Matching Motivated Sellers with Lease Options

As discussed previously, subject-to sellers are usually, but not always, motivated by bad debt and desperation to restore their credit.  Conversely, lease option sellers have good credit, and the sellers that would even consider a lease option fall into two categories:

1)      Sellers who don’t need their cash out of the home to move on.

2)      Sellers who have no equity in their home—they are financed 100 percent.

I prefer a seller in the first category.  Why?  This seller has some cushion financially if problems arise later.  The second category of seller does not have a cushion, and therefore if they get into financial trouble, they are more likely to botch up the deal—either permanently or for a period of time until things can be resolved.

Motivated Sellers

Excerpt from Investing in Real Estate with Lease Options and “Subject-to” Deals.

Script for Calling a Realtor

Once you have the agent on the phone, here is what I usually say:

“Hi __________ (the agent’s name), my name is

___________ (your name) and I was calling about

the home you have listed at ___________ (the street address).

Is it still available?”

After they say, “Yes it is,” I would say,

“Can you tell me more about the home?  How much is it

and how large is it?”

Listen to see if it is something you would be interested in.

If so, follow up with:

“I noticed it has been listed for a while”…

(Assuming it has been listed for more than four

months).

Wait and see what they say without saying anything else.  They might say, “Yes…” and I would go on to the next question, or they might start to talk more – which is what I am hoping they will do.  I want them to start to talk and tell me more.  Maybe they will tell me why it has been listed a long time or what the status is.  You would be amazed at what others will tell you when you zip it and listen.  My next question is:

“Well, I wondered if the sellers would be open to something creative.”

Again, I leave it at that and say nothing more.  Sometimes they

will volunteer a long explanation of what the seller will or will

not do or sometimes they say, “Like what?”

“Well, something like a rent-to-own or a lease option.  I am

a rent-to-own buyer looking for a home in this area.  Would

your seller be open to something like that?”

Don’t say anything until they respond. You’ll get one of five responses.

“Yes, they have mentioned that to me.”  If you get a positive

response, the next question to ask is, “Great, do you know

what kind of terms they are looking for or are they looking

for an offer?”

If they are looking for terms that work for you or they are looking for an offer, make an appointment with Sally agent to look at the home.  Note:  Sally will try to become your Realtor.  This might not be bad if Sally is creative and willing to read this book along with you, but otherwise don’t sign anything to commit you to Sally except for this home.  If Sally is really good, you might want her to be your agent.  If the terms are not within your scope, then ask the following:

“Do you have any other listings where  your

seller might have said to you, ‘Sally (remember

to use their real name J), if you don’t sell my

home soon I might have to rent it?’  Sally, can

you think of any of your listings like this that

might work for me?”

To be continued until tomorrow!  Join me tomorrow as I go over possible Realtor answers.

Excerpt taken from Rent-To-Buy: Your Hands-on Guide to BUY Your Home When Mortgage Lending is Tight, Chapter 5, Pages 68-71.

How to Control the Emotions of Home Buying

Buying a home is almost always an emotion-based process. Once you find a home you like, you become emotionally attached to it. Emotional attachment can cause you to make unwise decisions when making an offer, handling negotiations, and so forth. Once you’ve fallen in love with a house and visualized it being your home, you’ll start to do WHATEVER it takes to make sure it becomes your home.

This is about the worst possible way to buy a home, but also may be the best possible home for you.  You do want to fall in love with your new home, but you also want to be careful.

You can literally cost yourself thousands of dollars, if not tens of thousands of dollars, by being too emotionally attached. Instead of letting emotions rule the game, try to include some common sense in the buying process. Real estate investors have a saying that goes, “Don’t fall in love with the house, fall in love with the deal.” This is easier for an investor as he won’t live there, but you should be aware of this, and use your head.

Having said that, I realize that you will always have some emotional attachment to your house. You need to like it. Your goal is to strike a balance between liking the house and using common sense to tell you whether you are sacrificing too much to try to get the house. If you find you have to make lots and lots of compromises to get a house, stop yourself and ask, “Is this really worth it?”

