Honesty and Transparency

[Ethan Peyton]

I am in the process of drafting my letter that I will be sending to absentee owners, and I seem to have run across a snag. (for wholesaling purposes)

I have been told before that I am far too honest for my own good. It hasn't killed me yet, so I think I'll stick with it til it does.

I am borrowing a template from another investor that has shared his letter online, and stumbled upon a piece of information (or lack thereof) that bothers me. It seems as though I'm being dishonest when telling them that I am looking to buy the property myself. I am also totally aware that if I start using words like "investors", "wholesale", or the like, that I may be scaring some people away.

I don't want to scare people, but I also don't want to be a liar. Am I worrying about this too much?

Advice??

[Bill Gulley]

I find that most younger people getting into RE really don't understand ethics, as the telling of little white lies or deceiving is part of doing business, it is not. Dealing ethically means not putting yourself in a position where it's necessary to deceive others.

Since negotiations are based on knowledge and the one who can negotiate the deal they want usually has greater skills and knowledge, you certainly don't need to inform the other party to your level of insight. But that's not the same as giving a false impression or giving false information.

So, no, your thinking is correct. Seller usually want the place sold, they really don't care how it gets sold, just get it sold.

One reason I never used letters or written materials was that trying to explain what I might do was too complicated for the average owner.

Saying that you would be interested in speaking to them concerning the sale of their home pretty much says it all. The goal isn't sending them a letter telling them all about you, it's to get face to face to talk about the property.

I'd not use anything other people use that make implications or isn't just totally correct. In a letter, your first contact, if you are deceiving at that point the lie will only need to grow throughout the deal. So don't go there in the first place. Write a letter that says I'm Ethan and I'm interested in speaking to you about you selling your home.

Why do you have to be an "investor" can't you have a marketing plan that you use that successfully affects transactions quickly at market value with less expense than other conventional methods?

Those with little or no money who actually don't buy and hold RE that run around calling themselves "investors" are just wearing an ego button on their shirt, pretty much a self proclaimed identity and that in itself can mislead a seller. I have always introduced myself personally, never by a title (except in the Army). Then I tell them what I do, not what I'm called in an industry. You can go through 40 years of being in RE and never need to mention "investor". Others have called me an investor and I could then simply say yes, I do investing.

So, if you are going to send out letters I suggest it be to introduce yourself personally as being in your company if you use one and ask for an appointment to discuss the business purpose at hand. It's called a business letter ( ;) ),

Thanks for the post, I needed that rant.... LOL :)