Do You Have A Deal?
Have you ever spent a lot of your precious time pursuing a seller only to find out that you can’t buy the house because of some reason? Don’t feel bad, this same problem trips up many real estate investors, especially when they are just starting. They will spend a lot of time chasing after deals that will never happen because they haven’t met a basic set of parameters. In order to filter out these deals and ensure that you don’t waste your time in the same fashion there are a set of questions you need to answer prior to pursuing any deal.
Are they qualified? – Do they meet your criteria, are they in the right neighborhood, the right house in that neighborhood, do they want to sell their house or are they in some sort of distressed situation? These are all questions you should ask as part of qualifying your lead. If they are then move on to the next question
Are the cooperative? – This is especially important in short sales, but is still relevant to all other sales. If they are not cooperative, and not willing to work with you, then the sale will end up taking more time and effort than it’s worth. You would be better off passing on this sale and instead going for another lead. If however they are cooperative, then you are cleared to ask the next question.
Are they realistic? – This applies in many different ways. Are they realistic on the price of their home? Too many people are still living in the boom years and think there house is worth more than it truly is. Are they realistic about their situation? Many home owners facing a short sale feel they are entitled to cash at closing. They put a down payment of their own money down, they should get that back. Make sure the home owner is realistic. If they are, then go on to the next question.
Are they ready to go? – Are they read to really sell their house, move out, and get on with their life? If they are not ready to do that, then you will never be able to close the deal because they will ultimately be creating excuses on why it can’t close until they are ready. Unfortunately for you, when they are ready may not work on your time line. So ensure they are ready to go. I
If you have made it to this point and you can safely answer yes to the 4 questions above, then you know this is the type of seller you want to work with. So negotiate your heart out, and make that deal happen!
Tell us your horror stories of deals that didn’t happen because of one of these reasons!