Remember to strike a balance between emotions and common sense in your home buying process. It will help you enjoy your home that much more once you actually move in.

This is Kris Kirschner, doing a special email with Wendy. I am not writing this to ask you to part with any of your money. I asked Wendy if I could forewarn you about an urgent matter that a lot of investors are talking about that if you don’t understand it, it’ll affect you, your family, your friends and your future.

There’s a lot of serious talk about another real estate bubble from a lot of economists and in Harry S. Dent’s book “The Great Depression Ahead.” Although the information can be frightening, I want to hit it head on and tell you what no one else has or wants to talk about. It’ll seem crazy, but let me assure you that there is a sure-fire way to use this recession to your advantage. Everybody agrees that the greatest wealth is created during down times; so here’s what I mean.

As a result of the current economic depression and expected continued increase in foreclosures we may see a 2nd real estate bubble or real estate recession. Because of that, I have permanently changed the way I invest in real estate and you should too. In fact, Wendy and I are doing this “teaching only webinar” with you to share the solution to what many investors wrongfully believe is a no-win situation. That couldn’t be further from the truth.

I do have to tell you that I am making some major adjustments as a result of what I have learned from the economists and my intention is not to frighten you. Here are just two of the changes I am making for a 36 month period. I am selling my personal residence in Georgia that I did not intend to retire in as soon as possible as well as my land on the Gulf of Mexico before 2011.

If you’re wondering why I would do that and what I’m talking about, here it is in a nutshell. This email from me is to forewarn you that a few very reputable economists (like Harry Dent) are predicting a longer recession and real estate bubble starting 6 months from today and lasting close to 3 years! It will initially look like everything in the economy including the stock market is getting better but I have looked at all the facts and statistics and I have to agree with them that after an initial positive outlook, the market and real estate will make one last CORRECTION, especially in certain markets and certain aspects of real estate investing! You need to know what these are! During the Great Depression of 1929 there were 7 spikes where everyone thought all was well and on the way back but there continued to be crashes from 1929-1933. The good news is that a whole lot of millionaires were made during that time because they knew exactly what to do and how to profit! We’re in a similar situation now because we have real estate, commodities and the stock market (yes, just watch) all about to deflate simultaneously so you need to make some real adjustments RIGHT NOW! Don’t get me wrong, there WILL be ways to prosper in real estate but not if you don’t know what they are and what to do. As a result, I have decided to permanently change how I invest in and teach real estate and I asked Wendy if I could share with you exactly what the economists’ say is going to happen and what you should do right now to profit.

Wendy and I will be doing a special webinar on the Great Real Estate Recession Ahead exclusively for her guests on Thursday, April 22nd at 8:00 p m EST. This will be 100% content webinar and you’ll want to sit and listen very closely for 55 minutes. Keep reading for a quick recap of what I’m talking about. Those real estate investors that work for a living or own their own business are praying the economists are wrong and that the market doesn’t continue to fail because if they lose their jobs or their businesses in the continued recession ahead they won’t have a way to support themselves or their families. Worse yet, they may have made a few bucks when the real estate market was good, but they never learned how to prosper in a declining market. That’s not good because if the economy doesn’t recover and unemployment hits 15% they won’t be able to fall back on real estate for fast cash either. Tens of millions of people are reducing their spending habits (you probably are too) employers are reducing their payrolls, and the demographics and age of the baby boomers makes our economy ripe for another real estate recession. I know you might be thinking that it’s a little late for this warning but that can’t be further from the truth. We have just witnessed the greatest housing bubble in more than a century, and possibly ever, in the United States and major cities around the world. Some, including me believe this upcoming real estate bubble may continue to deflate until most single family houses get back to their original values that they started increasing at in 1996 just like what happened in Japan not too long ago. That means there will be an incredible impact not only on the banking system as projections call for thousands of banks to go under, but also many other specific parts of your real estate investment business that you should know about now; even if you work for a living or own your own business and are not a full-time investor. I don’t want you to miss what I’ll tell you on this one-time only webinar Thursday at 8:00 pm EST that you have to do immediately because I believe it is 100% true! Worst case scenario, the economists and I are right and you were well prepared and know exactly what to do and how you can still profit while foreclosures continue to skyrocket and the market values drop as predicted; best case scenario, it the market stays flat and you become an expert at how to make money in a flat or declining real estate market.

