Will I be under any presssure to make offers fast?

Question

I want to contact all the motivated sellers on my list to prequalify them before making any offers upfront. Can I just get prequalification info about their homes first without being pressured to make an offer upfront even if I was to go by to look over the house? I know they are motivated to sell fast, but I need to look at other options first so I can compare which is really a deal and which is not a deal.

Shawn J · Answer

WOW that site findcompsnow.com is awesome Thanks jerry!!

Loc R. · Answer

You have to think about how you are distinguishing yourself from the other so-called investors contacting them about their house.

You are providing a SERVICE:  No headaches to them, CASH in X days and they can move on with their lives.

The more likely you are able to deliver on this PROMISE of SERVICE the more likely they will want to sell YOU their house (at a discount, of course).

Jerry Puckett · Answer

Just curious....what is your criteria for prequal? I tend to pre qualify the house itself with the list I market to, and the sellers when they call on the phone.

I don't advocate rushing into anything, but just remember, if they were motivated enough to call you, they are likely motivated enough to call others also.

Jerry Woods · Answer

I use findcompsnow.com when talking with sellers and make offers right away.  You should go with comps within a mile and in the past 90 days.  And compare apples with apples as far the beds,bath and sqft go.  That way you are being productive and can focus on getting deals done. My 2 cents.

Will Barnard · Answer

Asking a would be seller what their home value is after repairs or cost of repairs is a useless waste of yoru breathe. Even if they knew, do you think they would tell you the absolute truth?
As for beds/baths, you can get that from a title report or MLS data (although MLS it is not 100% accurate). As for estimating repairs, simply ask what is broken and what is old and outdated. From that list, construct your own estimate of repairs.

Go with Loc's advice, make it very simple and easy to work with you, asking them a ton of questions they likely can't answer will turn some away.

Brian P. · Answer

Antonio

Where are you located in Alabama, are you in the sticks with the hicks (my family description of the farm where I was born),  or in a city. Either way you don't quite seem to be processing the good advice you are receiving. May I suggest just working with just one source of leads that often contain motivated sellers as phase one.

Wholesaling is dealing with motivated people. and your asking how to spot one, that is good, trouble is when you do spot one you want to dot all the I's and cross all the T's and evaluate everything twice before you act. That is good too, but generally results in watching someone else walk away with the deal. So your first lesson is to learn how to tie a property up, even if just for a little while. Learn about straight options, a dollar can give you the time you want so badly.

Antonio Bodley · Answer

Robert Hanson I don't have any experience in wholesaling. I am still researching and learning better ways to wholesale.  Of course I don't think you would drive around looking for 750 addresses. I sure wouldn't. Who exactly are you sending letters to and how do you know who to send them to? Right now, I am looking for ways to target motivated sellers but without having to subscribe to some lead generation company on a monthly basis. I don't have a lot of free time in my day to day schedule to wholesale full time. I can only get into  this business part time, which will not leave me much time to make as much profit as I would like.

Robert Hanson · Answer

Antonio Bodley I don't cruise around town looking for houses. Like I said, one of the ways I acquire property is by sending out letters. Surely you don't think I drive around town looking for 750 addresses every week to target with my letters, right?

Please don't take this the wrong way but it seems through the topics you've made and the questions you've asked that you have very little to no experience with wholesaling. That's not at all a bad thing, it means you have plenty to learn and a lot of room for growth. Your replies to suggestions often seem to be something along the lines of, "well that might work for you but this is how it works for me". My suggestion would be to take advice from those who know what they're doing and are actively doing it. If you aren't consistently turning 5+ deals per month over at least a 12 month period then you should be extremely open to suggestions. Even when and if you do start doing that many deals per month you should still be open minded but you have a bit more credibility with what saying works for you. I did over 100 deals in 2011 and am constantly reading and researching different strategies and ideas from people who are doing the same thing.

Antonio Bodley · Answer

Robert Hanson Even though some people can say this strategy works well for them, I find it to be very time consuming to cruise around town searching for sale by owner signs and vacant homes with "hopes" to find a motivated seller. I too prefer to deal only with motivated sellers as opposed to just any seller looking to sell. If they are not entirely motivated to sell their home, I would just cut it short and move on to someone who needs to sell quick. The tougher their situation is the better I may be able to make a deal with my low ball offer.

Robert Hanson · Answer

Antonio Bodley  As you talk with more and more people you will see that the great majority aren't going to sell to you. Unless the person is motivated to sell I don't want to spend more than a couple of minutes on the phone with them. Most of the people who are going to sell to you aren't going to know the cost of repairs or the current value.

I just don't spend a huge amount of time researching each and every call I take. Like I said, most of the people I talk with just aren't motivated enough to sell at the price I need it at. I also send out about 750 letters per week and turn typically 7-10 deals per month so I don't have a lot of free time.

Will I be under any presssure to make offers fast?

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