The Second Rule of Thumb - Negotiating Matters!!!

No matter what you may think or what you have been told, the way that you present your offer makes a difference. If you just e-mail your offer or letter of intent over to the buyer, they are a lot less likely to take you seriously than if you talk to them personally. It is really easy to delete an e-mail or throw away a letter. It is much harder to slam the door in someone’s face or hang up the phone on someone who is genuinely trying to help you.

When you present your offer to the seller you need to remember that while this is just business to you, they are emotionally attached to the property. They have put blood, sweat and tears into that property. They have worked hard to get it to where it is, and it is part of the family. They don’t want to sell it, or rather, they don’t want to sell it to someone who won’t take care of it. Your job is to make sure that you let them know that you understand how hard they have worked and to reassure them that you will work just as hard to maintain that property.

You need to show them that you are in a position to take that property to the next level. They are marrying off a child to you and they want to know that you can take care of it.

When you present your offer, start by building a relationship. Let them get to know you and like you. Don’t just be another name and face. You want to stand out if there are a lot of people making offers. If they have to choose between two virtually identical offers, they are going to choose the person that they like.

When you present your offer, present it in a way that you are making assumptive closings. Get them to agree that you would be a great owner for their property. Get them to agree that the changes you are making would be beneficial. Get them to agree that you are offering great terms. Get them to agree to as many good things as possible. You want them to have already mentally have sold you the property before you pull out your purchase price.

There are a lot of little tips and tricks that you can use to get the seller to want to sell the property to you. We are going to go over those as we discuss the second rule of thumb with you. As always, happy investing.