Wendy and I will be doing this special 55 minute call one-time only this Thursday, April 22nd at 8:00 pm EST so I can explain it all to you. On this call you’ll see exactly what will be impacted by the continued recession ahead, what you need to do right away and where the silver linings and greatest opportunities are for you to succeed as you invest in real estate.

Be there on Thursday, Kris Kirschner P.S. – This is a 100% content call only.

Click here to register now for the FREE webinar Check here for your Time Zone:

Thursday, April 22, 2010

8:00 PM – EST

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How to find Motivated Sellers for Lease Options

What Makes a Motivated Seller

There are, of course, different circumstances and situations in the lives of people that motivate them to need to sell their home.  This can include a job transfer, bankruptcy, foreclosure, divorce or upgrading to a bigger home — any number of reasons.  However, the circumstances of the sellers may also be affected by the state of the two vying economic real estate markets – buyers and sellers – which also affect seller’s motivations.  For real estate investors it is crucial to buy homes from truly motivated sellers — sellers who have an extra urgency, usually financial, however, not always.  You can’t get a good deal from a seller that is not motivated, because, they will have no reason to negotiate any part of a transaction.

There are different degrees of motivated sellers and different reasons sellers need to sell their homes, but overall there are two basic categories of motivated sellers:

1.         Desperate and distressed (bad debt) – someone in trouble financially, behind on payments, going in a bad direction, lost their job, divorced, foreclosure, etc or

2.         Not desperate or distressed (good debt) – someone not in trouble financially, not behind on payments, but motivated for other reasons: possibility have two house payments, inherited a home, burned out landlords, job transfers, etc.

Most real estate investors only go after #1 above, but there is also huge profit potential with sellers that fall in #2.  All of the lease option sellers should fall into number 2, because these sellers are safer for a lease option buyer.

If you are like many others who have come to my site to learn how to make more money by investing with little or no money down in lease options, I have an exciting opportunity for you. I am now offering a FREE online DVD to help you Learn How to put $5,000- $10,000 into your  pocket within 29 days using lease options .  I am sure you may have concerns and may be wondering if it is even possible in today’s Real Estate market when you do not have:

• Enough credit to purchase a property with a mortgage
• If you do not have enough cash to buy or put down
• You do not want to get stuck with a property you can not

Take a few moments from what you are currently doing and watch.

Here is what you will learn:

• Why Real Estate?
• What a Lease Option is.
• Why you need a Lease Options.
• 6 keys to success.

Check out the Box located on the right side of this blog and get it now!!

1. Price

Typically buyers won’t try to negotiate price.  They often accept your asking price (which includes a rent-to-own premium) because of the flexibility they receive by doing rent-to-own.  However, should a buyer try to negotiate on price (and they will if they read my book, Rent-to-Buy) there are a couple of ways to counter them.

1.         You want to emphasize the flexibility they are receiving by being able to rent the home before they buy it.  This type of flexibility justifiably commands a greater price than a comparable home being sold conventionally.

2.         You want to emphasize the rarity of what you are offering.  Simply put, a buyer who is buying a rent-to-own home has very few choices in homes.  There aren’t that many out there.  This rarity also makes the home more valuable.

2.         Option Fee

More than any other term buyers will likely try to negotiate a smaller option fee.  In some cases they’ll do this because they don’t have enough money saved, in other cases they’ll do it simply because they don’t want to part with the money.

Obviously the more option fee you receive the better because it means the buyer is less likely to walk away from their money.  When a tenant-buyer tries to negotiate a lower option fee you can counter it by:

1.         Pointing out that the option fee counts as a down payment when they are trying to qualify for a mortgage and the larger the option fee the better it will look to the lender.

2.         (If the tenant-buyer has poor credit) Explain that you are taking a risk by letting someone who can’t currently qualify for a mortgage move into your home and that the option fee is your security against that risk.  Tell them that the option fee conveys their seriousness about the home.

