Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: RSS
How to Structure Deals without Making the Seller Angry
In this episode, I discuss how to structure deals in such a way that the seller will not get angry with you or offended by your offer. Many of us tend to try to assume what the seller will accept (or won’t accept) and sometimes use that guess to refrain from making an offer in the first place. Ask yourself this question..how can you guess what the other person will say? Just because you might not accept the very same offer does not mean the seller won’t consider it.
Building rapport is the critical step that most investors miss. We tend to get so caught up in “getting a deal” that we forget to spend time building a relationship. If we don’t make this time investment up front, we will not be able to make offers that solve the seller’s pain. It is important to avoid putting your offer in a position to be judged solely by the offered sales price. When the seller only has the price to choose from, they tend to accept what appears to be the “highest offer”. If we cannot explain or “sell” our offer, we are left to simply make the highest and best offer and cross our fingers.
When you are forced to make offers through “gatekeepers” the only way your offer can be judged in most cases is by price. Do you feel you can “get a deal” when you are the highest bidder? Nope, that means that you simply were the person who was willing to pay the most. I have witnessed far too many people overpay for real estate this way, don’t fall into this trap.
Being direct to the seller also means avoiding Wholesalers and properties listed by Realtors altogether. I realize that there are awesome Realtors and Wholesalers in every market, perhaps you are one of them, however, I find that in most cases, Realtors and Wholesalers simply serve as a roadblock to helping the seller solve their problem. If you ask 99% of Realtors or Wholesalers why the seller is selling and what they plan to do with the proceeds, you will likely see a blank stare or hear a long silence. That’s usually because they never bothered to ask the question thus remain unqualified to help a motivated seller solve their problem.
Sellers need to be heard, they need to be counseled as to the many options that are available to them. Rarely will a “cash buyer” solve their problems, therefore, listen in to this week’s episode as I discussed this topic in detail in a recent webinar.