4 things you must know before talking to motivated sellers

In real estate investing, most of the best deals come directly from people who are motivated to sell their houses.   Even though the market has so many houses sitting there without buyers, not all sellers are motivated enough to leave enough room for you to make a profit.

Similarly, even though some of the sellers could be highly motivated, not all such deals have enough equity to make you profits.

 It is therefore necessary when you talk to sellers that you weed out potential time wasters without turning off potentially excellent deals.

Here are 5 things you must know before you talk to the next motivated seller.

1)    Do not waste your time
 You must be the one to take lead of the conversation.   The conversation needs to provide you with the vital answers necessary to qualify if the deal is excellent or not.

 Most buyers start talking about their gorgeous house, updates they have done, nice neighborhood, and so on. Most of them are attached to their house and can continue for hours if you do not lead the conversation.

None of this information is of any value to you unless you can buy their house at a price that makes you a profit.

 I always have a list of questions that must be answered in the conversation.  The order in which they are answered is not necessary, but I must determine I can make the deal happen quickly, preferably within 2 minutes.

First, you must deal only with motivated sellers.   If they cannot  tell you the outstanding balance on the mortgage, they are not motivated enough.  Lots of motivated sellers talk about their mortgage balance just a freely as the number of rooms.

In my business, I only talk to motivated sellers I have pre-screened (and usually pre-negotiated with) through my real estate investor website.   Those that choose to call must be motivated enough to leave a voice message.

 My virtual assistant then returns the call and submits the information on my website.  By the time I talk to them, I already know if I can make the deal happen or not.

This way, you never waste your time or the sellers time with houses you can never buy.

2)    Develop rapport
Do not  represent yourself  as Mr. Huge Corporate House Buying Company.  You are a local guy looking to buy their house.   And you like their house because it seems to meet your needs.

 Build this rapport when you talk, especially once you establish you can make the deal happen.

3)    Listen, listen, listen
 Remember you are leading the conversation, and listen to what they have to say – how did they get into this quandary, how terribly they want out, repairs, etc.

 The only information you need is that which will help you determine their level of motivation, asking price, repairs and equity.

4)    Negotiate
 Remember to negotiate even when the asking price looks excellent enough.   Most people might feel like they got a raw deal if you do not negotiate.

You can use on other things except the price such as appliances, closing costs or even furniture.

If the deal looks excellent, always make an appointment to go see the house as soon as possible.

When your real estate investing business is run from an interactive real estate investing website, the website tells your tale for you, pre-educating motivated sellers how you buy houses.