Prepared for
Your Subscriber's Full Name
 

Calling that referral that someone gave you? Watch out, or you can face an $11,000 fine.

A Lesson on Auto Dialers

Many real estate agents and mortgage loan officers purchase or lease an auto-dialer system, load it up with a "scrubbed" data list, and let it dial away, hoping to have a bunch of "fresh" leads waiting for them at the end of the night. There is one big problem with this - it is illegal to use an auto-dialer to call anyone with whom you do not have a pre-existing business relationship, even if they are NOT on the do-not-call list!

The fine for getting caught is $500 per occurrence. The odds of getting nailed by anyone are slim, but you must understand that you take the risk when you use these machines or services to make cold calls for you!

Did You Get My First Time Home Buyer Package Yet?

If you have not already done so, call my office to see how you can get my personalized First Time Home Buyer Seminar in PowerPoint format. You can give copies to your prospective buyers, educating them on the various aspects involved in buying a home.

Any outbound call that you make to someone whom you do not have an established and direct business relationship with - to a realtor referral or past client referral, to a person on a list you purchased – must first be run against the DNC registry. You can not rely on purchasing "scrubbed" leads and think you are off the hook.

The fact that a realtor gave your card to their client and told them you’ll be calling does not keep you compliant. If you think otherwise, you’re wrong. Your office needs to first get a Subscriber Account Number (SAN) and run every call – including realtor or mortgage broker referrals – against the DNC registry at least once every 31 days. You’ve got to have a written compliance policy in place and train your employees. You also need to have a system in place that documents all calls made, proof of established clients and consumer inquires, and an internal real-time do not call list.

If that sound like a lot, it is. Small to mid-sized companies are clearly at a disadvantage. Membership organizations like the National Association of Mortgage Bankers and the National Association of Mortgage Brokers have yet to provide an easy to access road map on what members can do to stay compliant like the National Association of Realtors has done for its members on their website. You can access the "rules of the road" for making unsolicited phone calls by clicking here to get this information from the Realtor.org website.

The laws do not prohibit you from making follow up calls, or calling on any direct lead for up to 3 months, unless the person asks you not to call them any more. You can call individuals who call you or email you even if they are on the DNC list. A company that has an established business relationship with a person may call that person for up to 18 months after the consumer’s last purchase or payment [or last business meeting, in the case of real estate agents], unless the consumer asks the company not to call again.

A good example of how you could violate the DNC rules would be calling a FSBO or an expired listing with whom you have no previous relationship. In that particular case, you fit the legal definition of a telemarketer and are subject to the penalties.

If you are doing any cold calling at all, be sure to talk with your broker to see if there is an established DNC compliance program in place. If your office does not have a SAN for each area code where you will be making calls, you are risking a personal file of $11,000 every time you make an outbound call to a person with whom you do not have an established business relationship!

About My Services

I would like to help you with the task of providing financing to your clients. To do this, I am able to do the following for you:

• Be available when you have an Open House to help greet buyers
• Help explain the various financing options and mortgage programs your buyers have access to
• Pre-qualify any buyer who has not yet talked with a mortgage company
• Determine the largest mortgage for which your buyers qualify
• Resolve any issues on your clients' credit report that can affect their mortgage.
• Obtain a loan commitment from our lenders
• Provide your buyer with a Good Faith Estimate of closing costs
• Determine any seller assist that a prospective buyer may need and qualify for
• Co-ordinate all aspects of settlement including title search, appraisal, and other services

At Your Company Name, we offer mortgages for most buyers, including ones who are self-employed or who have damaged credit. We have lenders who offer 100% financing meaning no down payment for qualified buyers.

We also offer mortgages with start rates as low as 1%, making it easier to get a buyer into a home.

If you have any questions about how I can help you get financing for your clients' homes, please call me at Company Phone #.