100,000 remodel, I imagine, based on that description. Would you say that's fair?
>> Probably less than that.
>> Yeah, the upper part of the house is good. It's the lower h lower part.
>> I gotta Okay.
>> What What's the upstairs like? Is it pretty livable or
>> it's a triplex home. Everything else is livable except for the basement. Okay. Okay. Very good. So, I've I've dealt with situations like this hundreds of times. Here is what what I can do. The sale is on the 20th. For me, 6 days is an eternity, right? Because I I'm used to navigating things at the last second. The the issue with this one isn't probate. It doesn't appear. It appears to be getting contact with your sister. Do you have contact with her like a contact number or are you guys completely not not associated right now?
>> I don't associate with her at all.
>> Okay. Would you be okay with me reaching out to her to see if I can build a bridge, although unlikely?
>> You you can try.
>> Okay. So, this this is going to be my my course of action and you let me know if you're okay with it. Number one, do you have access to the home or has the lender locked it up?
>> No, I still have access to it. They gave me permission as long as I have the par the trust paperwork
>> and the house key, which I have both.
>> Okay. So, the lender will openly speak to you.
>> Yes.
>> Good.
>> Yeah. I went through Hang on. Because I talked to about 15 different people today.
>> Mhm. The life events team added me as an authorized person on my dad's mortgage.
>> Okay, good. I'm glad that they will speak to you. In terms of of your finances, are you able to pay off this house right now?
>> We're going to go talk to my uncle to find not not my uncle in North Carolina, my husband's uncle. Okay. to see if he will if he will help us.
>> Okay. So, this is what what I would like to do. I'll propose this to you. Number one, I would like to lay eyes on the house just to kind of see the condition.
>> Okay?
>> I can then give you a cash offer on the house, right? If you agree, we could put a contract in place. I can start to work with the lender and the trustee, get the sale stopped. If for whatever reason your family member decides, hey, look, I've got the money. I've want to invest this into the house and you want to go that way before the foreclosure sale. I will be more than willing to just rip up our agreement. We can part as friends and you guys can do what you need to do. But at the end of the day, even if they have the money, you're going to have to deal with your sister. So
>> why would I have to deal with her?
>> Because she she is one of the heirs.
>> Well, it you can pay off the house. There's no doubt about that. And that would stop the foreclosure, but at the end of the day, if you wanted to remodel it, if you wanted to sell it to a family member, etc., you would need your sister's sign off.
>> That's that's the the challenge.
>> I like that. I know it it it's I I hate probate law and
>> physically I'm telling you I don't I I'm okay.
>> I know it's unfair and I have I have encountered
>> Yeah. Yeah.
>> I will not have anything to do with I can't I won't do it. And that's that's why I've I've encountered so much hurt from family over the years that prolonging that and trying trying to sell it to a family member is noble. And I love the thought of keeping the the home in the family, but the reality is that you still have this tie with your sister and whether fair or unfair, she has to be a part of it because that's the law of our state. And it sucks. It does. But I have navigated this many times to where I've stopped foreclosure sales. I've navigated it with the difficult family member. I'm able to get a nice sum of money. I know you said you don't care about it, but the economy is hard. So, anyone could, you know, use some extra money and I can have this thing done within a very short amount of time. And you guys can can
>> And then did I keep my sister out of this? She in this situation, unless I can negotiate, she would get some money out of this.
>> Of course, she would.
>> Now, I don't know what her situation is. Does Does she I don't I don't mean to be blunt. Does she have issues with with drugs, etc.?
>> No.
>> Okay. Well, that's good because sometimes I hate giving money to those type of people because then they use the money to fund their habit and that makes me not feel very good. Um,
>> so in this situation, what I would propose,
>> is it right that she's going to get money out of this if she was just going to let it go?
>> Yeah. And if she let it go, she would still have the opportunity to collect surplus funds if there are any. And I know it's unfair, but that's just the the laws of of real estate that we have to live with. But the real
>> So then how do I go how do I go by making it where she doesn't get it? Well, we would have to negotiate with her. Um, I I I'm more than happy to try to get her on the phone and speak to her about the situation and see what what can be done. Um, the only other way, and I I don't necessarily like this way, is that I could buy out your rights of the house and I could deal with her directly, but I I wouldn't say I would recommend that because you wouldn't get as much money.
>> Okay? So, our path right now, as I've done this many, many times, this exact situation, is I need to lay eyes on the house. I need to get you a cash offer. We would sign that agreement primarily to get the ball rolling so that I can speak with the lender and the trustee, get the foreclosure sale stopped.
>> Okay? If for whatever reason you can come up with an agreement with your uncle or other family member and your sister somehow agrees and you guys want to do this as a family, more than happy to rip up the agreement and you guys can do that. I've just seen this enough times that it it's unlikely that that's going to happen without a mediator.
>> Okay.
>> So, I can try to get in touch with your sister. I can try to negotiate something with her to where you have nothing to do with her.
>> You don't even have to speak with her.
>> We would close at at a local trusted title company.
