Many foreclosure cleaning business owners don’t know it, but your local housing authority presents a veritable watershed of contracting opportunities. Why/how?

Because recently, many states and cities across the country got stimulus money – monies that went directly to local housing authorities for all types of projects that foreclosure cleanup companies are qualified to do.

Sample List of How Much Money Cities/States Across the Nation Received

In Virginia, the Norkfolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority received $9.2 million in stimulus money;

The City of New Orleans’ Housing Authority received almost $35 million;

In Florida, the Tampa Bay Housing Authority received $10.5 million dollars; and

The Chicago Housing Authority received a whopping $200 million in stimulus funds (guess the president had to take care of home, huh?).

The vast majority of these funds are allocated for rehabbing and building projects to help revitalize run-down neighborhoods and/or those affected by the foreclosure crisis. In a lot of cases, foreclosed properties have been abandoned. This led to a lot of vandalism and outright neglect.

Hence, many of these foreclosures will need things like ongoing lawn maintenance, windows repaired, winterization, locks changed, sheetrock rehung, etc. All of this falls in line with the types of services foreclosure cleaning companies and other real-estate related service firms offer.

So whether you are a full-service foreclosure cleaning company, or one who offers just a few services (eg, exterior and/or lawn maintenance and upkeep), there will likely be some contracts you can bid on from your local housing authority.

How Does Bidding for a Contract with a Housing Authority Work?

The first thing you should know is that many of the applications for bidding can be found online.

The second thing you should do is figure out which housing authority(ies)  you qualify to register with. Some cities have more than one housing authority, so make sure you research which one(s) you need to register your foreclosure cleanup business with.

Housing Authority Registration Tip: Register your foreclosure cleaning business with housing authorities close to your business. This way, you’ll be bidding on jobs that are close to you. If you have to give 2, 3o or 5 bids in a week, you’ll thank your lucky stars that you don’t have to drive 75 or 100 miles to assess a job that you might not get. This can get expensive – in time and gas.

Registering with Housing Authorities: The Application Process

Once you find the right housing authorities to register with, all you have to do is visit their website and complete the application(s) you’ll find there.

Required Follow-up Information via Mail or Fax

In some cases, you’ll be required to send follow-up information via fax or snail mail to complete the formal application process (eg, completed W-9, copy of business license, proof of insurance, etc.). Don’t let this stop you from filling out the electronic application online.

You’ll get in the system quicker this way.

What to Look for Once You Log Onto Your Local Housing Authority Site

Some of the housing authority sites can be downright frustrating in that it can be hard to find what you’re looking for.

Once you log on to a housing authority’s website, look for the following types of links (names vary): Contracting Opportunities, Vendor Opportunities, Business Opportunities, Doing Business with the Housing Authority, etc.

Once you locate the right link and click it, you will probably land on a vendor application (FYI, this application may be called something like a “procurement application”).

Now that you’re in the right place, start filling out the application as instructed.

How to Make Sure You Complete the Housing Authority Application Process

Note: Some of the housing authority applications can be quite detailed, so have all of your business information handy (eg, business license, foreclosure cleanup insurance info, W9 information, etc.). This way, you won’t be frustrated while trying to complete the application process.

Also, to ensure that you send the follow-up info required right away, allot an afternoon or day to do ALL that’s required – ie:

Going to a copy shop to get the documents you need to send via snail mail copied (if you don’t have a home copier);

Going to an office supply store to get the right size envelope to put all of your documents in; and

Going to the post office to mail off the required docs

Housing Authority Bid Solicitations Will Start Flowing In

Once you complete the Housing Authority Application process, you will start receiving bid solicitations (aka request for proposals (RFP)) from those you’ve registered with. Once you start receiving bid solicitations, you can start competing for lucrative contracts for your business.

You won’t qualify to bid on all the jobs – so don’t be disappointed. Housing authorities routinely send out RFPs to every contractor in their database.

BUT, be sure to check every one because sooner or later, you will receive some for which your foreclosure cleaning company is qualified to bid. And you’d be amazed at what some of them pay. Many can be for tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars; even a few million.

How to Beat the Competition to Bidding on Housing Authority Jobs

Instead of waiting for bids to land in your inbox, you can also be proactive by routinely checking the housing authority’s website to find out which jobs are open for bids. To find these, look for links that say “Current Solicitations” or “Current Opportunities.”

Many don’t do this. They sit back and wait for bids to come to them. Even when they receive them, they may not act in time. Hence, by being proactive like this, you get (and keep) a leg up on the competition.

Federal/Local Government Contracts Can Pay – Big!

Read the story of how one janitorial cleaning service grew its business from $225,000 to over $10 million — all because of government contracts. So, sign up and get on the road to landing lucrative government contracts from local and federal agencies today (like those provided by your local Housing Authority).

It’s So Easy to Register with Your Local Housing Authority

We’ve done all the work for you. Learn exactly what you need to know to register with your local housing authority to get foreclosure cleaning jobs.

