As I finished showing property to a prospective client I noticed that while viewing the property I was able to predict that the current residents were involving in a divorce situation with almost pinpoint accuracy. I thought about something that has become apparently clear to me over the years which is.....not everyone is motivated by money whether buying or selling.

How did I determine that it was a divorce situation? Well I checked the deed history info on the home and noticed that the sellers had purchased the house with a 80% LTV loan and had put 20% down. This usually means bad credit. Furthermore they were taking a loss on their entire downpayment. The other factor was that the house had undergone some abuse like kids drawing on the walls and filthy carpet...which means unattended children.

I remember when I was much younger I purchased a $3,000 living room set because I liked the painting that was hanging over. If I knew then what I know now, I would have just bought the painting.

My first real estate transaction was after taking some of the Ed Beckley courses. I structured a seller finance within a trust type deal. The seller's religion/believe system dis-allowed him from taking advantage of anyone by way of usury hence he felt it was unjust to benefit from the $40,000 in appreciation on the sale of his home. So I paid the same price for the home that he did. I said Praise the Lord!

I thought I would put the question to the group as an opportunity to brainstorm, share and learn from the cumulative data.

This question is what have been the motivating factors involved in some of your transactions whether buying or selling? And the second part is How do you determine that these factors are in place.

thanx