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alxrodz

"Show me the contracts"?!?!

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I haven't been speaking to sellers for long, but today was the second time I've come upon someone who says they need to see the contracts before they even decide if they want to do this. No matter how much I've explained how things work (and I'm sure I would've gotten a C on that one, but that's for another day), they just want to see the contract before "wasting any more of their time".

 

I tried to coax them into talking about the property and numbers, and they would not move forward with any talks until I sent the contracts. One of them wouldn't even give me the property address unless I had the attorney who prepared the contracts call him!

 

Has this happened to you? If so, what is the appropriate response?

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Has this happened to you? If so, what is the appropriate response?

 

Umm.... "next"?

 

But, if you wanted to keep the door open, something along the lines of:

 

"We are more than happy to send a filled-in copy of the paperwork to your attorney for review once we have an agreement in principle. That's only good sense on your part, and I would do the same thing if I were in your shoes. After we meet, we'll go ahead and call them for you so we can shoot them over. Let me know when you want to meet up."

 

Or, if for some reason you think it's a good deal and not a waste of time, you could close more strongly with the old assumptive close, a la "So what's a better night for you, Wednesday or Thursday?"

 

But, really, if they are being this much of a pain in the a$$ up front, they're not likely to get easier and more flexible over time.

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Thanks esk456,

 

But, really, if they are being this much of a pain in the a$$ up front, they're not likely to get easier and more flexible over time.

 

That last line of yours pretty much sums up my thoughts about this particular dude. He won't even give me his ADDRESS, so I have no way to know if it's even worth my time meeting him and whatnot!

 

I wanted to post this question more to see if anyone had experienced people requesting the contracts before talking or negotiating in any way. It's happened to me twice now, and still don't understand what the big deal is. It's not like they're going to be tied up without signing it!

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They want your contracts so they can do the deal themselves and leave you out.

 

If I'm asked early on about sending the agreements I will ask, "What agreements? We haven't agreed to anything yet."

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I like that one Steve!

You know, I e-mail my docs out left and right all the time, but every now and then you just get the feeling that you shouldn't.

Such as, if the person won't even give the address so you can at least send them documents that aren't blank!

I had that the other day and if he won't even give me the address so I can put some preliminary information together, or send him something other than blank docs, then he can go on.

Seriously?

If you won't even give me the address, because you want to make sure the documents meet your comfort level, guess what your going to think when you read them?

That you don't like ANYTHING in them!!!

So....move along....

move along...

Again, this is coming from ME! THe king of e-mailing docs left and right.

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ARod, I'm late to the party, so let me just say the replies you have already received have been spot on. Loved Steve's snarky come back. ;)

It's been discussed here before, but I never send out my contracts upon demand. If I sense the homeowner is legit and serious, (and by the way, the jackass you were talking with wasn't), then at most I'll agree to meet face to face and go over the agreements. But when I leave so does my paperwork.

If they run the old "I want my attorney to review them" routine, ask for the attorney's name and number and tell the homeowner you'll contact his attorney.

The BS will end right there.

Bottom line: if any homeowner is giving you a hard time from the first contact, it will only get worse. Delete him and move on to someone who sees you as helpful, not as the enemy. That's what we have in-laws for. :P

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I'd like to use...."I'm glad you want to review the paperwork. I'd do the same thing if I was in your position. What's your Attorney's fax number?...that way I can save you the trip to his/her office. He or she is likely to charge you for reviewing everything, but better safe than sorry right?"

 

Actually, from somewhere in the deeps of my n00bity bilingual brain I mustered up something similar to that, and the guy replied "why should I pay my attorney to review your contracts? I've seen many contracts on a daily basis and I know exactly what to look for."

 

MC, your last paragraph pretty much sums up my opinion about this, and the dangers of getting into a mess on my first deal. I just wanted to post this here to help me get some positive learning out of this, rather than just ignore the situation, and of course so all other "freshly initiated" could benefit.

 

Thanks to all for helping out!

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