P.P.S.: Like this post? Follow Foreclosure Business News on Twitter.

Copyright © 2010 Yuwanda Black for Foreclosure Business News. Article may not be reprinted or reproduced in any manner without the express, written consent of the author.

Foreclosure cleaning is a hot small business opportunity right now. And, smart entrepreneurs are realizing that it’s not just a good business to start right now, but one that is evergreen because as long as real estate is bought, sold and rented, there will be a need for the services that foreclosure cleanup businesses offer.

If you’re thinking about starting this kind of business but wonder if you have the time and capital needed, here are some guidelines for how to get started quickly and cheaply . . . even if you’re working fulltime.

Get Licensed and Insured: You simply can’t operate a foreclosure cleanup business without being licensed and insured. Why? Because your clients are going to be banks, realtors, mortgage companies, property management firms, etc.

They expect and require foreclosure cleaning companies that contract with to be licensed and insured. It’s to protect them – and you. So get it before you start.

FYI, regarding insurance, if you’re going to hire workers, you’re going to need workman’s comp insurance. What’s required in the way of insurance for your foreclosure clean up business varies from state to state. To find out what you need, speak with your insurance agent and tell them on the kind of business you will be starting, the types of services you’ll be offering and whether or not you’re going to be hiring workers. They’ll instruct you on what’s required.

Offer Services You Can Do Yourself: Foreclosure cleaning is the type of business where you can offer a range of services – everything from lawn maintenance to painting to installing sheetrock to cutting tree branches.  This is one of the reasons it’s such a lucrative business opportunity by the way; there are simply so many ways to make money.

But, to start quickly and cheaply (ie, not having to hire workers), only offer the services you can handle yourself.

For example, if you don’t have any skills, just offer to do lawn maintenance and general trashouts. Everyone knows how to cut a lawn and remove trash and debris, right?

As you learn more and/or subcontract with other firms, you can add on more services. But, by starting with just what you know how to do, you’ll never have to worry about hiring workers and/or depending on somebody else to complete a job before you can get paid.  

Do Grassroots Marketing: With the advent of the internet, you don’t have to spend a penny on marketing your foreclosure cleanup business. Send emails to realtors, bankers, property preservation companies, etc.

And, if you have a computer and printer at home (and most do these days), make up cheap flyers and hand them out in your area. Also, visit your local chamber of commerce and network for free. Eventually, they’ll want you to sign up, but you’ should be able to attend a few meetings for free.

As the Chamber of Commerce is where all the small business owners in a community are, you can get leads from many different types of business owners, eg, realtors, appraisers, bankers, etc.

Foreclosure Cleaning Business Marketing Tip: Make a certain number of contacts every week. For example, if you send out at least 20 emails a day (M-F), that’s 400 contacts a month; 4,800 a year. With just a 1% return, that’s 48 jobs a year – or approximately one a week.

If you averaged just $500 on each job — and that is extremely low – that’s $24,000 per year. Not bad for a “part time” business, right?

And, this is how you have to think of marketing. It’s a numbers game. The more stuff you put out, the more likely you are to land jobs. Any successful sales person will tell you this.

Schedule Jobs on the Weekends and Evenings: This will probably be the hardest thing to do, as most clients will want any foreclosure cleaning jobs they hire you for completed as soon as possible. But, if you can schedule a job to be done right away, even if it means going directly from your 9 to 5 job to a property and working until midnight or later, you will be able start making money and building your client list that much sooner.

Ask for Referrals: After every job you do, get in the habit of asking how they heard about you and can they refer any other business your way. This must, must, must become a habit. Sometimes, you’ll get a foreclosure cleaning job or a referral just because you asked this one simple question.

Grow Your Foreclosure Cleanup Business with Government Contracts

Read the story of how one janitorial cleaning service grew revenues from $225,000 to over $10 million — all because of government contracts. So, sign up and get on the road to landing lucrative government contracts from local and federal agencies today.

P.S.: Like this post? Follow Foreclosure Business News on Twitter.

Copyright © 2010 Yuwanda Black for Foreclosure Business News. Article may not be reprinted or reproduced in any manner without the express, written consent of the author.

When you start a foreclosure clean up business, there are going to be times when you’re going to have to hire help. If you’ve never done this before, it can literally devour your profits and ruin your business reputation.

Following are a few things to keep in mind when hiring help to assist you in your foreclosure cleaning business.

1. Use a Staffing Agency: One of the easiest ways to hire workers – quickly – is to go through a staffing agency. Agencies like Labor Ready are ideal for staffing the types of jobs foreclosure cleaning companies handle because they specialize in providing staff in industries like construction, cleaning, lawn care, etc.

Going through an agency is beneficial because they handle all the upfront paperwork, employee screening, drug testing, etc. You tell them what you need and they supply the workers. You pay them and they pay the workers. You don’t have to worry about W2s, 1099s, checking references, etc.

