My First Potential Offer on a FSBO

[Rebecca Lujan]

I have a few questions related to my potential first deal as an investor. In my neighborhood there is a For Sale by Owner and it's vacant. I am interested in purchasing this for a rental. I used to be a real estate agent prior to my move to Texas, so I am familiar with FSBO's. I live in the same neighborhood, and since I drive by this home every day to/from work, I know that it's been well maintained (at least from the outside), I know the area, taxes, insurance, and other factors that can affect the sale. What I haven't checked yet is title. I used he Bigger Pockets Rental Calculator, checked the rent thru Rentometer. New Braunfels is one of the fastest growing cities in Texas so appreciation is a factor. Prior to the call, I would appreciate any advice, regarding the call, the purchase contract (since I may or may not, be representing myself, the numbers, etc. Pulling the trigger on the first one is a little scary, but it's time. Rebecca

[Tom Shallcross]

Biggest advise I would offer is just make the call! Done is better than perfect, so jump in and go ahead and make mistakes.

Since it's right in your neighborhood the goal of the call should not be to come to an agreement, but to discover his motivation for selling and to get an appointment to see the home.  This creates the face-to-face opportunity to build rapport and also give you a better idea on rehab work so you can take the guess work out of your numbers. 

Building rapport and showing genuine empathy will separate you.  When negotiating you are on the same side as the owner - it's you and the owner vs the market, not you vs the owner.  You need to be at $X because that is what the market dictates.  How can we work together to make this work?  There are tons of ways to get creative to find a way to get to a win-win. 

Chris Voss was podcast #260 and he gives great insight to negotiation.  His book goes into the Ackerman model which I gave a high-level overview here: https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/311/topics/64...