WLCCI

Flexible Sellers

If you want or need to buy a property with little or no money down, there’s little doubt that you have to find a flexible seller. This doesn’t always have to be an individual though. HUD sells repossessed homes for as little as 3% down and in some cases less than that. Links to this information on HUD, VA and other government agency sales with their various restrictions conditions can be found at the end of this document.

To eliminate frustration and save a whole lot of time and effort, you need to be aware of a very important fact. At least 80% to 85% of sellers are firm on their asking prices and terms. These are NOT the people we want to deal with. It’s the other 15% to 20% of the marketplace where the best deals are being made.

That is where you find the folks who really want to unload their property and are willing to negotiate on price or terms or both.

“Why would they do that?” you ask? The answers to that question is as varied as people themselves, but often it is a result of:

• Divorce
• Job transfer
• Emotional dissatisfaction with the property
• Need money fast
•  Tenant problems

Need I go on? But don’t get the wrong impression, flexible sellers are not always down and out. Many times they would be considered wealthy by most people’s standards.

The National Association of Realtors lists “Wanted tax or investment advantages” and “Needed larger home” as the two leading reasons why people move. Another thing to keep in mind is that a seller’s emotions, needs, wants and desires are constantly changing. This can make a non-flexible seller become flexible, a not so uncommon occurrence of people who have sat on their “for sale” property for some time.

As you look into buying property with little or no money down, you will learn that it is essentially a numbers game. Or as they used to tell me in sales training, “You throw enough mud at the wall and some of it is going to stick.” If you talk to one person and they say “no” and you give up, you haven’t tried enough.

Talk to 20 prospective flexible sellers and you’ll probably get several workable deals. It’s very important to remember that your success is greatly effected by the number of offers you put out. There’s no room for discouragement in this game. Emotions must take a back seat to logic and persistence.

Studies have shown that two out of three people are either going to buy, sell or lease real estate or know someone who is. It’s a very active arena and the most persistent are the most successful.

One of the gurus of the industry puts it like this:

• Call twenty-five sellers
• Look at five properties
• Make three offers
• Buy one property

And he is speaking from the personal experience of many others besides himself.