While this is a simple, quick way to hire the help you need, it is not without its drawback.  One of the main drawbacks is that you’ll most likely be paying workers by the hour. Hence, if you misjudge how long it’s going to take you to do a job, it can eat into your profits. For example, if you’ve estimated that it’s going to take 7 hours to complete a job, but it winds up taking 10, then that’s more money out of your pocket.

And, if you have to pay say two workers, that’s six extra hours of work. If you’re paying each worker $10/hour, that’s an extra $60 – directly out of your profits.

Hence, you it’s important to be as precise as possible when putting together your foreclosure cleaning bid. Be sure to build in enough of a profit so that if a job runs over in time, it doesn’t eat up too much of your profits.

Note: When hiring labor from a staffing agency, ask about each worker’s work history with the agency, eg, how long have they temped through the agency; how many times have they been sent out in the last few months; what’s the feedback from other clients; etc.

The reason you want to do this is, recruiters work on commission (I know, I was a recruiter for over a decade). So it’s to their benefit to have as many workers on someone’s payroll as possible. Sometimes, they may not do their due diligence in checking a worker’s history. This is particularly true with day laborers, the kind of workers you’ll likely be using.

A worker could literally have walked through their doors yesterday and if your job order crosses their desk and it seems like a fit, they’ll send them out to you. This is before any background or reference checks have been done.

So be sure to ask. Remember, it’s your foreclosure cleaning businesses’ reputation that’s on the line.

2. Don’t Rely on Friends and Family: Many small business owners – and foreclosure cleaning business owners are no different — make the mistake of hiring friends and family.

This can be a huge mistake, for it can not only damage your personal relationships, but it can damage your business reputation as well.

Remember, you’re operating a business – your very livelihood. And, you’re not a friend or family member when you’re working. You’re officially the boss.

Some  friends and family can’t make the transition form “family/friend” to “employee.” For example, what if you have to ask them to redo something that wasn’t done correctly the first time. Or, if you have to ask them to stay later because the job is taking longer than expected.

What if they refuse?

See how easily this can cause problems.

It’s just too risky to mix business with personal relationships. Where possible, avoid it at all costs.

3. Pay a Fair Wage: Just because you may be able to get away with paying minimum wage, it doesn’t mean you should. Build a decent wage into your foreclosure cleaning bid so that you can fairly pay workers. Remember, this type of work can be backbreaking.

Paying a little more will give your company a good reputation so that when it’s time for you to hire, you will have loyal workers who will not only do a good job for you, but they’ll recommend others to you on that basis also.

If you keep these things in mind when staffing your foreclosure cleaning businesses’ jobs, you should have no problem hiring competent, affordable help – quickly.

P.S.: Learn more about how to operate a successful foreclosure cleaning business.Read how one foreclosure cleaning business owner makes up to $40,000/wk.

P.P.S.: Like this post? Follow Foreclosure Business News on Twitter.

Copyright © 2010 Yuwanda Black for Foreclosure Business News. Article may not be reprinted or reproduced in any manner without the express, written consent of the author.

Government Stimulus Money FINALLY Flowing Into Communities: This Means Contracts for Foreclosure Cleaning Companies (& Other RE Service Businesses)

The government stimulus money for many housing projects around the country is starting to be allocated, as we discussed last summer here in the post, Foreclosure Cleaning Contracts on the Way? When Will Gov’t Stimulus Money be Allocated?  This means local municipalities have money to spend on many projects that are ideal for foreclosure cleaning companies — and other real estate services companies like:

Appraisers

Realtors

Brokers

Property Preservation Companies

Termite & Pest Control Companies

Building Contractors

Carpenters

Tiling Companies

Window Repair and Installation Companies

Plumbers

Electricians

Roofing Companies

Drywall Specialists

Locksmiths

Window Installers

Lawn Care Companies

Painting Companies

Junk Haulers

Cleaning Companies

Pressure Washing Companies

Gutter Cleaning Companies

Learn how to register with your local housing authority to get foreclosure cleaning jobs (and other RE services related work).

You can also sign up with HUD for vending contracts. HUD is the Department of Housing and Urban Development. It’s mission is to:  

HUD’s mission is to increase homeownership, support community development and increase access to affordable housing free from discrimination. To fulfill this mission, HUD will embrace high standards of ethics, management and accountability and forge new partnerships–particularly with faith-based and community organizations–that leverage resources (emphasis added) and improve HUD’s ability to be effective on the community level.

Part of leveraging resources for HUD is to allocate funds to state and local jurisdictions for home and community improvement projects; many of which are ideal for foreclosure cleaning and real estate services firms.

One contract could be worth tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, or millions. And, sometimes they go on for years. It all depends on what it’s for. For example, contracts are awarded to replace HVAC units in a low-income housing project; to clean up waste from a defined zone in a community; to board up windows on foreclosed properties in a certain zip code; etc.

