If you've ever tried to list a For Sale by Owner home, you know how frustrating it can be. In the first place, these people don't want to talk to a Realtor, and in the second, they've probably had dozens of real estate agents contacting them. They don't want to talk to another Realtor – yet. When I was fresh in the business, I made my living listing For Sale by Owners. I discovered a unique approach that worked so well I was able to jump-start my career without a lot of time, effort, and frustration. I call it the Lender's Approach, or putting your lender partner to work for you.

Having a solid working relationship with one or more mortgage lenders can be good for several reasons. There are many joint projects that can be beneficial to the agent and the lender. My FSBO program is just one. With this program, I search out the FSBOs and pass the information on to the lender, who then contacts the sellers. He or she spends a few minutes explaining the dangers of signing contracts with non-qualified buyers and then offers to pre-qualify anyone who comes by to look at the house. Most sellers are happy to work with the lender because they don't know anything about qualifying buyers.

Once the lender has established a relationship with the seller, it's important that he or she stay in constant contact. On his second or third contact, the lender casually mentions that he works with some of the best Realtors in town if they're ever interested. Of course most FSBOs eventually list with an agent and a majority of them will ask the lender for a referral.

Where do I find the FSBOs? Well, I spend a lot of time driving through neighborhoods, so I always jot down addresses and phone numbers when I see a FSBO sign. I also scan the real estate ads every week and write down that information. Once a week, I fax everything over to my lender.

The script

Here is the script my lender works from when he or she makes their first contact:

Hello Mr. FSBO, my name is _____________ with ____________ mortgage company. I noticed you have your house For Sale By Owner. Have you had a lot of calls? Mostly REALTORS? How long have you had your house for sale? How long have you lived there? Where will you be moving? The reason for my call is to warn you about signing a contract with someone who couldn't possibly afford your house.

(The lender then tells a true story about a couple that could not qualify. Because the sellers had accepted a contract without a Loan Application Clause, the house was tied up for two months and could not be sold to anyone else. As expected in this case, a cash buyer came by one week after contract acceptance, but the sellers had their hands tied. The purchasing couple thought they could still find financing and would not release the contract.)

I can help you avoid this terrible situation and would like to make my telephone available to you. I would be glad to pre-qualify anyone who looks at your house in just a few minutes over the phone. I'm looking for new business and I have found this to be one of the best ways to do it. Of course I would like to be the one to help you with your new loan also when you move. Could I drop by ______________ or _____________ to introduce myself and to leave some cards and information?

Try it – it works

I urge you to try this very profitable method of listing houses. By the way, if the buyers call the lender and find out they do not earn enough to qualify for the FSBO house, tell the lender to have them call you. You can help them find a great house that is in their price range. So you see, this is a great method for finding buyers and sellers.