Wholesalsers question - Should I follow up on my offer?

Question

Hey experienced wholesalers, I made an offer on a property last week. It was a lead I received from a car salesman actually. I was looking for my Escalade and my advertising I had on my Dodge caught his eye. A month later he was contacting me to sell his fathers house.

Short version: I listened to his story. Inspected the property. House is in great shape. Everything mechanical is new from 5 years ago including the roof and a brand new garage.

Market shows a sale price of around $50K looking at comps. He told me he had turned down an offer of $30K cash already. So I took this into consideration.

After two days I called back with my offer of $23K and explained why. It still needs the kitchen and bath completely remodeled before the property will bring the $50K. I also suggested he might want to try and get in touch with the person who offered the $30K as that is a better offer than I am able to give him.

I explained the comps, why the prices are what they are and informed him as much as I could about his neighborhood sales.

He was very polite and I think giving him information helped earn his trust more also. At the end of the conversation he stated he will talk to his brother and get back with me.

So my question, it has been a week and am thinking of doing a follow up phone call. Do you suggest this?

Thank you in advance

Aaron Yates · Answer

Thanks @Brandon Krieg and Bill Gulley . I like the approach of asking if they sold it already. I'm thinking of suggesting to forward the deal to someone else if they can give me a number they want. I asked this once before but they didn't know what they were looking to get for a sale price. My approach would be letting me get it under contract for a specified amount of time to market it to other investors for them. Obviously this is the same I am already trying to do but in this instance I would let them know exactly what I am doing but also allowing me an out if I can't get the number they are looking for. Also, this will only work if they can come close to my offer because of what does still need to be done with the house. So in reality, it's just being open and honest instead of the normal approach of making the offer, signing the PA and hoping to find a buyer and use a contigency of a partner or inspection report as my out. I feel like this is a lie because I don't have a partner and I don't plan to get an inspection. I run my rentals this way. Honesty from the get go and it seems to work really well for me. Thoughts?

Brandon Krieg · Answer

@Aaron Yates In my experience, honesty is ALWAYS the best way to go. I have found very few sellers that are bothered by the situation, provided you follow through. Generally, few people seem to care WHO buys the house, provided that it is fast and hassle-free for them. In the couple of times sellers have been unwilling to do this (very rare), I'm okay with that, because I sleep better at night operating this way.

Aaron Yates · Answer

Thanks @Brian P. , I tried calling the seller yesterday but he is on vacation this week apparently. So I will touch base with him next week and try your approach. I like that. It will get them thinking. They have been dealing with the house since June. Their step mom who finally moved out was a hoarder and it took that long to clean out the house and make it presentable. Surprisingly enough, aside from the kitchen and bath, the house is in great shape.

Brian P. · Answer

Well I'm sure I'm to late but I like softer follow up. Hi, I was thinking of you and your home today. Were you able to get that buyer signed up for your dad's place. Answer is no. No, what happened? Well I was thinking today that you and your brother should do what I was going to do and then sell it or turn it into you first rental, have you guys thought about doing that? 99% of the time they won't do it. Well what do you guys think you will do now? I tell you what, why don't you give me that buyers info and maybe I can suggest something you all will like and you can buy me a steak dinner. And so on and so on. Sorry wanted to give more detail but the bride is calling. Good luck.

Aaron Yates · Answer

@Brandon Krieg it's nice to know I'm not alone on this feeling. I've had people tell me I cant run my company how I do but yet it's working for me. I just wish I had more hours in the day to do everything I am trying to do right now. Again, thanks for the input. I will be calling the seller today and touch base with him.

Brandon Krieg · Answer

@Aaron Yates I agree with @Bill Gulley . Follow up can't hurt, and often they are just busy. Either way, if you get a yes or no, at least you can get it off of your mind.

Bill Gulley · Answer

Gosh....LOL, call him if you're interested and just ask if he sold it.... what could it hurt..... :)