3.         Closing cost contributions

Typically at the beginning of the option period tenant-buyers won’t ask for or won’t know they need to ask for help with closing costs.  This usually comes up at the point when they are applying for a mortgage and discover that they need to pay them.

This is when either their real estate agent or their mortgage broker will tell them that they can ask the seller (you) to help pay closing costs.  The way this is usually handled is that the purchase price is increased to offset all of or part of the closing costs.  Assuming that the home will appraise for enough to cover this.

You may have done this when you bought the home yourself, it’s a very common practice.  By increasing the purchase price to cover closing costs, it’s mostly a wash for you as the seller.  It does end up costing you a little bit with increased taxes, commissions, title fees and so forth based on the slightly higher selling price (maybe a couple hundred dollars depending on the cost of your home).

I recommend granting this concession if you can because it gets your buyers to buy your home.  The cost to you is pretty small so it’s worth it to get your home sold.  If you suspect that your home won’t appraise for enough to cover the closing costs because property values are going down in your market, you may want to encourage the tenant-buyer early during the rental period to start saving some money to cover their closing costs when they get a mortgage, this way you are less likely to have to add them into the purchase price.

When I first started doing lease options it was about two years before I realized that I needed to work with Realtors because of their control over the sellers. Realtors pre-screen everything for you and in general their sellers aren’t in financial trouble. The Realtors control the relationship with the sellers and the sellers tell the Realtors everything, including personal information. That’s one of the key reasons I like to work with Realtors – they control the knowledge base about the seller.
I look for Realtors who can understand lease options and can help their sellers also understand the benefits of lease option, but this understanding can take time. My job is to assist them and help them understand when to call me. Here is how I generate leads for lease options through realtors.
1. Making cold calls to generate leads
If you look in any real estate section of any newspaper, you can find the top listing agents you need regarding potential properties. Many times the agent is unavailable, but that’s not a problem. Just leave a descriptive message about the property that interests you and let the agent know how to contact you. You might want to make yourself a short script with the highlights of the things you need to discuss so that you don’t fumble for words when on the phone. Also don’t be afraid to ask for information from the assistants. They often know as much or more about the status of the home and the seller.

2. Structuring the Deals through Realtors
Tell the agent how you found out about them – butters them up a bit – and let them know that you are willing to give a presentation. Suggest that the Realtor fax you a potential listing. If you have already developed a relationship with the Realtor, you can always “dig” a little during the phone conversation to see if they have a property that is a good candidate for a lease option that they might have overlooked.
A. Proposal – used to put together a mock-up offer to a Realtor that they can then present to the home owner or seller. It will put down the overall terms in writing without the specifics. This saves a lot of paperwork because you only fill out the other paperwork when you have an agreement on the proposal.
B. Letter to get into the brokerage office – I tell the broker what I do and don’t be anxious on the proposals – make it low pressure. When you’re first starting out, you‘ll want more deals to go through because there’s a great excitement in the newness of the game. Don’t get too wrapped up in a deal happening, because a lot of them don’t happen. I probably get about 40% of the proposals I put out- which means that 60% come up empty.

3. Unwanted Buyers
A Realtor will get a pre-approval letter from a mortgage company before they show a home to a prospective buyer. Otherwise they’d be wasting valuable time and energy with a lot of people who are looky-loos and not serious buyers. The Realtors don’t want to waste their time with those buyers, but those are the buyers I want and I need the names from the Realtors. So I send the Realtors a “Garbage letter” which basically says, “Don’t throw those names and numbers in the garbage! I can help the buyers get into a home with lease options. I offer a $1000 finders fee for every name that ends up in a deal.” This is another incentive to Realtors to work with me. I’m not out to steal their business – I’m here to help them and to offer a unique service to buyers with financial history difficulties. I want to help them move their inventory, so I am interested in the buyers they can’t help in traditional methods.

Working with Realtors is key in any lease option deal.  For more information about Generating Leads through Realtors check out my book Investing in Real Estate with Lease Options and Subject-to Deals.

Learn what a Cooperative Lease Option is and when investors should use them.

Learn what a Sandwich Lease Option is and how to make a profit from the deal.