I Have My First Appointment With a Seller… What Do I Do?!

Congratulations on converting your first lead for a TERMS deal! But it’s not over yet—here’s a step-by-step guide to nailing your first appointment with a potential seller.

So you’ve converted one of your first leads… Congratulations!

Now you have to actually meet with them. If this is your first time, it can be scary. But it doesn’t have to be! As long as you go into your first appointment knowing what you need to get out of it, you’ll be set up for success.

And luckily for you, I’m going to cover everything you need to know for your first seller appointment right here. Keep in mind, this process and the information you need to gather will change depending on what niche you’re in, but in general, these are good rules to follow for any terms deal.

So let’s get into it!

Before you arrive at the property

Before you arrive at the property, you’re going to want to make sure you have two things: a phone with a camera (because you’re going to be taking some pictures), and a walkthrough sheet.

If you don’t know what a walkthrough sheet is, it’s basically a checklist that goes through what you should inspect as you walk through the property, and it gives you some space to take notes.

We offer walkthrough sheets for all of our Associates (students we do deals with), but this is something you could make on your own if needed. The most important thing is that you take notes as you look at the property so you can refer back to them later.

Now, before you arrive at the property, you’ll also want to get clear on the three main objectives with this appointment. You are here to…

1. Build rapport with the seller.

2. Check out the house.

3. Collect documentation.

Always remember that you are there to accomplish these three objectives! As long as you can walk away from the appointment feeling like you’ve accomplished these three things, you’ll be good to go.

Arriving at the property

When you first arrive at the property, you’re obviously going to want to knock on the door.

When the seller answers, it’s important to be courteous. Introduce yourself and say something to the effect of, “I know we booked an appointment to check out the house, do you still have the 30 minutes we allocated?” That way, you have their confirmation before you walk into the house.

Ask the seller if they’d mind showing you around the property. They know it best, after all! And just to be courteous, let them know that you’re going to be taking some notes and a few pictures so that you can refer back to them later or share them with your team.

As you’re walking through the property, take notes on what you see. Mainly, you want to be looking at key items like the roof, siding, foundation, furnace, AC unit—anything that is expensive and may be in need of repair in the near future. This will factor into your calculations when coming up with an offer for the seller.

As you walk through the property, remember the first objective as well—build rapport with the seller! This is a great opportunity to start up some conversation and get to know your seller. Everyone likes to do business with people they know, so this can be very valuable later on.

Sitting down with the seller

After you’ve walked through the property, it’s time to sit down and go over some specifics with the seller. You can go to them and say, “Okay, now that we’ve walked through the house, I’d love to sit down and chat so I can answer any and all questions you may have. I’d also like to take a look at a couple of documents”

And then you’re going to want to do exactly that!

When working with terms deals, sellers usually have plenty of questions. This is a great chance for you to make them feel comfortable about the deal. The more confident and assertive you can be with your answers the better, as this will make them feel good knowing that you are on the ball.

At this point, there are also two questions you want to ask them. Before you leave, do your best to find out:

1. How much they want to net on the property.

2. The minimum they’d be willing to take per month (especially if it’s owner-financing).

These will help you determine costs when coming up with a deal.

And finally, you’ll want to make sure you have a couple of documents before you leave the house:

• A copy of their latest mortgage statement, if there is a mortgage on the property.
• Tax stamps, if they aren’t included in the mortgage or if it’s free and clear.
• A seller’s disclosure, if they were on the market.
• Any other expenses, like HOAs.

These documents are crucial for your decision making process, so be sure to take copies back home or to your team. In a pinch, you can always take pictures of them on your phone. Once again, the documents you need will vary depending on your specific situation and niche—so this may not be a perfect list for everyone in every situation.

Once you’ve obtained all that, you’re good to go! Now you have everything you need to make a decision and get back to them with some numbers. Or, in some cases, you may decide the property isn’t for you. In that case, it’s always worth waiting to find the right property instead of going with a home you don’t feel comfortable with!

Getting ready for your FIRST appointment with a seller? I’d love to hear how it goes and answer any further questions you may have!