Fight To The Finish: Friend Vs Foe

In my previous post, I highlighted the two stark choices that face every short sale investor each time they do business with a distressed homeowner.  The choices I presented might be obvious to many investors, but I am sure that there are many more investors who have not considered things from the perspective I am presenting.

So, how do I position myself as a friend… or a foe, for that matter?

I thought you’d never ask.  That is a most important question, but before I answer it let me detour a little bit, and discuss the implication of both positions.

Implications of being a ‘Friend’

Pros
You will be presenting a win-win deal to homeowners.
You will develop a reputation as a good guy or gal very quickly.
You will not have to do as much marketing as a foe would.
You will sleep easily at night.
You will have guaranteed long term success.

Cons
You will not make as much profit from each transaction.
You might be taken advantage of by unscrupulous homeowners.
You might experience more than your fair share of deals falling through.
Success in the short term might not be easy to come by.


Implications of being a ‘Foe’

Pros
You will have the opportunity to maximize your profit on every transaction.
You will rarely be taken advantage of by homeowners.
You will be able to take measures to safeguard deals from falling through.
You might have more success in the short term.

Cons
Homeowners will be highly distrustful of you.
Your reputation will not be a very good one.
You will have to market like crazy and spread your tentacles much wider.
You will have your conscience to contend with.
Long term success will be a real battle for you.

As you can see, there is a sharp contrast between the implications of being a friend or a foe.  It looks like the position that an investor decides to take will be informed by whether they are in it for the long haul or not.  

Hmm… That’s a very perceptive bit of analysis, but it’s not quite as simple as that.