Real Estate Investing: Overcoming Objections By Motivated Sellers

Over the years in my real estate investing business, I have come to learn to deal only with sellers who are really motivated.

By being motivated, they must be willing to provide most of the information I need without pressure.   I am not interested with sellers who are testing the ground so they can consider if to sell their house to me.

Most motivated sellers submit their house information through my real estate investor website. In this case, the website does the job of pre-screening them and pre-negotiating with them, so I just need a few minutes to tell whether it is a deal or not.

 Let us look at a few objections and how to overcome them:

Mortgage balance:
 When you question for the mortgage balance, a seller might tell you “that’s none of your business” or “why do you want to know?”.   A simple statement can clear this up:

“In order for me to able to evaluate the deal and make a honest offer that makes sense both to you and me and pay off the outstanding mortgage when I buy it, I must know the mortgage balance owed on it.”

 I then shut up… completely!

 Usually they will provide all the information you need.

 They have to know that unless they provide the mortgage balance, you cannot make an offer.  They will provide this information if they are motivated.   Do not waste your time with them if they cannot provide this information.

A motivated seller will tell you anything in the world to sell you their house.

Repairs:
Do not be surprised that their estimation of repairs is always on the lower side.  In my business, I always assume that I will need to do paint, carpet, bathrooms and kitchen.

Before I question for repairs my conversation goes something like this:
“How long have you lived in the house?”

“Have you done any remodeling on it?”

“So what repairs does the house need?”

 I will always question about carpet, paint, kitchen and bathrooms.  If your line of questioning goes like this, the answers you get will be more reliable.

Asking price:
 This is the toughest part of the negotiation.   Before you can question this question, you must know the mortgage balance.
 My question goes something like this:

“If I can buy your house all cash and close quickly, what is the least you can take for it?”
Once they give an answer, I usually just say, “Hmm…”.

Then I go silent.

 Not a sound until they speak.

 Usually they will talk their way down without me saying anything.

Sometimes I will still follow up with “Is that the best you can do?”.

 this technique usually works wonders.

Excellent luck in your next real estate investing deal.

Simon Macharia is a real estate investor in Dallas Texas, and uses an interactive real estate investor website to pre-screen and pre-negotiate with motivated sellers. Learn how you can close more deals using less money, time and effort with a website for real estate investing.