Hi everyone
This is a follow up to my previous post about the non-exclusive. The seller is an investor (has 3 houses he wants rid of) and has done LO's, flips on a limited term.
He prefers the non-exclusive, I am ok with that if necessary. However, his main concern was timing. He wants someone in there in Feb. and on my short offer form I put march as the start date to give me some time (esp. now during the slow winter time). He didn't want a month with no one paying rent. He said that the contract reads that if I don't find someone by the lease start date then I start paying rent as the contract (MC's contracts) is a lease agreement and I have a legal obligation to pay. Obviously, with the cancellation clause in there, I can just cancel if I don't find someone by then. I didn't mention that at the time but I will make that clear. He said if we don't find someone in there by Feb. we can give it another month, but if I don't and cancel, I am sure he won't want to do it again with me.
Just trying to make lemonade out of lemons. Any thoughts? Thanks!

Eric

Eric,

The only thing I would say is don't be obligated to pay any rent if you don't find a tenant-buyer in time. I imagine if he was really that motivated, he would be willing to give you more room & time to make a profit. You have to be the one in control of the deal. That seller cannot dictate the terms of your contract. If a sellers ever tries to dictate terms that you are not comfortable with, you will never make lemonaid out of that deal. Don't become a motivated buyer! Stick to your guns & make sure you have an easy way out if you can't find a buyer. Hope that helps...

Eric, what Joe said. This guy wants complete control over the deal and over you. He's got to be made to understand what you are offering and the benefits of it. If he can't, he isn't a very smart "investor".