Emailing Contracts to Sellers

[verbatim 1]

Do you ever worry that a seller will cut you out of the deal after you sell them on the CA over the phone and they ask you to email them the documents to review?

 

This just happened to me which is why I ask?

[<Steve> 82]

Do you ever worry that a seller will cut you out of the deal after you sell them on the CA over the phone and they ask you to email them the documents to review?

Oh Yes! You just told them over the phone how it works and gave them the tools (the agreements) to do the deal themselves. I use the Short Offer to email.

[MichaelC 160]

verb, that is absolutely a no-no. First you explained to the homeowner about the advantages of a lease purchase. Then, you gave him a copy of the agreements to do the deal. Why does he need you any more? You just put the creep in business.

And, yes, after this happened to me about three times many years ago, a light bulb went off and I realized I was being taken for a fool. Now, my contracts don't go anywhere without me. And when I leave, they leave with me, too. No exceptions.

[Adam King (MI) 1]

I disagree entirely with Steve and MC.

 

First, I'd explain the ENTIRE CA system inside and out. (with diagrams and bullet points if need be) Then, I'd send them over blank agreements that were PRO buyer. (Just in case this plan doesn't work )

 

Then, I'd have a legal disclaimer in the the email that the agreements were copyrighted to the sender and that if the seller used them, you would sue with the full force of the law.

 

Then, I would wait until they blew you off. That's when I would send a friend over that was TOTALLY FREAKING interested in the house with a fake proof of funds letter for $50K down, and see if those suckers use the agreements to try to tie him/her up.

 

And if they did, I would have my lawyer call them, threaten a lawsuit for their life's savings and settle out of court for twice of what you would have made on the deal in the first place.

 

No tenants, no toilets, no headaches.

That's the American dream baby.

PS Seriously, don't be stupid.

[vballdarin 1]

The way I'm sending out my paperwork is through a PDF.

 

After we have agreed to all the numbers using a "Short Offer", I plug the numbers into the contracts, sign everything, turn it into a PDF with security locks so the only thing they can do is print out (not edit, not save on their computer) all the contracts (already filled out with names, numbers, dates, etc) and hopefully sign them and mail/fax them back to me.

 

If, through the course of them "feeling ME out", they say that they want to see the contracts before they agree to any terms, I just politely say:

 

"Well, it's our policy not to send out the paperwork unless it's filled out. And besides, our Attorney wrote them up, registered them and has them on file specifically for our company and the way we fill them out. I don't want to be personally responsible for sending these contracts (which cost big bucks for our attorney to put together) whilly-nilly, and then have sellers or people getting themselves into even more trouble trying to figure out how to change them, or use them to rip off unsuspecting tenant/buyers, etc. You wouldn't want that to happen....would you?"

 

If they say that they still want to see them, just say that "It seems like you're still a little uncomfortable about the whole process right now. Why don't we just put this on hold, you think about it for a while, and then 6 or 12 months down the road, if you change your mind, we can re-visit your situation and see if your house still works for us. I'll just tell the family that contacted us, that the house we had hoped to get for them to take a look at, just didn't work out ."

 

Either way, they are probably just a "SUSPECT" and not a "PROSPECT".

 

Darin

[MichaelC 160]

An Adam King sighting, and a funny one, to boot! Good stuff, Adam. And I know just the SOB I want to try it on. . .

 

Either way, they are probably just a "SUSPECT" and not a "PROSPECT".

Bingo, Darin!

[pilot76180 51]

My docs are watermarked with my company name and signatures etc in place via Acrobat. If they wanted to use them it wouldn't even make sense to the tenant buyer. They're 22 pages long. Let's see a shmuck homeowner explain that to a tenant buyer! Bottom line, I don't worry about it at all. I rarely meet with any of the owners, only see a few of the houses, and do most of the deal via phone and e-mail, then hand it off to a rep anyway, so in my setup, e-mailing the docs is part of the system.

If a seller is using an agent, the odds of them trying to use your docs and do it on their own are highly unlikely. Let's face it, the process of selling a home is very easy, and if they don't even attempt that on their own, it's highly doubtful they would try to do a lease option on their own and steal your docs.

[Adam King (MI) 1]

Okay, after reading John's post (which was funny and informative) I'll give my "real two cents".

I've been through this a hundred times. The real truth is, if a seller wants you to email you your documents for review, they're not motivated enough, or you're explaining the CA to abstractly.

What I mean, is that you're not hitting their emotional buttons the right way, or two, they're just not the right person.

Like they say in MLM, you can't say the right thing to the wrong person, or the wrong thing to the right person.

On the first call you objective is to get a meeting, or a yes, or both.

The contracts don't come out until you've totally gotten on board.

Below is an article I wrote about this subject.

