4 secrets for sellers to accept your offer

If you’re an active real estate investor, chances are you’ve submitted an offer that was met with resounding silence: no counter offer, no communication within response time. Nothing.

Have you ever followed up to see what happened? Did the owner receive a better offer in money or in terms? Did the other offer include any value-added services that would help the owner? Was the offer too small? Did his landlord or his agent understand your offer? Do they trust you or are they inclined to ignore any offer from an investor?

Understand that real estate investing is a “people” job. Several factors will greatly enhance your ability to get to “yes”:

1. Establish a level of trust and understanding with the agent and/or landlord before making your first offer. Meet brokers and other investors through community and professional networks. Ask to give a presentation to other agents in the office on transactional short sales or other investment strategies. The agent must agree to the process and paperwork you are using, so schedule a face-to-face meeting to go over the details once you have a basic level of rapport. Suggest that you attend the offer presentation with the agent to answer the owner’s questions and concerns.

2. Follow up frequently after the offer is made. Establish a schedule for following up with homeowners and stick to it. If you don’t follow up, you risk not being taken seriously or the offer being misunderstood. If the offer is rejected, ask why it was rejected. Learn from the ideas of the agent or owner. If the problem is you, you have complete control over making the necessary changes to appear more professional, knowledgeable, or serious. If the problem is the offer, there may be ways you can still get to “yes” with a modified offer.

3. One of the most powerful tools that can set you apart from the competition is determining what the owner really wants or needs. Understanding their motivations will help you formulate value-added proposals to sweeten your offer and make it stand out from the rest. Does the owner need help paying liens in order to proceed with a short sale? An offer to clean up the property may be just what an ailing or overwhelmed homeowner may need to get to “yes.”

4. Adding value is also important to be accepted by agents. Taking the short sale negotiation process out of the hands of the agent and into the workflow of a professional negotiator may be just what an agent may need to get the agent excited about representing the owner of the short sale. Offering to pay one or two items that the lender may refuse to cover will also set your offer apart from the crowd.

You’ll get a “yes” much more often if you build trust and credibility early on, set yourself apart by providing value-added services and benefits, and stick to your offerings religiously.