PART TWO: Overcoming Real Estate Fears- 4 Techniques to Calling Sellers Confidently

Feb 9
09:55

2008

Danny Welsh

Danny Welsh

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As a real estate investor, if you make these mistakes when calling home sellers: Putting too much importance on a single deal, Thinking you need to IMPRESS the seller, Having no other options, or Being attached to your expectations of a deal…you are likely NOT being effective. Here’s several concrete tips to help in overcoming real estate fears so that you can get to calling home sellers confidently

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So,PART TWO: Overcoming Real Estate Fears- 4 Techniques to Calling Sellers Confidently Articles let's take a few minutes and talk about the issues and what CAUSES them.

Here are some of the "root causes", and how I see them...

1) Having no other options.

   If you're sitting at the phone with ONE seller's phone number in your hand, and you haven't ever bought an investment home (or it's been a long time; or you really are trying to buy quickly so you can gain momentum and go full-time into the real estate investor lifestyle), and you are feeling DESPERATE, you're probably going to get VERY nervous.

   When you have no other options, the solitary one in front of you becomes VERY valuable.

   Translation: You want it TOO badly.

   This AUTOMATICALLY triggers your emotional system, because at some level you realize that if you screw this up, it's all over. And we both know that there truly are TONS of ways to KILL a real estate deal-- even IF you truly CAN structure a win-win agreement with the seller.

   The pressure is too much! Without options, your judgment could become clouded and your neediness communicated to the seller will turn them off.

   In this world, the hungry fish does not get fed. Such is true in real estate investing as well.

2) Putting too much importance on a single deal.

   Now, if you have a deal that you've been working for three months, and you've decided that it's one heckuva rare find with a GREAT spread, a motivated seller and a CLEAR exit strategy, really a one in a thousand scenario, it makes sense to put a lot of importance on your completion of this deal.

   After all, you've invested a LOT of your time and sure there might have been obstacles but now you are running with the ball and you can see blue sky and five-figure checks.

   But, if you don't have other things going on, other deals in the works, other proverbial "irons" getting hot then you are only setting yourself up for major disappointment by putting too much importance on ANY one deal.

3) Thinking you need to IMPRESS the seller.

   This is a HUGE issue.

   If you're like many investors, you might "subconsciously" behave and communicate like you're trying to IMPRESS the seller of a house you're considering buying.

   With me, when you think about this, it only makes sense... of course you'd want to impress the seller in a "creative real estate" deal that has everything going for it... so he/she'll think you're a professional, can do what you say you can do and want to work with you.

   But have you ever thought for a moment how a desperate, motivated seller sees it when an investor is TRYING to IMPRESS him/her?

   Well, here's the INSTANT and SUBCONSCIOUS response that sellers often have:

 "He's trying too hard. There's something wrong. This guy must have something he's trying to hide...better keep my mouth shut."

   In other words, the INSTANT you do something or say something that is an obvious attempt at impressing a seller, his/her radar system screams:

  "Con man!"

   Can you blame them? With the world we live in today? When doing creative real estate deals, when you KNOW you can help the seller, it is 100% more effective in the long run to use a strategy of EDUCATING people and not trying to "sell" them.

   Remember, as a real estate investor, people often want to do what you do for a living. It seems glamorous and fun and highly lucrative, all of which it can be.  But in the real world most of what works to build wealth in real estate is JUST PLAIN NOT UNDERSTOOD by "average Joe" Johnny Lunch Bucket types. This is where you must EDUCATE your sellers and you can only do that by actually caring about them, building trust and comfort and not coming off as a smooth-talking con man.

4) Being attached to your expectations of a deal.

   You might think of this one as a variation of "wanting it too much"... only slightly different.

   When you start getting your hopes and expectations up, you begin to get ATTACHED to them.

   Then you run the risk of HOLDING ON TOO TIGHT to your little "et rich quick" fantasy.

   Bad idea.

   Of course, you should run your numbers and do your due diligence and throw some projections around to see what you could be making if a deal goes through.

