convo with seller how did i go wrong?

[Account Closed]

Ok so a seller called me yesterday basically told me he was about to list with a realtor but had it rented out in mean time. He asked how I got his name i said I am looking to buy houses in your neighborhood and this was one of the one's I had looked up then asked him the address as I said multiple neighborhoods we looked in. I asked him about his house and what he would want for it he told me he was going to list with a realtor for 132500, I said for me to come in close quick, buy as-is and not collect realtor fees we buy at a discount etc. He said well what kind of discount, I said I would look more into it and he said well like 80k are we talking? I said if it is worth 130k or whatever he thinks I would offer around 90-100k he quickly said delete my number lol. Just wanted to know if I should have not told him a number or what I could have done better? Or maybe he simply wasn't motivated enough? thanks

[Chris G.]

Originally posted by Mitch Kronowit:

I'm not an expert in these types of deals, but I've done a little bit of selling in my time and the one thing I did NOT see you do is figure out why he was interested in selling. You just threw a number out there.

If he was interested in selling, that's because the house was creating a problem for him. Do you know what the problem was? Did you ask? If not, how could you possibly offer a solution?

You could have offered something very close to his asking price if he offered you attractive enough terms, but you never got that far.

My thoughts exactly.

John, you need to try to solve their problem, not buy their house. Ask them why they need to sell. Connect with them. Try to get them to laugh... if you get them to laugh the chances are much greater you'll get somewhere with the deal.

After he denied your cash offer, you could have talked to him about selling on terms (but don't say the word "terms" to a seller, that just confuses them, say "take over your payments"). You could have inquired if he has a mortgage and then presented a subject2 offer, or even talk about a lease with option to purchase.

But the most important thing is that you're talking to sellers. Keep it up. It will get easier. If you can, record your side of the conversation so that you can play it back and review. You can just fire up a recording program on your PC. You're not recording the actual call, but just recording your self talk to the seller.