Here's the true story of the accidental discovery of a superbly effective strategy for dealing with feisty sellers. I was a fairly new investor at the time. I was still learning even though I already had my first few deals under my belt. Take away selling was a tactic I'd heard of but never had to guts to attempt. Today it's a strategy I employ at almost every opportunity. It works like this. This strategy works best when you put yourself in a position where it doesn't really matter if any particular deal falls through or not. You're not back on your heels desperate to make a deal because you have more leads than you can handle. It's a foregone conclusion the you'll meet your house buying goals. The only question is which houses you'll buy and which deals you'll pass on. That's an excellent place to be.
Unfortunately back then I wasn't quite in that position. I was intent of making a deal out of anything that came down the pipeline. That turned out not to be such a great idea as I ended up buying a few houses I later wished I hadn't. It wasn't uncommon for sellers to have the upper hand either but that all changed when I learned this tactic.
I got a call from a man who was a burned out landlord. He had a rental property, the tenants has disappeared and he was about to lose the house to foreclosure. It really wasn't a great deal to begin with. I probably wouldn't even pursue it these days but I told the owner I could try a short sale. He verbally agreed and I asked him to bring his wife and meet me at the vacant house to do the paperwork.
It turns out this woman was ticked off at life and apparently it was all my fault. She was convinced my real goal was to steal her identity and her husband's too. It wasn't anything new for sellers to be difficult but this was ridiculous. I'd had enough and it was time for me to fly.
So when this lady finally shut her mouth, I looked her in the eye and calmly said something like this: "Look, I'm only here because your husband called me. You have a problem and I have a solution but I can only help those that want to be helped...and if I really was an identity thief, don't you think I would be smart enough to prey on people who weren't in foreclosure and had lousy credit? I wish you the best of luck but I can't help you."
I really was leaving but I didn't take two steps before she said "Wait, I'll sign." It's a good thing I was turned the other way because I think my jaw about hit the floor. I was stunned and amazed. And I had just discovered the power of take away selling.
You need to understand that scenario doesn't always play out. Sometimes the seller will let you walk out the door so if you use takeaway selling you have to be prepared to let the deal go. There's no turning back. If you thought you were operating from a position of weakness before just try that tactic and then come back and say you changed your mind and are still interested in buying the house. Actually don't because you'll get slaughtered.
But if the seller is motivated enough that they won't let you "take away" the solution to their problem, then you've suddenly turned the tables. You have taken control of the situation and the deal ought to be done in short order. Try it. It works wonderfully.
Who else wants to make money buying & selling single family homes? If you do, then you'll want to visit the Real Estate Blog
