How to Recognize a Motivated Seller When You See One

How to Recognize a Motivated Seller When You See One

The very essence of the “no money down” method for buying a house depends on having a motivated seller.

No deal goes through without a motivated seller. You cannot convince a person who does not want to sell to sell you his house. That’s a waste of your precious time. What you can do is always look to do business with a seller who is already motivated.

A motivated seller is easy to spot. You never have to wonder if you are doing business with one. A motivated seller answers your question and facilitates the sale process so it’s seamless. Motivated sellers don’t look for complications, they look for a way out of what they are in. The very essence of the no money down method of buying a house depends on having a motivated seller. A motivated seller is someone who views what they get in exchange for the property as a better option than hanging on to the property itself.  Your job is to find motivated sellers and offer solutions to their problems.

A motivated seller will pay you to buy their house!

Whenever I leave the house in search of new leads, I always wonder which of the many unassuming leads I pick up will be the one to raise their hand and say, “Toyin, choose me! I will pay you to buy my house.” Impossible? It happens more often than you might think.

Even  motivated sellers have fears about selling

I want you to always remember that buying and selling a home can be an emotional experience for many people. As an investor, you will eventually numb to this anxiety, but for most homeowners and sellers, there is still a lot of emotion tied to transferring ownership of their property.

They could be experiencing a jumble of excitement and relief, or there could be pain and anger associated with the sale of the property. For most people, the process is ripe with mystery as well. People don’t understand the purchase process completely. They don’t know a title from a deed and all they want is to ensure they are no longer legally responsible for the property.

Whenever you do a real estate deal, explain to the seller what will happen, why you are constructing the deal the way you are, and how it will benefit him or her.

In situations where you have motivated sellers who do not have third-party representation, you have to be very careful to tend to their fears. Explain what will happen, why you are constructing the deal the way you are and how it benefits them. Give them time to digest everything. They may even need a few days to emotionally relinquish ownership of the property. Give them the time they need. While you don’t want to push them into the arms of a realtor who will fill their heads with dreams of getting more money out of you, you do want to make sure you can provide your sellers with honest answers to their questions.

What to say when a motivated seller contacts you

There are six key questions you want to ask all sellers:

  1. How did you find out about me/us? (Use this question to track the sources of your leads so you know which marketing methods work)
  2. Why are you selling?
  3. What’s wrong with the house? Are there any structural or cosmetic issues I need to address?
  4. How much do you owe on the property in loans, taxes and liens?
  5. How much do you want for the property?
  6. How much are you willing to take for the house if I pay cash and close quickly?

Those six questions will provide you with enough information to know if you want to put the house under contract and investigate further.

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