   Nothing wrong with that. In fact, it's essential! Many a new investor has jumped straight into "investing" by buying a property in a stupid deal and ended up a glorified house buyer with a house that they come out of pocket every month to own.

   Except in some instances, this is just not sound investing!

Remember, as professional real estate investors:

 We buy properties that PAY us to own them!

   Back to the being attached to the deal thing.

   I want to elaborate on this concept because it is SO important in SO MANY WAYS for those of us who want to enjoy success in real estate investing and be Good Stewards.

   Of course, when dealing with a seller or any kind of deal issue you want to be PERSISTENT. Persistence is a key to success in ANYTHING. But you don't want to be ANNOYING!

   Sellers don't often want to work with investors who come across as arrogant, are obviously only motivated by a lust for dollars, who assume too much, act too comfortable with them, or blow smoke up their chimney.

   Remember, motivated sellers have investors often literally pounding down their door (well, once their reason for motivation is in the public forum anyway). They are getting daily calls and letters from people who, in effect are saying "I want to steal your house!"

   In fact, with few options they almost EXPECT to get a short-handed stick at closing but what can they do... they gotta sell, right?

   I mean, they're "motivated" sellers right?

   It says right there in BLACK and WHITE that Johnny's mortgage is in arrears and Johnny told you right out of his own mouth that he just got laid off at the factory and you KNOW none of Johnny's friends/relatives/boss can or will bail him out. His inability to pay the mortgage is temporary until he finds work...but he just can't catch up the rears.

   Logically, you know that he can't refinance either. Plus he actually TOLD you all his troubles trying to refinance and how the banks are ignoring him in his time of need.

   Logically...you KNOW he HAS to sell-- doesn't he?

   Logically, yes it makes sense to do whatever it takes to avoid foreclosure and avoid a potential bankruptcy.    Logically, you KNOW these things.      But REMEMBER three things, please, dear investor.

1) You have SPECIALIZED KNOWLEDGE: 

   Chances are, what makes sense to you as a seasoned -- or even just well-read ;)- real estate investor, might be highly CONFUSING to others who arenot real estate insiders. Examples? Try the Lease-Option Purchase or Seller Financing or Taking over Payments or any one of a hundred other techniques investors know and use but most people have no idea about.

Hint: Like, for instance the SELLER you're trying to help and buy their property.

 2) This is not a LOGICAL situation:

   Oftentimes when talking to a motivated seller it is an EMOTIONAL situation. Even if the person is just a FSBO this is often their home, a place of all kinds of emotional references and attachments.

   Regardless of how LOGICAL it is for a distressed seller to take you up on your win-win creative real estate offer, they are not likely to deal with a person they DO NOT LIKE, they CAN NOT TRUST and who does not make them FEEL GOOD.

   Period.

   But, you keep thinking...they gotta sell, right?

   Maybe, maybe not.

   One thing's for sure: they don't HAVE to sell to YOU!

   In fact, here's number three to keep in mind...

3) They don't HAVE to do ANYTHING:

   Believe it. I've seen people FORECLOSED on because no one who came to "help" them took the TIME to explain what their options were and clearly articulated what each party's responsibilities and rewards would be for selling the house by using creative real estate strategies.

   They were determined to hope and pray for a miracle because they could feel the sharks circling out there waiting for the feeding frenzy-- all those so-called "investors" who low-ball offered to buy their house and insulted them and told them to, basically, "take it or leave it dummy."

   These people lose their house and their equity because no one was there to give them a hand and treat them like a human being. No one was there to point to the pile of unopened mail and bills on the kitchen table and, with love, say:

 "I can see you're in a tough spot, but honestly folks ignoring the problems  like an ostrich with your head stuck in  the sand isn't going to save your house  or your credit. It's time for you now to  do something about it. I'm here to help! Let's        talk this out and find a solution that is a            winner for everyone."

   Just like appearing desperate can destroy your chances of structuring a creative deal with a seller, liking a deal's profit potential too much and creating an expectation leads to crazy, stupid mistakes as well.

   Like forgetting the #1 Rule of building wealth through good stewardship:

 "Wealth is the accumulation of problems  solved and people helped."