Most contracts are awarded by bid — so you have to be signed up with your local Housing Authority or HUD itself in order to even be eligible to bid on them.

Benefits of Registering with HUD & Your Local Housing Authority for Foreclosure Cleaning Contracts

The beautiful thing about signing up and/or being awarded a local or federal contract are:

(i) Prestige: You can tout in all of your marketing material that you are a vendor with a local or federal agency. Just that alone can get you jobs.

(ii) You’re Vetted: Many times, once prospective clients (eg, banks and realtors) know that you are a vendor with a state or federal agency, they know you have all the proper credentials. Hence, you’re already vetted — and trusted.

(iii) Eligible to Bid on & Land Lucrative Government Contracts: Obviously, this is the leading benefit of registering with your local housing authority and HUD. You’re elgible to bid on a lot of contracts that are available. Even landing one can keep a small or mid-sized company busy for months (or years), depending on what the contract is for and how long it is.

(iv) Chance to Grow Quick: As mentioned above, even landing one contract can catapult your small or medium-sized business to the next level. Proof?

Cleaning Company Grows Earnings from $225,000 to $10 Million — All Because of Government Contracts

Read the story of how one janitorial cleaning service grew it’s business from $225,000 to over $10 million — all because of government contracts. So, sign up and get on the road to landing lucrative government contracts from local and federal agencies today.

P.P.S.: Like this post? Follow Foreclosure Business News on Twitter.

Copyright © 2010 Yuwanda Black for Foreclosure Business News. Article may not be reprinted or reproduced in any manner without the express, written consent of the author.

Many homes that have been foreclosed upon will have no electricity (sometimes no water either, for that matter). But, in most cases, you need it to do your foreclosure cleaning work properly. So, what do you do? How can you get the job done when the home has no power?

In the perfect scenario, the REO realtor who’s responsible for the property will get the power turned on for you. That way, you and your foreclosure cleanup crew can come in and knock the job out with no problem. However, it doesn’t always happen this way. Sometimes, the realtor is too busy; especially these days when they are handling so many properties. Or, they may not know what the procedures are for doing this and just don’t want to be bothered with it.

Options Open to Foreclosure Cleaning Companies When a Property Has No Power

You can handle this situation in a couple of ways if you want to keep the job. You can either: (i) turn down the job, which means losing a possible long-term client; or (ii) you can find a suitable workaround. Oftentimes, this means working with cold water instead of hot. And, if you know anything about cleaning, you know how much more difficult it is to clean with cold water instead of hot.

Foreclosure Cleanup: One Piece of Equipment You Need to Handle Homes with No Power

If you choose to take on the job (which is just smart business by the way), you can purchase a small, gas-powered generator. This will give you the hot water you need, and allow you to take on foreclosure cleanup jobs – even when a property has no power.

The generator pictured here is something like (exactly) what you’ll need. It’s sold at most major home improvement stores, and in all-purpose outlets like Wal-Mart. It’s light weight, hence easily portable; gives you enough power to do most jobs; and is pretty easy to use. If you’re not mechanically inclined, this is good to know.

And the cost – around $200. Not bad for a piece of equipment for your foreclosure cleaning business that will allow you to take on more work, right?

As your foreclosure  clean up business grows, you may want to invest in a more powerful generator. These can cost right at $1,000, which is still not bad, when you consider what it allows your business to do.  

Foreclosure Cleaning: When Renting Equipment Is a Good Option

If you don’t have the money to buy a generator right now, you can rent them at major home improvement outlets like Home Depot.

Many foreclosure cleaning business owners, don’t know this, but Home Depot (and Lowes, et al) rent all types of equipment – from generators to power tools to ladders – and a whole lot more. And, they rent by the hour, the day, the week and the month. Super convenient for every size business.

Following are some approximate generator rental costs. Note: The prices are based on the power capability of the generator.

–3000 Watts $39 for 4 hours / $56 per day

–6500 Watts, $49 for 4 hours / $70 per day

Renting equipment like generators is a great way to grow your company because you can take on more work without having a lot of upfront capital. In fact, don’t purchase equipment until you know you can truly afford it.

Learn more about when to buy versus when to rent equipment for your foreclosure cleaning business.

Note: There are going to be some foreclosure cleaning jobs that you’ll have to pass on – either because the home doesn’t have power, or some other factor. It’s okay to do this if you really aren’t equipped to handle it.

It’s best to let a foreclosure cleanup job go than take it on and not do a good job. You can ruin your business’ reputation before you even get started. Remember, you’re in it for the long haul. Grow – and take on – what you can really handle and do a good job it.  

Continued success with your foreclosure cleanup business!

P.S.: Learn how to get contracts from your local housing authority! Stimulus Money Hitting Housing Authorities Across the U.S. Means Contracting Opportunities for Real Estate Services Businesses (eg, Foreclosure Cleanup Companies, Electricians, Plumbers, etc).

P.P.S.: Like this post? Follow Foreclosure Business News on Twitter.

