What to Say When the Seller Says, “Just Make Me an Offer”

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Don’t you hate it when a seller gives you the dreaded, “Just make me an offer.” Well, I sure do. I got tired of it pretty quickly after I realized how much time and energy was wasted with these people.

A question that we require a seller to answer is . . .

“What are you asking for the property?”

As real estate investors, we only want to work with motivated sellers. People who NEED to sell not just want to sell. Whether they are behind on payments, facing foreclosure, job loss, divorce, etc. When you get a response like, “Just make me an offer,” this should be a red flag that the seller may not be motivated enough to work with you. Before you spend any more of your precious time with the seller, you need to get to the bottom of this.

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Tags: creative real estate, creative real estate investing, Negotiating, negotiating real estate, real estate investing, Real Estate Investment Buying Strategies
Posted in Negotiating, Real Estate Investment Buying Strategies, Tips and Tricks | 4 Comments »

Price, Terms, And TVs : How’s That for Creative Real Estate

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Have I got a story for you . . .

I was having lunch yesterday with a couple local investors (good friends of mine at Charleston Home Buyers) and have an incredible deal to tell you about that they just closed on. And the first thing that was said to me was, “Thanks!”

They said one of the ideas that he recently got from the blog was a huge contributing factor to how he negotiated the deal. Here’s the idea that made the difference for him . . .

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Tags: creative real estate, creative real estate investing, negotiating real estate, Real Estate Investment Buying Strategies, seller financing
Posted in Negotiating, Real Estate Investment Buying Strategies, Real Estate Investment Financing Strategies | No Comments »

Whose Side Are You On Anyway… Real Estate Negotiating Tactic

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Your ability to negotiate well with sellers will determine the ultimate profitability of every deal that you do. The better negotiator you are, the better (and more) deals you’re going to get.

In my real estate investing business, my partner, Dusty Keefe, meets with all of our seller leads. And let me tell you, Dusty is a master negotiator!

Today, I’m going to tell you about one of the negotiating tactics that he uses with great success. It allows him to maintain control of every meeting, takes all the pressure off his shoulders, and puts him on the same side of the table as the sellers. . . which is where you want to be.

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Tags: creative real estate investing, Negotiating, negotiating real estate, real estate investing, real estate negotiating
Posted in Negotiating, Real Estate Investment Buying Strategies, Tips and Tricks | No Comments »

Secrets of Real Estate Investing Success : The Missing Link (part 1)

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This post is for the 85% of creative real estate investors who say to themselves:

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“I’m not where I want to be. I want to

Make BIG MONEY Investing in Real Estate!

What am I doing wrong?”

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What’s the difference that makes the difference between mediocrity and success in creative real estate investing? What’s the missing link?

Before we can get to the missing link, you must ask yourself, “Why am I in Business?” If you didn’t say profit as your #1 reason, we’ve got a problem! You are going to need to reevaluate what you’re doing if you care about becoming a successful real estate investor.

“But Patrick, the #1 reason that I’m in business for myself is to give back to my community, help my parents out financially, and eventually, start a nonprofit.”

WRONG ANSWER! These are all terrific reasons to go into business for yourself, but they all hinge on the One Most Important Thing of All, Your Business’s Profitability!

OK, so we’ve established that profit is the #1 reason why you’re in business. To get to the missing link, we must analyze what specific actions make a real estate investing business profitable.

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Key Focus Areas for your Real Estate Investing Business’s Profitability

1. Marketing

Do you have plenty of seller and buyer leads at your disposal? What is your marketing strategy? Do you track your cost per lead, cost per deal?

2. Your Negotiating / Communicating Skill Set

Have you studied sales and negotiating? Do you use a sales system? Do you effectively communicate with sellers, buyers, investors, contractors? How do you handle typical objections?

3. Converting Your Real Estate Investing Actions into Cash

Have you learned the ins and outs of wholesaling, assigning contracts? Do you use lease options as a strategy for selling property at maximum value? Do you know how to flip a house and come out on top?

4. Leveraging through Systems

What real estate investing systems are you using to manage and organize your business?

