Targeting Sexagenarians As A Motivated Seller

I enjoy being a sexagenarian and in my seventh decade of living I have had a lot of partners.  Sexagenarians are all around us...you probably talk to one everyday. If you know people between 60 and 69 years of age you have the pleasure of knowing one. 

I was born in 1956 which makes me a 60 year old...yes a sexagenarian. GOTCHA! and you thought I was going to talk about...I bet I got your attention? That is what you as a real estate investor will need to do... to find and locate the motivated seller who is between the ages of 60 and 69 -- a retiree.

While I am not ready to retire...I am ready to find retirees as motivated sellers. Why? These people are at that age where small is in their vocabulary. Smaller home, smaller family, smaller incomes, shorter years, smaller appetites, etc. So with this "small is bigger" concept in mind; security is the equity that sexagenarians have built over time in their home paying down their mortgage loan for 30 years -- the American dream...or  is that nightmare? do you think that maybe they want to now cash in on that equity and reduce the drama in their lives?

The Empty Nest Syndrome: A Contributing Factor for the Motivated Seller

As a mental health counselor having worked with this population there is a tendency for these good folk to experience a period of unrest "a stressor" that can be measured on the Life Exchange Index (T.H. Holmes and T.H. Rahe. "The Social Readjustment Rating Scale," Journal of Psychosomatic Research. 11:213, 1967.)...which can have negative implications that are long term. In psychology, there is called in laymen's terms the "empty nest syndrome," not a debilitating disorder; but one that can contribute to a more insiduous disease called depression, which can have promorbid outcomes (e.g., poor heath and dealth). Having worked with family and children and group dynamics as functional and disfunctional; one area of concern would now be the home and specific to property law is the term free and clear which refers to ownership without legal encumbrances, such as a lien or mortgage. For example: a person owns his house free and clear if he has paid off the mortgage and no creditor has filed a lien against it.

Of particular interest is how the resurgence in interest for free and clear properties despite being an investment form that has been prevalent from early on is now a vetted opportunity for creating partnerships in profit. Investing in free and clear properties removes the need for a bank loan entirely. 

Empowering the Seller -- the Sexagenarian Who Is Motivated To Sell

Over 35% of all properties in the United States are owned free and clear with no outstanding mortgages or liens. I like that percentage because I like working smart than hard while some go after the 65% that requires funding...who likes to deal with banks, "hard" money loans, (Have you ever wondered why they are called hard money loans?...because it is emotional expletive here hard to qualify because of the dreaded FICO score and then the high interest rate that even a predator like a loan shark would be considered...now can you see how the real estate investor would desire working with the motivated sexagenarian, septuagenarian (70's), and even octogenarians (80's) who are ALL prime candidates (partners) for becoming a motivated seller based on psychological and physiological variables that you as their rescuer  can offer "seller financing" where the sexagenarian just gets better -- 

He/she becomes the bank to receive monthly payments to avoid paying a high capital gain tax (that you eloquently point out by using the Life Exchange Index and an actuary table of money owed to the IRS) and you the real estate investor receive an equitable deed: win / win. A second deed of trust can be a home equity loan or a second mortgage as the homeowner selling the house. A second deed of trust simply means that another deed was given out, after the first, to secure the second loan with the equity in the house. Much like a first deed of trust, the second deed of trust is a promissory note that requires monthly payments and accrues interest.

One psychological attribute is the Empty nest syndrome as a feeling of grief and loneliness that parents may feel when their children leave home for the first time, such as to live on their own or to attend a college or university. It is not a clinical condition.[1] Since young adults' moving out from their families house is generally a normal and healthy event, the symptoms of empty nest syndrome often go unrecognized. This can result in depression and a loss of purpose for parents, since the departure of their children from "the nest" leads to adjustments in parents' lives. Empty nest syndrome is especially common in full-time mothers.

Symptoms and effects

All parents are susceptible to empty nest syndrome, although some factors can create a predisposition to it. Such factors include an unstable or unsatisfactory marriage, a sense of self based primarily on identity as a parent, or difficulty accepting change in general. Full-time parents (stay-at-home mothers or fathers) may be especially vulnerable to empty nest syndrome. Adults who are also dealing with other stressful life events such as menopause, the death of a spouse, moving away or retirement are also more likely to experience the syndrome.[1]

Believe me that the empty nest does not imply an empty wallet...since these individuals are also cashing in on their IRAs and 401-Ks. Is there a growth market trend that a savvy real estate investor can help the transitioning process for the Baby Boomer and their children the Echo Boomer downgrade from a large home to a multifamily apartment? YOU BETCHA!