Copyright © 2010 Yuwanda Black for Foreclosure Business News. Article may not be reprinted or reproduced in any manner without the express, written consent of the author.

The following foreclosure cleanup bid was for a real client. We covered exactly what the client wanted in Part I of this article on how to bid on foreclosure cleaning jobs. Here, we’ll go through actual pricing and provide notes on why/how we did certain things. Ready? Ok, let’s get to it.

Total Foreclosure Cleanup Job Bid: $6,120

Note: There were certain parts of the job that we did not bid on, ie, installing the carpet throughout the home and repairing the ceiling leak in the garage. Although the realtor told us she wanted this initially, she contracted with another company to handle these parts of the job.

Bid Specifics

Interior Cleaning: The home was approximately 4,000 square feet (3,966 sq. ft to be exact. This portion of the job included cleaning all rooms. In the kitchen the realtor requested specifically that all sinks, countertops, cabinets and appliances be thoroughly cleaned (eg, refrigerator, oven, venting hood, dishwasher, etc.).

Also, the client requested that all ceiling fans, mirrors and windows (upstairs and downstairs, inside and out).

In the garage and basement, the client only wanted a “broom swept” clean.

Rekeying Locks: Remember, there were four (the front door, back door and two basement doors).

Repairing/Replacing Garage Remotes:  This included installing new garage remote controls for two doors near the back, and repairing and/or replacing (whichever was more cost conscious) non-functioning garage door remote control that the realtor had.

Screen Door Repair: Fix broken screen door to the rear entry off kitchen.

Trashout and Debris Removal: This included removing trash and debris from the front and back yard. Some of the items were furniture, exercise equipment, clothing and other miscellaneous items left by previous tenants.

Note: Some items the owners wanted left behind included lawn equipment and other “clearly marked” items in the basement. The realtor agreed to clearly mark the items that were not to be removed with yellow Post-It notes.

Light Bulb Removal & Replacement: All broken light bulbs  were to be removed and clients requested that all light fixtures have working bulbs.

Tub Caulking: As necessary.

Job Total for the Above: $2,865

This is how we arrived at this foreclosure cleaning job figure:

Trashout, debris removal and dumping: $1,050

Household Cleaning: $675

Electrical and General Handyman Duties: $525

Window Cleaning (Inside and Out): $300 Note: This was a tri-level home with tall windows, hence extra equipment had to be rented to adequately complete the job.

Appliance Surcharge Cleaning: $225 Why the surcharge? The fridge was full of old, rotten food left behind. Industrial strength cleaners and bags were necessary, in addition to possible pest control spray.

Equipment Rental, Pickup and Delivery: $90

Important Note about Pricing Foreclosure Cleaning Jobs

The company profit was included in the rates above. As a matter of course, we do not give specific bid breakdowns to the realtor because sometimes clients will use this to price shop.

We DID provide the realtor with a “breakout quote” for the painting (see below). Why? Just in case she wanted to opt out of hiring our company for painting. We did this because the realtor had requested “touch up” painting.

We pointed out to her that it would be more time consuming, hence more expensive, to do touchup painting instead of entirely repainting because the paint on the walls was old and dirty. Hence, any “touch up” painting we did would clearly stand out and not look professional.

Foreclosure Cleanup Bid for Painting Portion of this Job

In spite of our advice above, we bid on this as a “touch-up” paint job, just like the realtor requested. This included painting the entire interior of the home, including water stains on ceiling in living room area off kitchen.

This estimate also included touch-up painting of square footage not included in main finished area, specifically the “hallway areas” leading to basement and/or garage.

This estimate does not include painting of the basement and garage.

Total square footage of area to be painted was $2,644 sq. ft. We charged $1.25 per square foot, which brought the total to . . .   

TOTAL FOR PAINTING: $3,305

Once we deducted the $50 discount for the Multiple Listing Service (we give this to realtors who belong to the FMLS because we advertise there and that’s how she found us), the total estimate for this foreclosure cleaning job came to . . . .

GRAND TOTAL: $6,170

Additional Notes We Added to This Foreclosure Cleanup Bid

–Payment immediately upon completion.

–Property owner or the realtor will provide and/or contractor for all supplies, eg, paint, locks, screens, light bulbs, garage door wall panel(s) and opener(s). As per realtor request, the quote provided is for labor only. The contractor (us) will provide all necessary cleaning and debris removal supplies/equipment.

Expiration of Estimate: This Estimate/Bid is good for 7 (Seven) days from date shown on bid.

If all is agreeable and you customer wishes to proceed, please sign and return per instructions outlined on n next page.

Pricing & Bidding

Several in-house profit margin percentages and were used to construct this bid. And, this is different for every company. Some that we used here include job distance, tri-level home, equipment needed, type of debris to be removed (there were several very heavy items), job turarnound time, etc.

