Quote from Bill on September 9, 2024, 10:22 am

The reality with borrowers are they may ignore you until they have to deal with the debt.  I'm not a big fan of hiring a VA for loss mitigation and borrower outreach.  Always keep the conversation clean and professional.  Call during the week and during business hours.  If you're leaving a message, state who the message is for, state your name, your title, who you are with and how they can contact you.  Be careful about leaving to much information on voicemail.  If you do get them on the phone just be real clear on what it's for.  The more information you have on the mortgage and the original terms, gives you credibility on owning the debt.   I'm a big fan off the 3 Questions, and then let them do the talking.

1. What happened?
2. Where are you at now?
3. What would you like to do about it?

All 3 of these Questions are open ended for a reason. It’s to allow them to open up to you and tell you a lot of information.  It’s your job to sit back and just listen.  By just listening, they will tell you a lot.  Listen and find out what the problem is.   So you can solve their problem and start putting a Plan together that will solve their problem.  Be compassionate and treat them with respect, because something happened in their life, that was unexpected and they’re just trying to get things back to normal. It’s you job to do that for them, it’s not to cause them more stress. I always go out of my way for borrowers, I don’t chase them, but I help the ones that want my help.  I don’t call relatives and I don’t reach out through Social Media. I use to do that, when I first started in this business, but with all the Rules & Regulations.   I feel it’s in my best interest to avoid those two methods. Remember, the more problems you solve, the more successful you will be. That’s in this business and in all businesses. Give the borrower's ideas.

Some Helpful Phrases When Dealing with Borrowers in response to their questions or unwillingness to work with you;

How do I know you own my Loan and that you’re Company isn’t trying to Scam me?

• I’m here to earn your trust. I can email you a copy of the Mortgage & Note, along with our Mortgage Assignment, to show you prove of Ownership.
• Feel free to talk to an Attorney.
• Don't take my word for it; our Ownership Document is Recorded at the County Recorder’s Office. This is how you can reach out to the County Recorder’s Office and ask them.

My Loan was Charged off?

• Oh that's exactly how we bought this 2nd Mortgage. Charged Off means the loan was sold.  You still owe the loan, it's still a valid lien.  When a loan goes non performing a lender would send the loan from their good asset company to their bad asset company.  That bad asset company then sells the loan off in the secondary market.

You can’t Foreclose from the 2^nd Mortgage Position, I pay on my 1^st

• The 2^nd Mortgage is secured to the property and we have the right to Foreclose. But, don't take my word for it. Talk to an attorney, the county courthouse or a trusted friend. They will verify, that what I'm saying is true.

I need to talk to my Attorney!

• Yes, I agree, that you should talk to your Attorney. If you'd like, you can give me the name of your Attorney and their contact Information, I would be happy to reach out to them.

I went through Chapter 7 Bankruptcy my Loan has been Discharged and I no longer owe the money?

• Yes, that is true, but the house still has a valid Lien attached to it. You may not be personally liable for the debt, but the house is responsible for the Mortgage Lien.  If you want to stay in the house, you must address the debt.

I hope this helps.