Hello Folks! Welcome to Our Blog.

Because I have been investing for a long time, many new investors assume that I have always known how to buy and sell investment real estate. Absolutely not true. No one is less experienced than me, but I had an absolute goal and was willing to work hard to achieve it.

Let me tell you about my first deal:

Jim and I knew we had to let people know we wanted to buy houses if we were ever going to find bargains to buy. So, we started some very inexpensive marketing to get the phone ringing – we walked around neighborhoods putting up flyers, we had magnetic signs on our car doors, we put an ad on the local Nickel Paper (a three-line ad was only $ 265 per one year). He had questionnaires printed and stacked over the phone, so if a salesperson called, he remembered what questions to ask.

Like most new investors, he was terrified. Since I didn’t know what I was doing, I really didn’t want sellers to answer “yes” to my offers, so I always did very low offers. Investor ignorance is not always bad.

Almost the first call was a woman calling from out of state. At the time, our phone had a caller ID on it and it said the call was coming from “US Government Baltimore, MD”. I was convinced that I was being arrested for doing something illegal, but quickly realized that I couldn’t have done anything seriously wrong at the time, so I answered the phone.

The woman’s voice said, “Do you buy houses?” That? Did the government already know you were buying houses?

It turned out that her son lived near us and had written down our phone number on the magnets on my car doors while I was parked at our local grocery store. The condo he was selling was in our neighborhood, and he was calling from Baltimore, MD! This was so strange.

Anyway, it was vacant and had been on the market for a year with a real estate agent. I asked her for the details of the property and promised I would call her. After doing my due diligence, I called and offered 65 cents on the dollar. She said, “Honey, I’ve owned this condo for six years and I still owe more than that.” I told him that I totally understood, that it wasn’t going to be his best offer, but that it was a solution, and that he could call back at any time if he had any further questions during his sales process.

I was so relieved that he did not accept my offer. That night, she called again …

She asked, “If we made the deal, how would it go through?” I explained it to her, told her that we would close with our attorney and that she would have to write a check for the difference between what I was offering and what she still owed. She thanked me and hung up.

The next day, he called again and accepted my offer.

She hadn’t even seen the inside of the property and she was scared to death. Later that day, I put his son on the property to check. It was immaculate – all new carpet and paint, all appliances including washer and dryer, a 2 story living area with a 2 story stone fireplace, an upstairs office area overlooking the living room down. It was incredible. Because it was my first deal and the seller actually paid to have it taken off his hands, I took it as a sign that I was on the right investment path!

Moral of this story?

  • Don’t think you need to know everything before you start investing. You really learn what you need to know while investing.
  • Don’t think for the seller. Many assume that if the seller owes too much, they will not accept their low offer. Is not true! Many sellers pay to sell. If their need to sell is great enough, they write a check at closing.
  • Don’t let fear stop you. No one knows what you’re doing at the beginning, in any job, but surround yourself with people who know the business so you always have a place to turn for answers.
  • Always be a resource for the seller. Most sellers need help. Offer it. You are forming relationships that will lead to great referrals. Be willing to help, even if it is not you who they are selling to.

Do you have a story that you would like to share here? We would love to hear from you!

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