About Giving Estimates for Painting

Note they want “touch-up” painting. This practically doesn’t exist. Usually, it’s easier to repaint than “touch up” paint.

One good thing about touch up painting though (if that is what you’re eventually hired to do) is that you usually don’t have to worry about areas window sills, baseboards, closet interiors, etc. Clearly state in your painting estimates what will and will not be covered though. That way, there are no surprises on either end when the job is done. To find a home’s square footage, search a county’s “property search” website and used this info to get a pretty accurate estimate.

As you can see, a lot goes into giving a foreclosure cleanup bid. If it seems overwhelming, don’t let it be. The more you give the better you will get at it.

P.P.S.: Like this post? Follow Foreclosure Business News on Twitter.

Copyright © 2010 Yuwanda Black for Foreclosure Business News. Article may not be reprinted or reproduced in any manner without the express, written consent of the author.

The following information is from an actual foreclosure cleaning job bid. Note: Particulars for your company may change based on geographic location, cost of materials and several other factors. This information is dispensed in two parts. The first part covers the details the client sent to the foreclosure cleaning company about what they wanted done.

The second part covers the actual bid the foreclosure cleaning company owner sent back to the realtor.

Foreclosure Cleanup Job Bid: What the Prospective Client Requested

The home in question was getting ready to be re-rented by the owners. The previous renters had skipped out, leaving a lot of stuff behind. They hired a realtor to oversee getting the home ready to be re-occupied.

1. Rekeying four doors

2. Installing new garage remote controls

3. Fixing busted screen door at rear of home

4. Removing trash and debris from front and back yard

5. Mow grass and trim hedges

6. Trash out interior of home, including the basement; removing everything except lawn equipment left behind by previous renters)

7. Replace all nonworking light bulbs throughout home (FYI, this house was about 4,000 sq feet)

8. Dust all light fixtures and ceiling fans

9. Clean kitchen, including all appliances

10. Clean bathrooms and caulk tubs

11. Do touchup painting, including ceiling (which had water stains)

12. Install brand new vinyl tiles in two upstairs bathrooms

13. Install carpet throughout the remainder of the house (except for basement)

14. Repair water damaged ceiling in garage

Extras: Realtor requested that if we spotted anything else that needed done to add them to our bid estimate.

The reason this is such a good example of a foreclosure cleaning job bid is because there are lots of services requested.

The Difference between a “Foreclosure Cleanup” Job and a “Real Estate Cleanup” Job

Technically, this is not a foreclosure cleaning job because the property was not foreclosed on. Hence, it’s a real estate cleaning job. But, they require the exact same services your foreclosure clean up company provides.

The only difference between real estate cleanup and foreclosure cleanup is in how you pitch the services of your company. Right now, foreclosure cleanup is a hot business opportunity, so it makes sense to market your company in this manner.

However, when home foreclosure no longer tops the news, it doesn’t mean that there won’t be any business. There will be. Foreclosure cleaning is an evergreen business because as long as real estate is bought, sold and rented, it will need to be cleared out, cleaned up, repaired and maintained. Always remember this.

P.P.S.: Like this post? Follow Foreclosure Business News on Twitter.

Copyright © 2010 Yuwanda Black for Foreclosure Business News. Article may not be reprinted or reproduced in any manner without the express, written consent of the author.

In a foreclosure cleanup business, you can offer a variety of services. This is a good thing for two reasons: (i) because it allows you to have multiple streams of income; and (ii) you can offer as many or as few services as you want.

Foreclosure Cleaning: The Services Offered Often Dictate the Equipment Needed

For example, you can offer trashouts and exterior property services, eg, lawn maintenance, gutter cleaning, pressure washing, etc. Or, you may focus on the interior, eg, white glove cleaning, interior repairs, carpet and floor cleaning, etc. The bottom line is, how you structure your foreclosure cleaning services is up to you.

However, for the most part, the services your foreclosure cleanup business will offer will be determined by the equipment needed to complete the job at hand. Hence, knowing how much equipment costs are – whether it’s renting or buying – is crucial.

Should You Wait to Purchase Equipment for Your Foreclosure Cleaning Business?

The simple answer is, yes, especially if you are completely new to the industry and don’t have a lot of startup capital. And, the equipment you do decide to buy doesn’t have to be brand new.

On places like Craigslist.com and Backpage.com, you can pick up a lot of used equipment for your foreclosure cleaning business, especially as some many people are losing their homes these days and are downsizing.

But if you have absolutely no money to start with, only offer those services for which you have the equipment right in your garage or in your cleaning cabinets.

Everyone has cleaning supplies . . . because they have to clean their own homes. And, if you live in the suburbs, you probably have a lawn mower. So right there you have everything you need to offer simple lawn maintenance and a good, simple cleaning. And, this is all most banks/lenders want when they hire a home to be trashed out/cleaned.