>> You would get the check that you you deserve, 50%. And whether fair or not, she would get a check for 50% of what the proceeds would be.
>> Okay.
>> Would you like me to get started with this? And if you want a minute to to think about it, that's fine. We've got six days, but obviously we we need to get started. Um, but I I don't want to move forward if it's not something that you want to do. But I do know in this economic environment, everyone needs some extra money. And as much as this family situation is painful, I can't imagine that your father would want any of this money to go to waste.
>> I just don't want any money to go to her. Period.
>> I know.
>> She's already I mean I was entitled to half of his life insurance money and I've gotten nothing.
>> So that that giving her 50%.
>> That's another case entirely. Okay. So that life insurance money, I wouldn't say that it's gone forever. I'd like to see why that was distributed. Do you know for sure that it was completely distributed to her
>> because typically
>> a life insurance policy
>> typically that that would have to go through mediation with a court and they would look at the trust and say, "Okay, here's the proceeds from the insurance." I guarantee she was she played softball with the insurance company.
>> Their daughter, she played softball with them. So I guarantee you she called them and told them, "Take me off of it." And they did.
>> That would be illegal. So unless they unless they committed fraud, they're not able to do that. So hopefully that money has not been distributed because technically that should go through a mediation process and the court should determine yes here's the the the life insurance proceeds and if the trust says 50/50 between you and your sister that's how it should have been distributed. Now if that didn't happen you would have the right to file a suit against her. And I don't know if you want to do that and hopefully it hasn't been distributed, but if that's something that that you want to be looked at, I have an attorney that could represent you on that side of things. And that would be a completely different case than this house side of things.
>> Okay?
>> But I I would I would highly think that that money has not been distributed unless someone did something very wrong. they would have had to forge signatures, commit fraud, basically.
>> Okay.
>> So, I I think there's a good chance that that money comes back to you in in one way or another. So, if you would like a connection with an attorney to help you with that, I have a a u a referral for you.
>> Okay. So, this would be my next step. Is there a way for you to at least go by the house, take some photos of it, and and send those over to me? Then I can get you
>> take you to the house.
>> Then I can get you an offer on the property, and then if that's agreeable, we can work on getting the sale stopped. All the while, I will be working with your sister to try to negotiate something. Um, and I can connect you with our attorney that helps with um, life insurance policies and that type of stuff.
>> Okay.
>> Okay. What I'm going to do is I'm going to I'm going to shoot you a text here in a few minutes um, and we can figure out what type of timeline um, that we could take a look at the house and then we'll we'll take it from there. Okay.
>> Okay.
>> All right. I know this is really difficult. You're going through a lot, but I appreciate you taking the time. We'll get this fixed up for you. Okay.
>> Okay.
>> All right. I'll talk to you later. All right.
>> Okay.
>> All right. Bye now.
Hopefully, you enjoyed that conversation. Obviously, it was very raw. She's going through a lot, processing emotions in real time. She just found out that she lost her father. She's having difficult time navigating things with an estranged sister. And that's where us as as real estate investors that focus on niche people, we have to come in and solve these problems and not only show them the path to getting things done, but also be a counselor of sorts, almost be someone that provides a listening ear and helps them navigate their emotions.
So, what did I have to do after this call? I actually had to get the foreclosure sale stopped. I got this house under contract on a Thursday, the following Monday being the foreclosure sale. So, I gave the foreclosure attorney a call. Um, asked what they needed to get that sale stopped. And what did they need? They needed the following. Sorry, my desk's dirty. They needed a purchase agreement. Okay. I went ahead and got that with the seller, of course. Then they needed a proof of funds letter. Hopefully I can spell. They needed a cover letter. What was in that cover letter? And that cover letter was here's the situation and here is what I plan to do to remedy that situation. Then they needed a barebones HUD from our title company that says that we have opened up title and we're good to go. My transaction coordinator provided all that documentation for the lender and they agreed the next morning after we started to stop that foreclosure sale.
And then over the weekend, I went ahead and shopped the house because the seller sent me all kinds of photos. I shopped it out. I got it under contract for a good price. We ended up sending out some buyers, got an offer for about $35,000 more. So, from the start of this, from a Wednesday morning, I reached out or I on a Wednesday morning, I had a new data point, enter my CRM. I gave the seller a call. We went ahead and set up an appointment. We got it under contract and I stopped the sale. And then by Saturday, I had assigned that property for a little over $30,000. Guys, that is how quickly niche can change your life. And it's not just a once a week thing. If you put the systems in that the niche community can offer you in terms of automated data, automated CRM outreach, in terms of three times weekly coaching, you could aim to get more than one of these deals a week. And that is realistic. And that is happening every day in the niche community.
So if you're interested in checking out the niche community, check out the link below. Speak to my team. They would love to answer all of your questions about how you could implement niche into your business. But guys, hopefully this was valuable kind of seeing how we found the deal, the conversation to build trust, and then what needed to happen to stop that foreclosure sale after after. Thanks again for taking the time to check out the channel. Like, subscribe, and I will see you on the next one.
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