“The Cycle” to Successful Real Estate Investing
You need to know what questions should be asked so that you can determine if you want to see a property. When you are on the phone with a seller, there are some questions that you need to ask so you don’t waste your time.
What Questions Should be Asked
The most valuable thing you have in this business is time and you don’t want to waste it. Therefore, when you call or someone calls you about a property, you have to know what you want to say and what it is you need to find out about the property.
When you ask them these four questions, you are not trying to buy their property. You are not trying to negotiate or get them to change the price. The only thing you are trying to do is to decide, “do I want to spend my valuable time, looking at this property?”
Short Sale Finds You
When you ask that first question, and they reply that the place is worth $150,000, and then they respond to the second question that they own $148,000…do you hang up and go away? Is there a deal there? Possibly. It could be a short sale.If they owe that much, then you need to find out if they are behind on their payments. If they are behind at least three or four payments, then that’s a short sale. Short sales find you.
Time is of the Essence
Now if you ask them the first question and they say $180,000, you then want to ask if there are any liens on the property. If they reply “no”, then you will ask, “do you own it outright?” If they respond yes, then your next question is going to be “Can I come and see it right now?”
In a situation like this, time is of the essence. If you don’t go see it immediately, but try to wait until a later date, then the chances are that house is going to be gone. With that much equity, if they are a motivated seller, that house will be snatched up immediately by another investor.
Asking
Now it doesn’t matter what they’re asking, because you’re going to offer them what you decide to offer them. You just want to decide if you want to go see the house. You can pay anything they will accept as long as you set the terms.
Go to the Appointment
You want to take the TurboBiddder2 repair sheet, put it on a clipboard and go to the home. Before you go you need to know what questions should be asked at the walk through to create a bond and gain information.
Now, you could go look at the house by yourself, but there is a reason to have them go with you.
You want them to understand why you are not going to give them their asking price.
Prepping for the Offer
As you go through the house you compliment the house, and notice the nice features, with the proviso that “yes, when fixed up this house would be worth” whatever they’ve named as their asking price. You compliment and
yet at the same time you are pointing out the things that need to be fixed
updated and changed.
At the same time you create a bond by being interested in them, asking them about the house, about the history and about why they are selling. You make a friend. You are spending time with them, and at the same time you are taking their asking price down to something a bit lower. Therefore, when you sit down to start negotiating, they already know that a good bit of money is going to have to be spent to get the house in a condition to meet the price they were asking.
Knowing what questions should be asked while on the initial phone interview and then during the walk through, you will get the information you need. With that information you will be able to set up a deal and make an offer with the best chance of being accepted.
