Diary of a creative investment deal pt3

After yesterdays updates I was waiting on title search to come back and know if it's a go or if there were any title issues. Everything was fine, there were no unknown liens etc.. placed on the property so we're going to move forward.

Bob and I exchange a few emails and I wanted to go over the discussion a little bit as I think it's a great learning experience for newer investors that are dealing with sellers.

I had told Bob that the interested L/O buyers would like to move in by Aug 1st which is about 6weeks from now, normally more than plenty of time. The fact is they wanted to move much sooner however I told them Bob was still occupying the property and I would have to give him time to vacate, the L/O buyer agreed that 6 weeks was long enough and that he would be ok with that. 

Bob had responded just as I suspected and informed me that he couldn't move out by Aug 1st, which I knew wasn't true but you never call a seller a liar! You've got to understand this isn't all about numbers and cash checking but also it's about people, the very people you are helping whehter they realize it yet or not. 

See I expected Bob to object to my Aug 1st move out date but I did that for a reason. When dealing with a homeowner that has occupied the property for so long and in some cases raised kids in that home, as much as they tell you they're ready to move, their NOT. You've got to gently help push them out the door. A lot of times the homeowner will do everything they can to try to stay longer. 

My strategy has never been to purchase a property while the seller is still in the property, they must be vacated from the property to be able to move forward otherwise you'll end up being a landlord to someone who believes that the house still belongs to them. Standing your ground and giving them that push they require only makes things go much smoother. 

Bob also tried to do what most sellers do and ask/tell you that they are taking the appliances, this to is something I do not allow because if I've got to now spend a lot of money buying appliances that cuts into my bottom line and starts to make a great deal look not so great. 

Again I expected these things to be brought up and I dealt with them as I usually do by standing my ground, the seller is only testing you whether they admit that or not and you must not allow your kindness to be mistaken for weakness. You are already helping out the seller a great deal, don't get trapped into letting them decrease the value of the deal.

Again, it's not a big deal just something you have to deal with in most cases and as long as you're fair but firm everything will be fine.

I offered Bob to help pay for a U-haul truck, by doing this I proved that sellers rarely have their problems solved by throwing money at them but providing solutions to their problems. Bob needs a way to help him move out by the 1st of August and offering to provide some assistance with a U-haul truck is exactly what he needed.

So now that Bob and I are on the same page we're ready to move forward, I've informed him that my team negotiator will be contacting him and gettting that started, I will also have the purchase contract drafted and have everything ready for an Aug 1st close. 

Once I get the contracts signed and the process started there will be little activity, normally when doing a deal like this everything can move fairly quickly but because Bob is still in the house and we need him to move out to move forward there will be a pause between now and then which will allow the negotiator to work. In the meantime I'll have little contact with Bob as well, mainly just check ups to make sure the moving process is going well and that he's not losing his motivation to act quickly with a set date agreed on.

Thats it for now I'll update randomly with any progress, I look forward to making this a success and allowing everyone to watch. 

Please feel free to ask questions or comment.