Talk about hitting the ground running: Derek Ebrecht had only been subscribing to ForeclosuresMass for three months when he landed his first deal. Every Friday, Derek would download the online foreclosure data he received in his emails and send out letters to homeowners - until one Friday when a 2-family in Roslindale caught his eye.

Derek was so impressed that he immediately drove by the property. He knocked on the door, even though he was a little nervous, having never done this before. An elderly woman answered the door and told Derek that she had received hundreds of letters from "investors just like him", and was not interested. Still, they talked for a while and she told him that she was not feeling well, had recently lost a family member and was busy with the upcoming Christmas season. The timing was just not right. Derek left his card and told her to call him if she changed her mind.

Three weeks later, the woman, who we will call Mrs. Jacobs, called Derek. She remembered her conversation with him and more importantly, the fact that he had seemed truly sincere in wanting to help her. All of her efforts to raise money to save her home had been exhausted - even her own family could not help her. It was only 6 days before her property was to be foreclosed upon...

Because of the urgency of the situation, Derek immediately went over to see Mrs. Jacobs in person. She told Derek that she had been using the equity in her house as "backup money" since her husband passed away several years prior. There was only $700 in income coming in each month with an additional income of $500 for her tenant's rent.

She was seven months behind in her mortgage payments and had incurred $23,000 in credit card debt. Derek knew he could help reduce and payoff her credit card debt but was not sure how to do it legally, so he called his attorney for advice. His attorney told him to have Mrs. Jacobs sign a release so that Derek could call the credit card company. The release would also give him the power to speak directly to her bank. He negotiated with the credit card company, reduced her credit card debt by $8,000, and paid off the remaining $15,000 himself.

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In the meantime, the original deed to the house was missing. Derek drove her to the bank so they could look for it in her safety deposit box. When they arrived at the bank, Mrs. Jacobs was not allowed access to her safety deposit box since her license had expired and she did not have another valid picture ID. They then drove to the Registry of Motor Vehicles so she could obtain one. Finally, they went back to the bank, only to find that the deed was not in her safety deposit box at all. So, Derek filed for a new deed. When he did, he discovered that the house had been originally willed to Mrs. Jacobs and the deed was never properly transferred over to her, so they had to have a new deed drawn up for her.

Original mortgage dated 1933 for $4,000. Mortgage payment at the time was $30.00 per month.

The payoff figure for the foreclosing mortgage on the house was $72,000. Derek and his investor partner purchased the 2-family for $225,000. They netted $15,000 each, and this was Derek's first deal. "Relying on the tools and data from the ForeclosuresMass website, reading suggested investment books, and using the information in the newsletters, I was able do this deal. Had I had more training, I would've known to have had her sign a purchase and sale at the first meeting," says Derek.

Derek and his partner plan to renovate and convert the 2-family into condominiums. They estimate the cost to be $64,000. After the conversion, they will put the condominiums on the market for $300,000 each, netting an even greater profit.

The story of Derek's first investment ended happily for everyone. Mrs. Jacobs ended up with $131,000, rather than being foreclosed upon and losing everything. Derek did not stop at just helping her recoup some of her home's equity for her own expenses - he even spent time helping her find an apartment in which to live. He finally did find a fitting apartment in Roslindale, and even arranged for her to speak with an elderly care financial planner to help her manage her new funds. Derek owes his success to the fact that he stood out in Mrs. Jacobs's mind amongst all the other investors. His generosity and sincerity are what won him the deal in the end. Another win-win for all involved!

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