Channel playbook
Texting pre-foreclosure leads: read this first.
SMS is the channel where the most wholesalers get themselves sued. Florida has the strictest texting law in the country. This playbook leads with the compliance reality on purpose — the value here is keeping you out of court, not promising a magic blast tool.
The reality
Florida's FTSA makes cold texting the riskiest channel.
The Florida Telephone Solicitation Act (FTSA) is one of the strictest state texting laws in the United States. It restricts using an automated system to send sales messages without the recipient's prior express written consent — and it gives the recipient a private right of action with statutory damages per message. Layer the federal TCPA on top and the math gets ugly fast: a single mass-text campaign to a raw list can become a class action.
That is the differentiator most “text blast” tutorials skip. In Florida, the cost of getting SMS wrong is not a bounced message — it is a lawsuit. So before we talk about templates, the honest answer is: do not cold-text a scraped list. A Lis Pendens filing is public record, but a public record is not the same thing as consent to be texted.
This is general information, not legal advice. Florida's rules change and the penalties are real — talk to a Florida attorney before running any SMS program at scale.
The compliant path
How to use SMS on this data without lighting a fire.
Use it as a follow-up
Text after you've talked.
The safest SMS is one the owner is expecting. Once you've reached someone by phone or at the door and they've agreed to a text, a short follow-up confirming your details is reasonable. The consent came first; the text just documents it.
Send manually, one-to-one
No autodialer on a raw list.
The FTSA targets automated, mass-sent messages. A personal text you type and send to one human you have a basis to contact is a fundamentally different act than a platform firing the same message at a thousand numbers. Keep it personal and keep records of why you had consent.
Bring a vetted platform
If you scale, scale compliantly.
If you eventually build a consent-based list, use a reputable SMS platform with opt-in management, opt-out handling, and 10DLC registration — not a burner app. Lispend does not provide native SMS; we deliberately leave the sending to tools built for compliance, and the consent to you.
A respectful first text
What a compliant manual text looks like.
Short, identifies you by name, references the prior contact, and always offers an easy opt-out. Use this only where you have a basis to text — never as a cold blast.
“Hi [Name], it's [Your Name] — we spoke earlier about your place on [Street]. Just sending my number so you have it if you want to talk through options. No pressure at all. Reply STOP and I won't text again.”
Hard no's
What never to do.
- Don't auto-blast a raw scraped list. A list of public filings is not a list of people who consented to be texted. This is the single fastest way to a Florida statutory-damages lawsuit.
- Don't hide who you are. Every message should identify you by name and make clear you're an investor, not the bank or the court.
- Don't ignore an opt-out. One STOP request, honored immediately and logged, protects you far more than another hundred messages ever could.
Frequently asked
SMS questions.
Is it legal to text pre-foreclosure leads in Florida?
Texting a homeowner is legal only under tight conditions. The Florida Telephone Solicitation Act (FTSA) and the federal TCPA treat marketing texts the way they treat calls. Sending automated or mass texts to people who have not given prior express written consent exposes you to per-message statutory damages. Manual, one-to-one texts to a contact you already have a relationship or consent with are a different matter — but a raw scraped list is not consent.
What is the FTSA and why does it matter for SMS?
The Florida Telephone Solicitation Act is one of the strictest state texting laws in the country. It restricts the use of automated systems to send telephonic sales messages without prior express written consent and creates a private right of action with statutory damages per violation. That combination — strict consent rule plus easy lawsuits — is why Florida is the worst state in which to blast a cold SMS list.
Does Lispend send text messages for me?
No. Lispend is a data product — it delivers fresh Florida Lis Pendens filings as a clean CSV. It does not send texts, and it deliberately does not offer a native blast tool, because cold mass-texting Florida homeowners is a high-risk activity we will not encourage. How you contact the people on a list, and whether you have consent to text them, is your responsibility under our terms.
How can I use SMS on pre-foreclosure leads compliantly?
Use it as a follow-up layer, not a cold first touch. Once you have spoken to an owner and they have agreed to receive texts, a short, personal, manually sent message that identifies you and offers an easy opt-out is reasonable. Keep records of consent, never use an autodialer to blast a raw list, and when in doubt, consult a lawyer before pressing send at scale.
Get the list
Clean data first. Compliant contact second.
Lispend delivers fresh Florida Lis Pendens filings — owner and verified site address — every weekday morning. What you do with the list is up to you; the law is on you too. Browse the feed free, no card.
More channels: see all four playbooks.