Real estate negotiating BIBLE tip #2, He who cares the least, WINS !!

There seems to be some underlying anxiety with real estate investors about getting their 1st/next deal. I’ve affectionately labeled this feeling to be- Dealitis (Deal-i-tis) like arthritis. This is where you want your next deal so bad, you don’t weigh all the numbers and get into a bad deal. Remember no deal is always better than a bad deal. Earlier in my real estate career, I had a terrible case of this disease. The worse thing about dealitis is that home owners & and others around you can smell it. In the dating game we call it “being thirsty” for a date. When someone is thirsty they’ll do anything to get that next drink. But dealitis is an internal disease right? Yes, but it protrudes from your attitude and even in your body language when you’re talking to sellers.

How this business works is simple. “We buy houses, we don’t get sold houses.” If you keep this attitude you’ll always be in control of your negotiating. You must maintain the mindset where the seller needs to sell you his house more than you need to buy it. This is the posture that will allow you to win at sticky kitchen table negotiating. Once the seller knows or gets a notion that you need to buy his house, you lose all of your negotiating power. This has also been my secret sauce to raising hundreds of thousands of dollars from private lenders. But, once you lose your posture, it’s very hard to get it back in a negotiation.

That’s why I typically like to use the “we may be able to help you” attitude. I especially like using this line when I’m negotiating “subject to” deals. I can sit and talk to sellers about the numerous reasons why they can & should keep their house. I try to throw all types of little lines to keep them in the house but the more I try to push the house back on them, it seems like the more they want me to take it. I’ll be covering these lines in upcoming negotiating bible tips.

So when you’re dealing with your next seller, keep in mind they should be honored to even have you on the phone or in their house. You’re a professional house buyer and you buy several houses a year (even if you haven’t bought 1 yet). In your mind, you are a full time real estate buyer. Take 3 deep breathes before you talk to a home owner and always remember you’re doing them a favor by buying their house.