speedingpenguin

Negotiate for yourself, don't bother with an agent. If you're trying to do something creative like a lease option, or even just a wholesale assignment of contract, the agent is only going to make the transaction more confusing unless the agent is also a wholesaler as well, and understands your intentions and the strategies. It sounds like you're new to investing, the last thing you want to be doing is learning as you go, trying to communicate clearly what you're doing to a real estate agent, and then have one other variable involved in the negotiation (agent(s) commission(s)). If the value of the house (based on the Zillow number) is realistically 60k and the house needs no work (to be worth the 60k), find out if the seller would rent the house instead, and if so, for how much per month? Is that number equal to or less than what similar houses in the area are renting for? Let the seller know that if you do a rent to own, he won't be paying 6% in commission when the house sells, but he will have to rent the house for a year or two first. On the other hand if the house needs repairs to be marketable, or the seller is desperate to get out from under it, if it's worth $60k as it sits, would he be willing to sell for around $50k or less if you close quick? By now I think you said the listing is expired, so if your only contact is with the seller, keep it that way and use it as a learning experience to negotiate for yourself.

For sure, while it's under agreement it can't hurt to do your best to move it. You mentioned giving something away as an incentive, while a diamond ring might be worth money, do you think a large variety of people would have any interest in YOU giving them a diamond ring for doing a rent to own deal with them? I've heard of people offering big screen TV's or iPads as move in incentives, which I think appeal to a wider audience. That might be enough to sway a potential tenant/buyer to overlook the "downsides" of your place compared to what else is available

Another technique for screening out tire kickers that I've heard of people doing, but myself have not made part of my business, is asking them to email or fax a bank statement or proof that they have the option money available (tell them to black-out their account number / personal info, or even just to write "I have $x thousand dollars" on a sheet of paper and scan & email or fax it to you) Point being, who follows directions and takes action?

I like to send an email after speaking on the phone, with a recap of what we discussed (how RTO works, what the price and terms are) as well as a link to a 5 minute video walk-through of the house (nothing fancy, but just to give them an idea of how the house looks / feels / is laid out). I also send them the contact info for my mortgage broker who starts working with them right away so that he can do the loan once they're able to qualify. Most people won't call or email back to set an appointment, which is perfect (those are the saved trips). Of the people who do call back or email back, I make sure they actually watched the video and read the information (a few won't but will still want to see the place in person) then am happy to meet them at the property in person.

I've been in similar situations before, it's price. A fellow investor friend of mine rehabs houses and has been known to buy properties that most other investors wouldn't touch... For example, a house that had train tracks behind it, power lines running next to it, and the town dump across the street from it (no joke). He was able to rehab it, sell it, and make a profit because he took all the 'crap' factors in to consideration before making the offer and priced it to sell regardless of the other factors. A large condo facing an undesirable main street with no balcony or view I'm guessing should be priced lower PER MONTH (not per square foot) than nearby condo's with the same number of bedrooms and bathrooms. Square footage matters to an extent, but 1000-1100sf condo's with a nice view, balcony, etc. vs a 1200-1300sf condo with downtown traffic out the open window I don't think is a difficult decision for most people if the bedrooms, bathrooms and price are the same. If yours was larger sq footage AND the least expensive 2/2 in the neighborhood you might have a different response. You said there's no wiggle room with the rent amount, so learn from it and move on. NEXT!!!

Having the manual handy is a good idea for sure, I'm personally a big fan of typing up and using scripts (you could re-write important parts of the manual in your own words how it would fit in a phone conversation) to refer to for important questions / answers, and I write them out exactly how I will say it... You can say the same thing in many different ways, using different words, tonality, or emphasis on certain words or pauses, and it will get you different results. By planning out ahead of time exactly what you're going to say in response to the typical questions, or how you're going to ask for certain information without sounding invasive or salesy, you can take even more control of the conversation and steer it in the direction you want rather than letting the prospect lead the conversation.

