Help me! I am in a seller's market! - Posted by Brenda Crawford

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Posted by Ed Garcia on June 16, 2001 at 17:13:12:

BUYING in a SELLER’S Market.

Brenda,

Were not in this business to make the sellers rich. Were in it to make money. When you find yourself in a sellers market, then you have to do what I call, change the rules.

I don’t play if I can’t get a good deal. First of all, no matter the market, there are always going to be MOTIVATED SELLERS. It’s just a matter of finding them.

Second, when I say change the rules, I mean, find a property that is not a hot property, and make it one.

For example: knowing that 2 bed room 1 bath houses are not as HOT on the market as a 3 bedroom 2 bath. Then why not look for crummy 2 bedroom 1-bath houses that you can steal, and fix them up adding another bedroom and bathroom.

Obviously buying fixer uppers are always going to allow you to make money, because the average consumer buying a home barely has enough money for the down payment, let alone spending money for fix up.

Look for properties that have what we call upside potential. These are properties that may be in good locations but are not being used for their best possible use. You might purchase a little run down house that is zoned for units and build units, you might purchase a apartment building and convert it to condos or purchase a lot and build a house on it, and the list goes on, once you start to put your thinking cap on.

Get out there and find out what’s going on in your community. Remember if you talk to 10 people you get a result, if you talk to 100 people you’ll get a result. Which one will give you a bigger result? I hope you see the picture.

One more thing, there is nothing wrong in doing as you’ve suggested in your post. Money talks, B/S walks. I like making CASH offers. Not only does it give you better pricing, but in the event you can’t get them to sell where it’s worth it for you to use your cash, then it sets the stage to take a little less profit for terms.

Ed Garcia

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Help me! I am in a seller’s market! - Posted by Brenda Crawford

Posted by Brenda Crawford on June 16, 2001 at 13:35:22:

I am very anxious to get started in RE investing and I live in Minneapolis where the market is such that houses are going for a premium and selling in a “New York Minute”! It is hard to find flexable sellers in a market like this and banks don’t even have many REO’s now. I have been studying RE investing for 6 months now and I am ready to jump in. I know that it is important to use as little of my own money as possible in order to be able to buy many properties. Right now in this market it is hard to find sellers willing to assist in financing. I have $20,000 cash and I have $300,000 equity to use. Should I be looking to buy all cash to get a discount and then refinancing for full value? Could someone please send me down the right path to starting my new career as a real estate investor? Thanks!!

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Re: Help me! I am in a seller’s market! - Posted by Angel Gutierrez

Posted by Angel Gutierrez on June 16, 2001 at 21:30:54:

Seller’s market eh?
Well…when I hear that…cha ching$$ baby. That tells me I’m not gonna sit on that house for very long.
So…where to find the deals?
In ANY market, there are ALWAYS motivated sellers…especially/specifically, foreclosures. That’s the game I play. Can’t find any…well you’re not looking hard enough. Get to know your County Recorders office REAL WELL and do it now! That’s where the deals are(at least one place anyway). There are always people that need to sell NOW. I don’t bother with “want to sells or might sells,” only MUST sell people. However, there are obstaces to overcome…and the first is yourself. (what do you mean Angel?)
For you to succeed in ANY business you must be able to make the sale, therefore, you must leave any and all fear ,doubt,and insecurity at the door when you leave the house everyday because there is no room for it out there in the real world where you are.
Questions to ask yourself:

1. Am I a “people person?” Yes? No?
   If you aren’t…time to change that! This business…contrary to popular belief…is a people business. Get the picture? Nothing happens until you make a deal with a person that will like you and trust you.
2. Are your thoughts organized? What are you going to do with the ‘property’ once you’ve got it in your hands? Do you have a written checklist/plan? Or are you going to wing it? Wing it you say? Oh, you want to be like Angel. (Mr. know it all) If this is the route you want to take, that’s fine, however…I can honestly and positively say,“your life is going to suck from here on out until you organize your thoughts and plan of attack.”
3. Are you comfortable in the presence of the opposite sex? Can you walk up to ANY man you see and like and tell him so? What’s that got to do with it? Glad you asked.
   This is the ultimate test of your tenancity and self-confidence I have ever encountered. I used to be the biggest chicken out there when it came to women until enough was enough. I knew I could sell, just not to women. Well, I quickly found out that women own houses too! Imagine that! Well, since I’d fall apart right from the git’go, I missed out on SO MANY lucrative deals that I couldn’t stand myself. I was SO PATHETIC!
   I ran into a guy that could sell sand to the Arabs and then sieves to sift the sand. He told me that if I couldn’t sell myself to a woman, then I might as well hand it up now and go get a job, the funny thing about it was that he was right and some radical changes had to be made.
4. Can you sell? Do you know how to sell? Yes, no, maybe? Do you have experience in sales? No? Get some NOW! Read everything you can get your hands on to help with this ART. Yes…it IS an Art. Only the best make real money in this game. The question is, how good do you want to be?
   Brenda, only you can make it happen and only you will determine how far you’ll go in this game. I have found that women are more likely to succeed in this game than men. I personally know women(2) who have started with nothing but sheer will and the audacity to make it happen that are very well to do now. I like to think that I’m pretty good at what I do, but for some reason, that chicken inside of me surfaces when I’m in their company, because they were women whom I thought would NEVER make it happen. These two Bit**es would eat me alive out there if I was on opposing sides. Yes, you can do it. Just think it through. Believe me when I say that there are so many deals out there to be had, all you have to do is cherry -pick the real good ones. Above all…(in the infamous words of Donald Trump) THINK BIG! If you’re gonna be thinking anyway, it might as well be BIG!
   More on the sales subject to come later.
   Hope this gives you some food for thought.
   Go get’em!..and let me know what happens!

Angel
Dallas, Tx