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The Most Costly Mistake You’ll Ever Make as a Creative Real Estate Investor

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The Most Costly Mistake You'll Ever Make as a Creative Real Estate InvestorHave you ever read or heard about a killer deal that a real estate investor did and thought to yourself, “Why in the world would the seller ever accept an offer like that?” or “I could never make that kind of an offer” or “How do you talk someone into that?”

If you answered “yes,” than you have most likely suffered from this common profit destroying tendency. At some time or another, ever creative real estate investor has made this mistake and must always be on guard against it. Without further ado. . .

Don’t Think for Other People!

Here’s an example when we didn’t think for the other person and came out on top.

A motivated seller gave us a call. She owned a mobile home in North Charleston. Our primary business is not buying mobile homes, but our motto has always been, “We do deals.” So, whatever it is, if it’s a deal, we’ll take a look at it. The home was in good shape and the owner wanted a cash offer so we gave her one. We offered her $9K. And the seller owed $36K!

You may be thinking that our offer doesn’t make sense, but who ever said that you had to offer a seller more than they owe. She went through a credit union and got a personal loan for $27K to pay off her title loan. That’s how bad she wanted out.

We bought it for $9K, had the carpets cleaned, and financed it to someone for $24,900 with $3K down! Had we thought for the seller, we never would have made that offer in the first place.

4 Sure Signs That You’re Thinking for Other People and Losing a Ton of Money in the Process

1. You Get Your First Offer Accepted

My business partner, Dusty, is a master real estate investing negotiator and does his best never to think for someone else. He prides himself on the fact that he has a method to not only negotiate price but terms as well. Typically, most investors only negotiate on price but there is much more to deal structuring than what you pay for a property. How you structure paying for a property can turn a mediocre deal into a grand slam!

A lead came in about a year ago from a seller who owned a property free and clear. The seller was already asking a reasonable price so we knew there was a great opportunity here.  Dusty took the seller through his normal negotiating process and low and behold when Dusty made the offer . . . the seller said, “OK.”

Even though we got a good deal under contract that day, I remember talking to Dusty when he got back from the appointment, and he was not too happy with himself. When you get your first offer accepted, you know that you left money on the table, and the culprit was most likely thinking for the seller.

2. You Don’t Ask for What You Want

Only you can be the judge of this sure sign that you’re thinking for other people. Maybe you didn’t ask for the terms that you wanted in the deal or you didn’t ask for the seller to include the appliances, fixtures, or the boat sitting in the front yard.

Children have an amazing capacity to continually ask for what they want regardless of how many times they have been told “No.” Think back to when you were a child and harness that ability.

3. You Consistently Make the Same Profit on Your Deals

Have you done several deals now and seem to make around the same profit in each deal? Even if you are a seasoned pro, there is an average profit that you make per deal.

Find out what your average profit is and determine to make more on your next deal. You may have gotten comfortable and stuck in your ways. You may be thinking for other people and have an established profit # in your head that you “should” make per deal.

Every deal that we do is looked at on a “deal by deal” basis. Depending on the terms of the deal, the location of the property, condition of the house, etc., we determine our bottom line and make an offer we feel will be rejected.

4. You “Try” to Make a Deal Work

“Trying” to make a deal work is a dangerous thing to do. This usually occurs when you become emotionally attached to a property, the seller’s situation, and you start thinking for the seller.

It must be black and white! Either it’s a deal or it’s not. Run your numbers and keep your thoughts on what makes sense for you.

How to Train Your Tenants : Real Estate Investing Property Management

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How to Train Your Tenants : Real Estate Investing Property ManagementIt is amazing how quickly the tenant/landlord relationship can be defined and redefined.  You must lay the groundwork for how the relationship will work from the start.  If you lack an iron fist up front, it will be hard to enforce your rights later on.  When you try, your tenants will accuse you of “being a jerk all of a sudden.”  On the other hand, if you are tough up front and help them out later on if need be, your tenants will think (correctly) that you are being extremely fair. 

For example, I recently bought an investment property with tenants already in place.  The sellers had mailed the tenants a letter informing them there would be a change in ownership and management.  I did the same and also informed them of the new address to send the rent to, who to make the check payable to, and the contact phone number for any problems or questions.

The tenants were behind on their rent when I bought the property, and due to a family emergency I hadn’t followed up on the late rent.  By the time I was able to check again on the rent another due date had come and gone.  Up to this point, I had received no contact from the tenants. 

Hmmm . . . I am a new owner/manager.  I have tenants that are late on their rent.  And the tenants haven’t even bothered to call me about it.  This was bad, especially this early in the relationship.  I was training the tenants and teaching them how our relationship works. I had to nip this in the bud quickly.

I filled out and mailed a Pay or Quit Notice as well as a Statement of Account showing the tenants the amount they were behind, including late payments, late fees, and legal fees if I had to pursue that route. 

Now, normally at this stage, I also file an eviction on the tenants.  In this particular case, I didn’t because the previous owners had told me the tenants had been good in the past but had run into some life problems and were paying, but consistently paying late. 

 

This can actually be a benefit.  If properly handled, a consistently late paying tenant can add up to big profits for you, as long as you enforce your late fees. I was taught by my mentor to let the paperwork do the talking.  Therefore my leases define all the late fees plus a rental discount that is lost as soon as the rent is late.  I make at least $100 the first day the rent is late, plus $5 per day after that.  It’s a great profit center!

I had to travel to the area of town where my late paying tenants lived so I personally placed the “Notice to Pay or Quit” and the “Statement of Account” in their mailbox at around 4:30 that afternoon. This paperwork has very strong language about the implications of not paying.

At 6 pm that day, I received a phone call and an anxious sounding voicemail asking me to contact them as soon as possible to resolve this situation. I did not respond. The next morning at 8 am, I received a second call and another voicemail pleading with me to call them. I waited until about 10am to call back because I wanted to make a statement to the tenants. I don’t want them to think that I am at their beck and call. If they think that they can ignore me and their obligations and get me on the phone at any moment, their wrong. That’s not the kind of tenant/landlord relationship that I want to create.

We ended up negotiating a workable payment plan, and I wrote up a consent judgment for the tenants to sign.  If they don’t make the agreed upon payments on time, they have already consented to a judgment being filed against them (without the hassle or expense of me going to court) and agreed that a writ of possession would be issued giving them 24 hours to vacate the property.

How about that?

You are going to save untold hours of frustration and headaches wondering if and when you’ll get your late rent and fees by following this advice; plus you’ll have tenants who know you hold them accountable for their actions, but also know you are fair and willing to work with them when the situation warrants it.

59 “Must Know” Tips in Creative Real Estate Investing to Minimize Risk and Maximize Returns

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As creative real estate investors, there are many strategies that we can implement in our businesses to minimize risk and therefore . . . Maximize Returns! When I first wrote down the idea for this post, I had a few things in mind to list and then something happened. I started to realize how many [...] Read more »

How to Find Great Contractors for Your Real Estate Investing Renovations

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Once you find a potential contractor for your renovation, your work is far from over. You’ll want to do background checks, call their references, review their accountabilities, determine their expected pay and method of payment, among other things. When I’m interviewing potential contractors, I rely on my gut feelings more often than not. If a [...] Read more »