Hope it helps,

Adam

_______________________

The Art of Strategic Preeminence

 

You are sitting across from a mother in tears who is trying to sell her house. She tells you that her son has a drug addiction and they are completely broke because of it. She has decided to put him into state funded rehab and then go live with her mother. She doesn’t want the house anymore, she doesn’t want the debt or even the memories. She just wants a new start.

 

You have two choices.

 

One, you follow the step-by-step instructions from your real estate course that shows how to take over the payments. You present the agreements to her and explain that you will be leasing with the option to buy and possibly sub-leasing the property for a profit. She glares over the agreements you’re showing her as if her mind is somewhere else. She half-listens to you as you hand her the pen to sign, but there’s hesitation. She isn’t sure because “there’s so much going on now in my life” she says. I’m sorry she says, but I need some time to think about this. You then part ways uncertain of the outcome.

 

Or.

 

Two, you tell her that you can’t imagine the pain she’s going through because you’ve never experienced it for yourself. You also tell her that you fully understand what her needs are and that you’re there to help make what you can happen. Then, you tell her that because of her situation with her son, you can help, but you’ll need HER HELP so together you can make the house/terms attractive to an end buyer or tenant. And finally, you sympathetically tell her that she’s been through enough and you’ll do all of the work if the two of you can come to an agreement that can benefit both of you.

 

The key here is not making it about you. That, my friend, never works.

 

This is the difference between good negotiating by using what you’re naturally given, (The ability to emotionally relate) or trying to set up a deal with nothing more than logic in the form of someone else’s materials and/or experiences. Did the guy/gal who wrote the course ever meet this lady? No. Did they ever have a deal similar to this? Of course. But the point is that it’s about people, not just numbers and how to set up a deal and you, are always a part of that equation. This is what no instructor, teacher or guru can ever teach you, it’s something you learn and develop as you go.

[pilot76180 51]

In Adam's example, I would ask where her son gets the drugs, and can he also get prescription meds. HAving contacts is important.

The last part is very correct though.

The way I do things though, is I spend 3 minutes on the phone with the seller getting basic info from them, then I spend 1 minute putting figures together, then send that off in an e-mail to them that has a breakdown.

Then I follow up a day or two later to answer the financial questions, then I can explain the program in a little more detail, and then I usually put the figures into the contracts and e-mail them off, then follow up a couple of days later to answer any questions regarding the contracts.

Then I put my rep in touch with them to get the pictures and pick up the signed docs.

Darin has seen me in action, he knows I don't see most of the houses, and I don't like to meet sellers, because...well...I don't really like people.

Actually, I don't mind them..till they start talking.

[vballdarin 1]

Darin has seen me in action, he knows I don't see most of the houses, and I don't like to meet sellers, because...well...I don't really like people.

Actually, I don't mind them..till they start talking.

It's not that we DON'T like people....it's just that we have a tee time scheduled at this really nice private course with some guys and then this evening, the best time to catch some waves are about 2 hours before high tide....so.....we're not gonna be able to drive over there to come "take a tour of your house and play 20 questions" today.

 

Oh....wait....did I say that aloud?

 

That's why i like being on this forum and gaining everyone's different perspectives.

 

Bev! = Warm & Fuzzy and could sell ice to an eskimo.

M/C = Uses the 2 step email process to perfection with years of experience to boot.

Pilot = Has a no-nonsense streamline program.

Adam = Another great perspective on dealing with PEOPLE & NEEDS and not just logic & numbers.

 

4 different personalities......yet pretty much the same Lease Option strategy.

[verbatim 1]

Thanks guys for taking the time to reply, damn I love this site!

 

In retrospect, it's very much my fault because my initial approach with the seller was similar to John's. I talked to her, crunched the number's in my head, told them to her and sent her an email with them for her husband to review. In my email I told her that if everything sounded good so far, I could email them the contracts to review. After sending the email an inside voice told me that that was not the right thing to do, not yet at least.

 

After reading your replies I feel a follow up call is in order to make sure they are hooked at which point i will probably tell her that company policy dictates i come with the contracts in person and also take pics etc. I still don't feel as comfortable as Adam and John with just sending the docs off, but maybe that will change with time.

[pilot76180 51]

That was funny Darin....

You are dead on with the 4 diff. perspectives thing....dead on.

 

I tell ya verbatim....in almost 8 years, I've probably had one person that I thought tried to do it on their own after talking to me.

So....to me...it's just not worth the worry.

Now....where's my Don Julio?

[MichaelC 160]

....where's my Don Julio?

Is that the cabana boy?

[vballdarin 1]

....where's my Don Julio?

Is that the cabana boy?

Nope. That's John's pet name for me. You'll probably hear him slip up once in a while and call me that at the seminar in November.

 

Darin

[MichaelC 160]

....where's my Don Julio?

Is that the cabana boy?

Nope. That's John's pet name for me. You'll probably hear him slip up once in a while and call me that at the seminar in November.

 

Darin

I'm not judging, I'm just sayin' . . . shudder