Letting sellers know who you are?

[Chad Fernendaz]

After talking with a few potential sellers I can't help but ask myself, "Is it better to let them know you're a real estate investor or a normal person who is just looking for a house?"  I am not trying to mislead anyone, but I also know that people are more willing to work with like minded people like themselves instead of a business man. And when you think about it, I really am just a normal person who is also an investor ;)

Because if I let them know i'm an investor, they are going to look at me like I am trying to make money off the deal, and try to make their asking price go up. 

But if I go in there like i'm a normal person looking for a house then maybe they will try to give me a better deal since they can't really expect anything out of me. 

Discuss

[Ricardo Lopez]

I agree with Tom Cooper . In the long run it will always be more beneficial to be honest with those who you do business with. 2 key reasons come to mind for doing this:

1. If you're dealing with motivated sellers, there's no issue with letting them know you're an investor as long as you don't come off as some shark who is just trying to get the house for the absolute lowest cost, but instead you look for their pain point and try to really solve their problem. They will really appreciate you if you can solve their problem.

2. Referrals are huge, and if you let them know you're in the business of buying houses and you do right by them, then you will have earned the right to ask for referrals for other houses that they may be potentially wanting to sell as well, or that anyone they know is selling. If you pretend to not be an investor than it would be a bit awkward to ask them for referrals.