Scott.....
If it gets to the point that I'm going to meet with the sellers, that means that I've spent a good amount of time researching the property and If it gets to that point after all the qualifying I will always make an offer on the property. But I know going in, the ins and outs of the house and the mindset of the seller. I'm not positive on my acceptance rates, but if I had to guess probably about 3 % these days, that's just a guess though. I have ADHD so I find it hard to deal with specifics on anything. I just look at the big picture, put my head down and work, I figure I can review my stats when I'm retired.
I don't like to overthink deals too much. My gut tells me if the deal is right. That may fly in the face of the thinker brains on here, but up to this point has done really well for me. I look at the numbers, look at the property , and if it works, I buy, if they don't, I try to negotiate more, but most of the time I just move along to the next one. Its easy to move along when you know you'll soon be looking at another property. The older and more experienced I get, the less patience I have for wasted time.
I have numerous realtors looking for properties that fit my criteria, along with wholesalers, I spend about 3 to 5 hours every night without fail on the internet looking at probably 15 different real estate sites to see what has come and gone from the market in my area. I pride myself on knowing about every deal that comes and goes within my farm market in my area before anyone else does. I believe in getting deals done before the rest of the world even knows they exist. But that takes a lot of time and hard work. I run ads, I have bandit signs, I watch the online deeds for notice of defaults in my area and send yellow letters out to each property that interests me.
One of the main things that works for me is my reputation around my area. I do what I say I will do and I do it quickly, people know that if I decide to buy their property that there will be little or no snags at all, I don't screw around with inspections or anything else that makes the seller think that I'm looking for a way out, and people seem to like my straightforward, honest, approach. (Just look at Trump...).
What this gets me are phone calls from sellers that have heard about me and realize that I'm not their guy if they want retail, but I am their guy if they need fast cash and no hassles. There are a lot of sellers out there that are looking for more than getting top dollar out of a property........listen to their needs closely and do what you can for them to get the deal done.......Simple......As for the ones that want what you won't deliver......shake hands, leave a card for if or when they change their minds......and walk away. The longer you are in this business, the easier it gets in my opinion. That being said, Nebraska and California are two entirely different places when it comes to real estate investing. But the principles work the same in both areas. In my opinion the best recipe for success is to make this a lifestyle, you need to eat, sleep, breath real estate and never back off. Do what other won't. Sure your wife may make fun of you for actively searching for properties while on the beach in the Cayman Islands, just remind her that's the reason your working from the beach in the first place.
Feel free to email me or whatever on here if you have questions Scott. I like to help if I can. Sorry about the long post. :)