Go in with the goal of collecting some information about the house and the sellers situation, not putting a deal together or negotiating anything on the first phone call. Especially your first few calls Let them know you're looking at the property as an investment, not to live in yourselfThen ask questions to find out: General info about the house / locationWhy are they sellingHow much are they asking? (Bonus: 'is that the best you can do?')How did they get to that number?If they rented it, what would it rent for?Would they rent it, and for how long?If you can get that info from a seller, you can do your homework and check the numbers, then call them back with an offer and go over how the process works. I assume you have (and have read) the Naked Investor manual?

I've had sellers volunteer rent credit, I don't usually ask for any... It all comes down to how much do they need to walk away with really, I let them know that from the get-go. Seller rent credits or a lower purchase price, same difference. Start with the sellers best purchase price (what they walk away with) and work your way up to what the market will support

But if she goes to jail, where's she gonna keep all the stuff she bought with $1530 from someone else's debit card? That's where the house comes in

I used to struggle with sellers yapping my ear off about their house and the closets and the new garage door opener and the color of the dining room... It's true that the only reason they ramble is because you let them! Ask questions from the start and know what points you need to hit on for the call (hint: every call is really the same!), if they start rambling too much wait until you can get in an "oh wow, that sounds nice! By the way..." and steer the conversation back on track.

Do a search for gmail "Canned Responses", it will put a dropdown box in Gmail and you can store your typical responses or emails so you're not even copy/pasting just choosing which response you want filled in. Huge time saver. I set one up for every property as well so I can email potential tenant/buyers detailed information, links to pictures and videos of the property, etc. with one click (I usually will insert their name and if theres any other specific information that they requested... sure beats typing out a whole email though)

Thats funny... Sellers can be strange! Glad it worked out, I was going to say buy the tenant/buyers a couple of those electronic cigarettes and cartridges... technically, not smoking (And could even 'smoke' inside without violating the no smoking clause!) and it would be cheaper than loosing the deal! Plus, it's good for their health!

Wow, I'm not sure how long it's been since I've stopped by, but I'm back! Hope everyone here at NI is doing well, the last thread in this section is from Christmas???

Good call, John...

Thanks guys, I'll let you know how this plays out....

This is a deal I assigned last year, the tenant/buyers are breaking up and the guy is staying in the house. He's not able to cover the expenses on his own and shows signs of not being the most responsible person in the world, but apparently his mother is going to help him cover the expenses for the remainder of the term (roughly another year). Him and his ex (who was the main income source and is now moving out) both signed the agreements. What do you all think would be the best way to handle this situation so it doesn't turn in to a bigger problem down the road? The way I'm seeing it, they both signed so even if she moves out, she's still technically responsible just as much as he is. If his mother is willing to help him out however, is there a way to have her co-sign or something? The seller is a little concerned and wants to minimize any risk to the property and certainly would rather not end up going through the eviction process if the tenant/buyer's mother doesn't follow through and help cover the expenses... This was an assignment but I'd like to help the seller as best I can. Any ideas or suggestions? Thanks!

Good call, sorry I had to bail towards the end... Here's the recording, right click- save target as: www.sellwithguts.com/6054754000-427522-8.mp3

We still on for tonight?

I remember a story an investor friend from my local REIA told me a while back that this post made me think of. Now I don't know if she saw it in person or if it was a picture online, but it doesn't make much of a difference really... I guess in some areas, bandit signs are so popular and common that there might be 2 or more different bandit signs on one street corner or telephone pole. Talk about competition! (Nothing like that up here, bandit signs aren't TOO common and NEVER out in such density) Well, some investor got creative and made bandit signs that just said "Me too!" with a phone number, and would put them out with all the other signs in the area.... We Buy Houses 123-456-7890 SELL YOUR HOUSE FAST 555-333-2233 We Buy Houses $$ CASH $$ 555-212-3456 Me Too! 800-123-4567 Pretty creative if you ask me, and definitely stands out from all the other "usual" signs!

lets do it!