When Renting Equipment for Your Foreclosure Cleaning Business is a Good Idea

Following are some guidelines to keep in mind when it comes to accepting jobs for which you don’t have the money to outright buy the equipment, in which case you’ll rent it. If you get a job that:

(i) you know you can do;

(ii) that you will make a good money off of;

(iii) that can easily cover the cost of renting the equipment;

(iv) where it would “hurt” you not to take the job (eg, the client is unlikely to call on you again if they feel that you can’t handle most of their job requests); and

(v) that you will be paid for relatively quickly;

THEN, you should take the job and rent the equipment.

For example, let’s say a bank wants to hire you to remove trash and debris, mow the lawn and pressure wash the property.

You can handle the trashout and mowing the lawn with no problem. But, you don’t have a pressure washer. Well, large home improvement stores like Home Depot rent this type of equipment relatively cheaply by the hour, day, week, etc.

You can rent a pressure washer in most cases for under $50 a day. If you’re charging the client $$200 to $300, it’s worth it for you to take this job and shell out the cash up front to rent the pressure washer.  

Your profit easily exceeds your cash outlay, so you should be good – even if the client takes 30 days or more to pay.

Just be sure you don’t make a habit of stretching yourself too thin financially. This was a relatively inexpensive equipment rental fee. Not all pan out like this and you can find yourself in dire financial straits if you’re not careful. If you keep the guidelines outlined here in mind, you should be fine.

Warning: The “Emotions” of Spending On New Tools and Equipment

As a long-time business owner, you’re just going to have to trust me on the following:

When you first open your foreclosure cleaning business, it’s tempting to spend, spend, spend initially on all the things you “need” to get your business up and going.  The word need is in quotation marks because rarely do you need everything that you think you do.

But a business is like a new baby. You want it to have the best, so you go out and get all the bells and whistles you think it’s going to need. Before you know it, you’re in a spending frenzy. And, you will even justify it to yourself, even when you feel in the pit of your stomach that you’ve gone over board.  

It’s easy to understand, after all, you’re “starting a business gosh darnit!”

Rein yourself in though and rent equipment, especially big -ticket items, before buying. As mentioned above, large home improvement stores like Home Depot rent everything from tools to heavy equipment to generators to actual trucks.

With options like this, your foreclosure cleaning business may never need to actually buy equipment.

Foreclosure Cleanup Business Owners: Why Waiting to Purchase Equipment Is Smart

Waiting to purchase equipment is a good idea for two reasons:

(i) it will truly allow you to grow only as fast as your new business’ finances can afford; and

(ii) it will give you a chance to see which services are really taking off in your geographic area before you invest precious capital in equipment you may not use that much.

Beware of Overspending!

Golden Tip: Careful not to enter the store and spend anticipated profits on items you know you already have at home/your office, but you simply don’t want to go back to get, eg, gloves, rope, tarp, putty knives, etc.

On more than one occasion, one foreclosure cleaning business owner reports, she’s spent $50 on what should have been a $25 (at most)  trip on miscellaneous supplies like this. And, all because she failed to properly plan and pack for the job at hand.

Foreclosure Cleaning Sample Tool & Equipment Rental Rates

Get an idea of what equipment rental rates for your foreclosure cleanup business may run. This list (which may take a moment to load) is from a home depot-type store in Atlanta. These rates may vary according to geography. Some of the tools and equipment this list can be rented by the hour, by day, week or month.  

Getting an idea of what to expect when you rent equipment for your foreclosure cleaning business will give you a leg up in pricing jobs. Following are some common equipment rental costs:  

–Pressure Washer: Rent $46 (four hours)

–Fiberglass Extension Ladder, 28′: Rent $25 (four hours)

–Tow N Go Trailer, 5×8: Rent $24 (full day)

Want to know how much it costs to rent equipment for your foreclosure cleanup business? Pop into a Home Depot in your area and go to their rental department and get a price sheet.

P.P.S.: Like this post? Follow Foreclosure Business News on Twitter.

Copyright © 2010 Yuwanda Black for Foreclosure Business News. Article may not be reprinted or reproduced in any manner without the express, written consent of the author.

If you own a foreclosure cleaning business, one of the easiest, free ways to land more jobs is to create a caller intake form (ie, call log) to use as an everyday part of your marketing efforts. We’ll explain how in a moment.

This is a very easy form you can create yourself using MS Word, or any other word processing software. Once you create it, give it to the person answering your phone and instruct them how to use it – and ensure that they do for every call.

Why Use a Caller Intake Form In Your Foreclosure Cleanup Business

This simple little form can tell you a lot about your business. For example, you can find out how many calls you are getting each day, the types of jobs prospects are calling about, how many estimates you are asked to give, which geographic location the calls are coming from, how many prospects are responding to any marketing you may be doing, which season is the busiest, etc.

By having information like this at your fingertips, you can tailor your marketing efforts to make more money. For example, if you see that the bulk of the calls you’re getting come from a certain geographic area, you can market more heavily in that area. As another example, if you see that approximately 50% of the calls you’re getting are for light repairs, you can offer special deals and discounts to bring more of those types of jobs in.