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Depending on where you are at in your real estate investing career, you will want to focus more on some of the key focus areas more than others. For instance, if you’re a beginner,  the first action that should be taken would be in marketing. If you don’t have any leads, there’s really not anything for you to do, right? No way for you to make any money as a real estate investor.

But, even knowing what the key areas of focus should be for your real estate investing business is not enough. There’s still a missing link! And that missing link is the difference between average mediocre results in real estate investing and Making the Big Money!

In part 2 of this post, I’ll be explaining exactly what holds back most investors from achieving their dreams and what to do about it!

Tags: creative real estate investing, lease options, Marketing, Negotiating, negotiating real estate, real estate marketing
Posted in Business Management Systems and Tools, Marketing, Negotiating, Personal Development, Tips and Tricks | No Comments »

How to Effectively Qualify a Seller Lead on the Phone

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Your primary aim is to spend the least amount of time possible qualifying seller leads, both researching the lead and talking to them on the phone. Time is mostly wasted by spending more than is necessary when a property doesn’t have sufficient equity and working with unmotivated sellers.

2 Components to Effectively Qualifying a Seller Lead

1) Building Rapport

2) Asking Good Questions

I’m going over “Asking Good Questions” today. Check out the Building Rapport post for more info.

Asking Good Questions : 2 Important Criteria When Qualifying a Seller Lead

1) Equity – Determined by what’s owed, estimated repairs, & ARV.

2) Level of Motivation – Do they “Need” to sell?

Start by asking, “What’s your situation?” - This question can elicit an array of responses full of valuable information (about equity and motivation level) from, “We’re about to lose our house to foreclosure” to “My husband passed away last fall, and I want to downsize” to “I can’t stand my neighbor for another day. I have to get out of here ASAP.”

Listen very carefully and make good notes. This is the information that you will present to them when showing them how your offer suits their needs if you can help them. Write down everything they say!

Base on their response you may also ask, “So, why are you selling exactly?” And, “Is it even important that you sell the property?”

Determining Equity

Ask, “Is there a mortgage on the property?” If no, you have some great deal potential so go put on your creative real estate shoes . If yes, ask “Approximately what is owed on the property?” And, “Is there just one mortgage?” Then ask, “Is the payment on the house current?” Note . . . that I did not ask, “Are YOU current on your payments?” This depersonalizes the problem (if there is one) and increases the chance that the seller will tell you the truth about their situation.

Next question, “What kind of condition would you say the property is in?” What all would have to be done for the property to be in excellent shape?”

Be prepared that seller’s typically grossly underestimate the amount of work that needs to be done to their property. That’s OK though. We are just getting a general idea for qualifying purposes. If you are looking at a tight deal based on what’s owed and what it is worth after repairs, you can disqualify a lead if you find out it needs sufficient work.

As far as the ARV goes, this one is up to you to figure out. My only recommendation is to BE CONSERVATIVE! If you don’t have access to MLS, check out Zillow.

Determining their Motivation Level

Hopefully, when you asked them “What’s your situation?” they gave away some hints as to whether they are motivated or not. If you haven’t asked them already, now is the time to ask, “So, why are you selling exactly?” And, “Is it important that you sell the property?” And, “What would happen if you aren’t able to sell the property?”

At this point in time, if the seller has sufficient equity and is motivated, I will go ahead and set up an appointment to meet with the seller at the property.

If there is plenty of equity but I’m still unsure about their level of motivation, I will say, “I’d like to tell you a little bit about how our company works. We are professional home buyers that invest in real estate full time. We are a business so we would have to make a profit on the house if we were to buy it. Are you OK with us profiting on the house?”

Now What?

You have now successfully qualified a real estate investing seller lead over the phone. When using some of the insights in your communications, I suggest using the questions above word for word. Each is worded very carefully in order to get the best results. Enjoy!

Tags: creative real estate investing, Negotiating, negotiating real estate, real estate investing
Posted in Negotiating, Real Estate Investment Buying Strategies, Tips and Tricks | 3 Comments »