Questions to Ask Over the Phone to a Potential Seller

[Branden Wintermyer]

As a novice in wholesaling, I'd appreciate your insights on the essential questions to ask potential sellers before scheduling property assessments. I want to ensure a focused approach, avoiding time wastage for both myself and the sellers. What questions do you recommend me asking to optimize my efforts once I get a potential prospect on the phone?

[Josh Stout]

@Branden Wintermyer first and foremost, welcome to the game! 

As for your question, I'm going to assume these are either warm leads or you've gotten past some initial rapport and are getting down to the business end of the stick...

Ownership and Property Details

    Confirm ownership and property type

1. Reason for Selling:
2. This is going to be an ongoing line of question since "real" reasons for selling may take some digging
   
3. Condition of the Property:
4. Get a general idea of what you'll be walking into 
5. Ask directly about big ticket items like roof/HVAC/plumbing issues
6. Financials:
   • Mortgage balance, liens, taxes, etc
     
7. Timeline:
   • How soon are you looking to sell

8. Rental Info
   Current tenants, details of lease timeline, etc

9. Previous Offers and Market Exposure:

10. Any prior offers or listing history

11. 
    These are just some general ideas and completely depend on the context of the call and rapport with the seller...many of these may be better suited for the walkthrough or follow up calls. Going to have to feel that out as you go. The big ones in early calls are confirming property details, basic condition and any early insight into their motivation or asking price. 
    
    Hope this helps....feel free to reach out with any other questions and good luck out there! 
    
    *edit: sorry for all the weird formatting, not sure how that happened