This is the kind of info (ie, market research) large companies like Home Depot and WalMart use to fatten their bottom lines. Only you don’t have a marketing department or Harvard MBAs on your staff to conduct this type of research for your foreclosure cleaning business. And luckily, you don’t need to.

A simple Caller Intake form can do the job for you. In fact, this one simple little form – that you create yourself – can help guide the growth of your business for years to come.

How to Set Up Your Caller Intake Form

The Caller Intake form you create for your foreclosure cleaning business should include, at a minimum, the following info:

–Date/Time of Call

–Caller’s Name

–Caller’s Company Name

–Caller’s Contact Info (at minimum, a phone number; if possible an email and mailing address). Note: The person answering your phone can say something to the effect of, “Would you like to subscribe to our newsletter? We offer special deals and discounts on services in it, in addition to providing valuable industry info our prospects can use.”

If the person says yes, then get their email address.

–Location of Prospective Foreclosure Cleaning Job

–Scope of Job (ie, what they want done)

–Job Deadline (When they want the job completed)

–Date/Time Prospect is Available to Meet for Estimate

–How Caller Heard About Your Foreclosure Cleaning Company

How the Foreclosure Cleanup Caller Intake Form Can Help Grow Your Business

The Call Intake form ensures that you get all the information you need to give the prospect exactly what they asked for. It will make your enterprise appear professional because you won’t have to keep calling the prospect back to ask questions.

It should take you no more than 10 or 15 minutes to pull this form together using the tips here. Again, it doesn’t have to be fancy; just thorough.

Call Patterns that Will Guide Your Decision-making

As time passes, you’ll start to see a pattern in your calls, eg, are most calls coming in the early evening, mid-day, or morning? The intake form will also reveal whether most of your call activity is happening at the end of the week or the beginning of the week, mid-month or end of month, etc.

Phone Activity vs. Actual Jobs

As your foreclosure cleaning business grows, you will see which months received the most phone activity versus actual jobs. You’ll also notice that certain times of the month may see you acting as an “estimate machine. ”

However, when when you compare your call sheet to the actual foreclosure cleaning job estimates given out compared to the estimates that eventually led to jobs, you’ll may be able to discern a pattern that you can use to make better decisions moving forward.

For example, after a while you’ll be able to forecast with some degree of certainty that in this particular month, we will be geting “x” number of calls, which we know will lead to “x” number of estimates, which will then lead to “x” number of actual foreclosure cleaing jobs.

Then, you can go back to see if your foreclosure cleanup calls spiked as a result of a certain type of marketing you did (eg, postcards mailed, calls made, email campaigns sent out, etc.). Once you make this connection, then you can double up on the marketing that worked and eliminate the marketing methods that weren’t as effective.

Geography Matters

This is another thing you’ll be able to see from your caller log, ie, where most of your calls are coming from as opposed to where most of the actual foreclosure cleaning jobs you landed are located.

How’d They Hear About You?

The line near the bottom of the call intake sheet is crucial to your marketing budget — and landing more foreclosure cleaning jobs. Why? Because it will tell you which marketing methods are most effective; hence, you can do more of this type of marketing to land more jobs. .

Note: While you may not be able to ask all the questions on your call log, do your best to get an answer to this one; it is the most important.

Create Your Call Intake Form and Use It from the Day You Open Your Business Doors

If you don’t have a call log, create one using the guidelines outlined above. And, no matter who you hire as your receptionist (can be family, friends, formal or informal administrative help), call in and test them to see if they are asking the questions on the form. While some calls may not lend to a full intake, most will.

An Invaluable, Free Marketing Tool for Every Foreclosure Cleaning Business

As you can see, this one little seemingly unimportant form provides a wealth of information — right at your fingertips — that you can use to grow a very lucrative foreclosure cleanup business for years to come.

P.S.: Read how one foreclosure cleaning business owner makes up to $40,000/wk.

P.P.S.: Like this post? Follow Foreclosure Business News on Twitter.

Copyright © 2010 Yuwanda Black for Foreclosure Business News. Article may not be reprinted or reproduced in any manner without the express, written consent of the author.

Foreclosure cleaning just may be one of the top small business opportunities for 2010. Why?

Well, home foreclosures are still rising, making the need for it more prevalent than ever;

It’s an evergreen business in that as long as properties are bought and sold, the services that foreclosure cleaning companies provide are sorely needed; and

It doesn’t require any skill specialized certification to start; all you need is the desire to work hard.

Learn more about how why foreclosure cleaning is a good business to start - in good real estate markets or bad.

P.S.: Read how one foreclosure cleaning business owner makes up to $40,000/wk.

P.P.S.: Like this post? Follow Foreclosure Business News on Twitter.

Copyright © 2010 Yuwanda Black for Foreclosure Business News. Article may not be reprinted or reproduced in any manner without the express, written consent of the author.