4 things you must know before talking to motivated sellers

Some of the best real estate investing deals come from people who are looking to sell their houses. Even though there are too many houses on the market without buyers, not all sellers are motivated enough to leave a profit in the deal for you.

Even though some may be motivated, they might not have enough equity to make you a profit.

It is therefore necessary when you talk to sellers that you weed out potential time wasters without turning off potentially good deals.

Here are 5 things you must know before you talk to the next motivated seller.

1)    Do not waste your time
The most important part of any conversation is that you must take the lead in the conversation. You must direct it in the direction that provides answers to all the vital questions you need to determine if you have a deal or not.

Most buyers start talking about their beautiful house, updates they have done, nice neighborhood, and so on. Of course they are attached to their house, but this will not help you if they continue for hours.

None of this information is of any value to you unless you can buy their house at a price that makes you a profit.

I always have a list of questions that must be answered in the conversation. The order in which they are answered is not necessary, but I must determine I can make the deal happen quickly, preferably within 2 minutes.

Do not deal with any sellers who are not motivated. They must tell you the mortgage balance, or they are not motivated enough.   Lots of motivated sellers talk about their mortgage balance just a freely as the number of rooms.

In my business, I only talk to motivated sellers I have pre-screened (and usually pre-negotiated with) through my real estate investor website. A few of them will still prefer to call, and they usually have to be motivated enough to leave a voice message.

My virtual assistant then returns the call and submits the information on my website. By the time I talk to them, I already know if I can make the deal happen or not.

This way, I avoid wasting my time or the sellers time with houses I might never buy.

2)    Develop rapport
Do not appear   as Mr. Big Corporate House Buying Company. You are a local guy looking to buy their house.   And you like their house because it seems to meet your needs.

Develop this rapport in your conversation, especially once you have established you might make the deal happen.

3)    Listen, listen, listen
Since you are leading the conversation, listen to what they say - how they got into this predicament, the repairs needed, etc.

You mainly need the information that you need to determine the level of motivation, asking price, equity and repairs.

4)    Negotiate
Remember to negotiate even when the asking price looks good enough.   Lots of people might think they could have gotten a better price if you do not negotiate.

You can negotiate on appliances, closing costs or even furniture, not just the price.

If the deal looks good, always make an appointment to go see the house as soon as possible.

This way, they will stop shopping your competition since they have already locked a buyer in their mind. You can always cancel the appointment if you later think the numbers are not good for you.

As long as you remember to treat them nice, with respect and with sensitivity, they will be as keen to sell you their house as you are to buy it.

About the Author

When your real estate investing business is run from an interactive real estate investing website, the website tells your story for you, pre-educating motivated sellers how you buy houses. It also automates most aspects of real estate investing, so you close more deals using less time, money and effort. Learn how you can employ such a website so you receive pre-screened and pre-negotiated deals ready for you to make an offer in just a few minutes.

Author (simon87). Submitted on Tue, 31 Jan 2012 Time: 2:51 PM

Rating: Not yet rated

Comments

No comments posted.