How To Get Clients For Your Foreclosure Cleanup Business From Your County Commissioners

A lot of foreclosure-ridden counties have gotten monies from the federal government in the form of grants and stimulus dollars. Many of these counties will use those monies to purchase and fix up some of the abandoned homes littering neighborhoods across the U.S. as a result of the foreclosure crisis.

As a foreclosure cleanup business owner, you can grow your business by vying for some of the specific contracts and general contracting opportunities that will be available as a result of your county's influx of federal government cash.

How to Capitalize Off Monies Trickling Down to Your County

To capitalize off the monies trickling down to your county, start by sending your County Commissioners, including and especially the Commission Chairperson, a letter congratulating them on the funds, or the pending funds.

Let them know your foreclosure cleanup company is poised to help them get homes back in market-ready condition quickly and within budget.

Sample Letter to Your Commission Chairperson

Here's a sample letter you can send to your county's Commission Chairperson:

Dear Chairman Smith:

Congratulations on the 14.5 million dollar pending grant from the federal government to assist with the foreclosure crisis in our county. I am a resident and business owner in Any County. My business is ABC Foreclosure Cleanup located in Any City.

I'd like to offer my company's services to get our distressed and abandoned homes back in shape and ready for the market. ABC Foreclosure Cleanup specializes in the clearing out and cleaning up of properties that have been foreclosed upon. One of the few formalized, one-stop-shops in the area, we are fully licensed and insured.

Services Offered: Clearing out and hauling away of debris; cleaning of properties; lawn maintenance; minor repairs including repairing sheetrock and repairing broken windows/doors; interior and exterior painting; inspections; boarding windows and doors; locksmith services; pressure washing, gutter cleaning, and winterization; and documentation services (before and after digital photos and video).

We currently work with realtors, mortgage companies, investors and landlords in our great city, and look forward to partnering with the county through your office.

I invite you and your colleagues to visit our website at [Website Address] for more information. You can reach me directly at [Phone Number] to schedule a meeting to discuss how we can assist Any County.

Thank you for consideration of my correspondence, and I look forward to working with your office in the near future.

Sincerely,
John Smith
CEO, ABC Foreclosure Cleanup

TIP: Address the letter to the Chairperson and copy all of the Commissioners on the correspondence so they know about your company.

How to Find Out What's Going On In Your Community

To stay abreast of what's going on in your county, watch the local news, read the local newspapers, and scour the internet to find out how much money your county has received (or will receive). Shortly after the first letter, send a follow-up letter to remind the Commissioners you are still poised to help out.

Not too long after that, follow-up with a phone call to any of your County Commissioners and try to get an informal meeting to discuss how your company can be of assistance to the county. These are our elected officials, and part of their duty is to "hear" local citizens.

Go to Local Commission Meetings

Find out when and where the meetings of the County Commissioners are held for your county and plan to attend. Most counties have public meetings regularly. When you attend one of these local meetings, stand up and ask a question when appropriate. For example, you may say, "I am John Smith from ABC Foreclosure Cleanup, and I have a question about ...." Then proceed to ask a question pertinent to the topic at hand.

Remember, the County Commissioners and the Chairperson will have gotten your letters and received your calls. When you stand up at the meeting, they will now see your face and associate it with the correspondence you will have sent them.

You will likely be the only foreclosure cleanup company to have reached out to them consistently and formally, and now they will know your face (more often than not, unlike that of your competition).

People Like Doing Business with People They Know

People appreciate doing business with people they know and with business owners with whom they associate. Use the local Commission meetings to formally introduce yourself and your foreclosure cleanup business and to start the formal association process.

The next day after the formal meeting, send a handwritten Thank You card to each Commissioner and the Commission Chair. Thank them for the opportunity to have participated in the meeting the day before. Tell them you look forward to participating in future meetings offering your input and suggestions to continue to better your county and surrounding areas. Sign the card with your name, your business title and your business name.

One Step Closer

You will be one step closer to the federal grant and stimulus money trickling down to counties all across the U.S. Remember, your county needs your foreclosure cleanup company's services, so help them find you easily by corresponding regularly and by participating in the local Commission meetings.

Good luck with your foreclosure cleanup business.