Understanding seller’s motivation and needs when real estate investing is not just critical for flipping houses but for getting the best deals.
If you know what a seller needs and what their most important concerns are you will be negotiating from a much stronger position and will be able to cater your offer to their trigger points. Price is certainly not the only thing that sellers are concerned about, in fact in many cases it is actually far down the list.
In the current market many sellers who have equity that you come across in your real estate investing business are more concerned about getting cash quickly. Others are more worried about just getting out from under the burden of debt. Some that are failing behind on their mortgages just want to preserve their credit and avoid the disastrous consequences and tolls that foreclosures can cause on their lives.
However for most sellers you will meet in the present housing market, the biggest motivating factor and perhaps they only way they will listen to you is offering a way out and giving them what they need to get into another place. Many homeowners are simply frozen by fear and paralyzed from lack of options even if their homes are about to go to foreclosure. Where are they going to go, how are they going to move and how will they afford to get into a new home or apartment. If even you can get a short sale approved on their home unless they have the money to get into a new place they simply cannot leave. This may just be a few hundred or couple thousand dollars, think about it.
While flipping houses and searching for homes to put under contract keep in mind that these homeowners and sellers feel like that they have already been burned and often that no one is one their side. Remember that while real estate investing can produce big profits it is also a way to help people in need, not just yourself. Show them that you really care, listen to their concerns and help solve their situation as well.
