What to motivated sellers want more than anything?

Question

An immediate offer and someone to buy their house now.

So with this in mind I have been contemplating a new marketing plan.

I want to market something to the effect of "Get an offer on your house in 10 minutes." This could be used for craigslist marketing, direct mail, etc.

The "Get an offer" would direct the seller to a page on my website where they would enter their information. The key to the website is that the seller will also be asked for their estimated value of home, low and high. The page will also ask for estimated repairs needed, low and high. When they "submit" the form a calculator will take the low home value and multiply it by 60% and then subtract the high repair value to come up with the "offer".

Of course there will be other questions such as contact info, mortgage balance, liens, house specifics, etc. There will also be a disclaimer that offers are subject to verification of information submitted.

So has anyone here built a page like this? Suggestions and comments are welcome! Anyone want to work on this project together?

Dee Algorri · Answer

Paul is right on the nose. You have to get to know people first. Everyones so involved in getting systems to do everything for them... when a mechanicl or electronic sales machine is nothing like face to face or when not posible a few hours on the phone with them. Buying a house is easy. Its 1 formula used over and over... its getting the prospects is what our business is all about. Get Dan Kennedys "The ultimate Sales letter". its about $9.50 online and you can download it. Put your self in the sellers shoes for a few days and think about what they really want. If i had a house and im in a possition that i needed out pronto, im not going to listen to someone who puts a value on my home in 10 minutes especially if ive owned it, raised my family here and taken care of it for years. Think about it!

Paul B. · Answer

I think this filtering (or lead-scoring) approach is good only if you have so many leads coming in that you can't handle them all personally. Also, I would be apprehensive about using customer-derived data to make offers sight unseen. As has been stated, people tend to overvalue their houses and underestimate the repair costs. Plus, there's a big difference between a number on a screen and a live person with a contract and a checkbook in his hand. A $60,000 offer on a computer monitor doesn't really carry the same problem-solving weight as a person who is prepared to sign on the dotted line right now. The other thing I think a lot of buyers forget is that this really is a relationship business. I've seen a number of buyers talk and look down on their sellers. I don't ever do that because those sellers are my customers. When I walk a property and talk to the seller, I'm asking questions about them personally, and I'm telling them about myself and my family. I make it plain that I'm a working man who does this to pay bills -- to feed my son. By the time I'm done writing the contract, the seller is often the one who thinks he's helping ME out, especially if it's an older person or couple. They know they're leaving money on the table, and they simply don't care. I don't see how you could ever hope to replicate that sort of experience on a Web site. Again, though, if you've got a way to get a couple hundred leads a day and you need to get to the soft, chewy center of the handful who are OK with your wholesale pricing, that's what lead-scoring is all about. As with all marketing, there's only one way to know for sure. Test, test, test...

Ray Hasper · Answer

Well, I wouldn't ask the homeowner to estimate anything. You'll find its built of gold and its in perfect condition and they just polished to garage floor. You want to ask very basic info, address, what the payoff is (not what is owed), how soon do they plan to move, are they behind on payments. Once you have the address, you go to the county records and look up all the other info. Then you ask them for a meeting to see the place and give them an offer in person in 10 minutes after you evaluate the place. I suggest you that if your insistant on the immediate initial offering then cover your legal butt. This is only an estimate type thing, not an offer...etc. I'm not being rogue, but why would you have to owner tell you about repairs or the value? He/she could be a baker or whatever and not know an in wall leak from a screwdriver. Homeowners ignore many issues they have out of ignorance and its their palace, its worth a million if its worth a dollar. To you its a bunch of wood with a door. So its personal from their perspective, be careful.

Marc Freislinger · Answer

If you have the form, you could code it in Javascript pretty easily. Should you? That's another question. I tend to agree that the instant number might frighten some people, but I have an idea. If you look to offer 60%-rehab, why not program the site to show an offer at 55%-rehab? They get a number they won't like, but you get two things: 1) A lead! You have all the contact information for someone who really wants to sell there home. 2) A conversation starter. If you find a lead that sounds good, you can call them and say something to the effect of "I saw that our automated system offered you blank, but I'd love to discuss your situation because I may be able to offer more for YOUR home." Then they feel special and you can negotiate.

Mitch Kronowit · Answer

Interesting approach, but is it much different than all those "we buy houses" set-ups? I'm sure sellers that contact those dealers get an offer pretty soon as well, then are sorely disappointed at the offer price. I would suggest there's more to finding a great buy than simply price. What if a super-motivated seller owns the house outright? They may not budge on the price much, but what if they're willing to carry a great deal of the financing? You certainly wouldn't want to risk chasing them away with a low-ball offer. If you can design the web page to accurately determine the nature of the motivated seller, you may be onto something big.

Will Barnard · Answer

"What do motivated sellers want more than anything?" A solution to their problems/needs. The forumula is simple. Find out what the homeseller's problem is and find a solution for that problem. many people get paid very well for solving problems.

Mitch Kronowit · Answer

Not necessarily. If the seller owns the property free and clear AND is willing to finance all or a portion of the purchase, THAT makes the property more valuable. What good is a low price if you can't get financing for the purchase (unless you're wholesaling it)? If the seller is willing to carry a note, and that makes the difference between acquiring the property or not, then yeah, it's worth paying a little more for me.

Sharad M. · Answer

Really interesting idea, but I will agree with Mitch that you don't want to offend any owner who owns the property free and clear by making a low ball offer.

David Robertson · Answer

Here's an example from my website that shows the forms. I am currently using it as a feedback form from visitors. You can manipulate your form to ask all the questions you have above. [REMOVED]

Casey Spivey · Answer

Yes, but just slightly more involved.