I found this: http://www.satorisoftware.com/support/tech-notes/280/address-management/qualifying-for-enhanced-carrier-route-postage-rates/ Sounds to me like a discounted postage rate if your mailing meets certain criteria. I skimmed the article but I think you've gotta be mailing to a specific area and mailing to a certain density of mailboxes (i.e. 75% of total possible deliveries on a carrier route are getting your mail, or more) Not something I'd think too much about.... might work great for mailing catalogs or political advertising but if you're on any type of budget I think hitting very specific people who meet very specific criteria will get you a much better response than blanketing a whole area (hitting renters, people who just bought their house, people who are severely underwater or own the most undesireable property in the area that would take forever to resell) $222 for 528 postcards, in the mail, without you having to ever touch them or put them in a mailbox.... That's a pretty good price IMO. Compared to yellow letters (which you or someone you pay would have to print/write, address, stuff, stamp, drop in the mail) which would cost me $327 (roughly) and take several hours of my time. If the postcard is a good one and your list is a good one and accurate, I know first hand you can get a similar response rate to yellow letters with regular old click2mail

Well, but it's an email address that will reach the seller (or has a chance of), without having to worry about a FSBO site going after you for "soliciting a listing" or preventing you from contacting the seller in the future. If you were so inclined to follow up with a "no" a few months down the road (who might be a "yes" by then), having an email address rather than sending a message through a FSBO site would be advantageous.

Plus, if they reply, isn't it usually from their personal email address? Cha-ching!

Also I'm not sure what your call-back rate is on voicemails, my theory on leaving voicemail is LESS IS MORE. I usually leave my name, say I'm calling about the house in _____ I saw on craigslist or wherever, could you give me a call back at 555-1212 when you have a second? I know when I get a voicemail if it sounds like a salesperson or company (i.e. formal, info-packed, etc.) I'll either ignore it (Sorry, got too much other stuff going on to return calls for services I didn't request!) or pre-screen it a little further before calling back... but some person leaves their name and says they're calling about the house they saw the sign for or the ad or whatever... well, that's someone I want to talk to!

I think it depends how and what you say, whether or not it matters that you start out as an individual or as a business. I know I have lost some prospects at the point where they discover that I'm not the one that's going to live in the house, that I'm looking to make money (even though it's not from them), and MC is right that saying you're an investor puts defenses up in a lot of cases. My thoughts as of the time I'm writing this post are that by immediately saying I'm looking for an investment property and continuing on with my qualification questions, I'm putting it out there that a.) I'm not going to live in the house b.) I'm looking to earn a profit from the real estate in one way or another, but I don't linger on that part of the discussion... just keep the conversation moving and get the prospect talking! From that point on you're pretty much good, because you're not being "sneaky" by talking about the property in a way that might sound like you're looking for yourself, and when the "company" parts of the conversation come up, it adds up and the prospects alarm bells don't start going off (*Warning! Warning!* This man's words don't add up! He said he's looking for himself and now he's talking about his company!). I also take the position that I'd LOVE to pay cash for their property and buy it as an investment for myself. But what? Oh, you can't do any better than that price? And you NEED that much each month for a payment? Hmm... Well, I can't pay that much (if I were to pay cash I'd be closer to X, which is obviously a lot less than what you need, and after all the house is in good shape and you're not desperate to sell...), and if I was to take over the property and make payments directly to you (SLO) I could probably give you your price, but I'd need a monthly payment closer to Y.... Mr. Seller, there is a way I might be able to get you what you're looking for though. I/my company work with bruised credit buyers, we match 'em up with our mortgage broker who works with them to fix their credit and get them a loan, and they pay us a fee for our services. What if could get you the price and rent you're asking by matching you up with one of these buyers, and don't charge you a dime? Would that be something you'd consider?