All Forum Posts by: John Baker

Hi everyone,

I'm wondering. When you speak with sellers, should you build rapport with every seller, even the ones who aren't motivated?

Or should you just stop talking to sellers when you find out they aren't motivated and submit an offer? Currently, I try to build rapport with every seller, but it seems like a waste of time because I find that most unmotivated sellers don't like it when I ask questions about why they are selling or if they have a new house picked out already or what thier goal is when they sell the house. What should I do? Thanks. 

Yes, I will put him in my seller database and follow up every month, but do you think I could wholesale it if I got it at 175,000?

Forgot to mention more:

Seller's House: Seller says it needs 20K repairs (I don't believe him)

1080 sqft living, 1700sqft total, 2bd, 2ba

I just got off the phone with a man who has inherited a property from his parents. He's not motivated to sell, I think, because he says he's not in a rush to sell it, and I think his price might be too high, but I'm not sure and need help. He lives in Georgia and the property is in Florida and very close to me. I looked at the comps, and this is what I found on the MLS (Criteria: Sold within 90 days, within 10% of square footage, within 1 mile of seller's house, and 1 story houses just like the seller's house):

Sold Price        Sqft living      Bedrooms   Baths

159,000              987                 2                 1

243,000             1003                2                 1

166,750             1028                2                 1

289,000             1035                2                 1 

185,000             1072                2                 1 

175,000             1103                2                 1

158,000             1120                2                 1 

132,000             1120                3                 2

95,000               1143                3                 1 

214,000             1147                2                 2

207,000             1162                2                 2

169,000             1179                3                 2

185,000             1179                3                 2

Another house sold for 365,000 within the last 90 days and has a total sqft of 1765; the seller's house has a total square footage of 1700 and living sqft is 1080. It is one story as well. There were some pretty high comps and low ones, so that's why I'm unsure if this is a good deal or not. I think the ARV is 246,000 going by the high comps. Seller is asking 190,000. What do you guys think?

Wow, I'm reading this story sitting down in my college advising center, lol. I'm wondering how many letters did you send out? Was it 1000 or 2000? How many sellers did you talk to before you made this deal?

Wow, thanks for the excellent analysis. I really appreciate it. The most I can offer him is 123K if I want to wholesale it. I won't fall for the "I have other offers at retail price." I stick strictly to the calculations I made (0.80*ARV-repairs-profit). I used 0.80*ARV since it is a hot cash buyer area (I checked on MLS). I will defintley call him in the morning and discuss the price with him. He said he is willing to negotiate if the offer is "reasonable." But I think I should let him marinate a little and when he can't sell for his asking price, I can grab the deal for a much lower price than what he is asking. Thanks again.

Thanks for all the responses guys! I really appreciate it.

 The loan balance is 113,000. He says there are no unpaid taxes on the property, but I will do a title search to confirm that. I'm not sure how to close before the 27th since I am new to real estate investing, but I will call my title company to find out.

 I'll build more rapport with the seller when I visit his house so that I can get the deal. I don't think I built enough with him over the phone because he said he is talking to other investors. He did text me today and asked if I was still coming over to meet him tommorow, and I responded to him. I will bring comps and a power point on my IPad if he turns out to be the analytical personality type.

I talked with a seller who contacted me through craigslist. He texted me once, and I didn't respond for a couple of hours, and then he texted me again. Then, after the second text he sent me, I responded and we talked on the phone. He says his house is about to go into a foreclosure auction on July 27th. He said he will move out in 2 weeks if we come to a deal. The only problems are that he thinks his house is worth 220,000 but the comps I looked at suggest his house is 175,000 and his house is 50 mins away from where I live. Do you think he is motivated to sell and should I meet up with this seller or will it be a waste of time?