Getting Off-Market to Closing

[Pat Brennan]

Hi – looking for some advice on getting an off-market house officially under contract. The back story is there is a property we want that has essentially been abandoned by the owners for many years. We wrote them a letter and the husband called almost immediately saying YES they want to sell. We made them an offer which they said was too low, so we upped our offer considerably to basically full retail price. (This is something we want for personal use.) He said he had to speak to his wife and would get back to us but also asked how quickly could we close. That was almost 2 weeks ago and crickets. Unfortunately, he and his wife don't appear to be on good terms and they are currently living in different states. We know they could probably use the money and believe the hang up, is the fact they are not on good speaking terms. Anyone have any advice on how to proceed further? We don't live in the same state as them, so a face to face conversation is probably off the table. We have already had a P&S drawn up and it would be a cash sale, so all we need is for them to sign and show up at closing. We're just at an impasse of what the next step could be to secure this property. Thanks!

[Ibrahim Hughes]

@Pat Brennan have you called him back and followed up? It sounds like somewhat of a distressed sale in that the property is vacant (not necessarily abandoned if they're still paying taxes on it and maintaining their property) and owned by a couple who are no longer together or on speaking terms (have you even confirmed this? The name of the game in the abandoned/vacant property business is to confirm everything).

With these folks you almost always have to follow up consistently until they are ready to pull the trigger. Never assume they're going to call you back when they say they will. Just keep following up until they're ready. The fortune is in the follow-up and most folks walk away long before then. Don't be one of them.