Want to know the one thing I hear probably more than anything else?
“I won’t be able to sell the house.”
Yep, I hear it ALL. THE. TIME. Especially from coaching clients, who are beginner investors—it seems to be their biggest fear. 🙁
Sometimes this fear becomes so overwhelming it’s paralyzing. It can shut you down as an investor.
If this describes you, take a deep breath…
See, I believe there are 2 reasons – and ONLY 2 reasons – why your house might not sell:
- The house isn’t priced right.
- You’re not advertising in front of the right buyers.
But, both these reasons have solutions. Yay!
See, what I’ve found is that most often, the price is the problem. If it’s not selling, I’d say that 7 out of 10 times, it’s because it’s not priced right.
If you don’t have a buyer in 2-4 weeks, that likely means (1.) it’s not cheap enough for end buyers to want to scoop it up and/or (2.) you don’t have it in front of the right buyers.
How do you fix that?
Well, for the first part, you can go back to the seller and renegotiate a new, lower price.
For the second part, try these:
- Bandit signs—I’m telling you these do work. To avoid code enforcement, place these on the weekends
- Advertise your house on Craigslist, Zillow and Trulia
- Call ALL your contacts on your buyers list
- Send a handwritten letter to investors who have rentals in the area—as if you are a desperate motivated seller: “I have this property at 123 Main Street and I have to sell it now! Taxes are paid, title is clear. Need to sell asap.”
- Look for all the rental properties that are listed for sale—call the number on the ad or the property manager
- Check out what recently sold to investors on the MLS and call up the listing agent and the buyer’s agent
Bottom line: Get on the phone and hustle!
Look, I can’t say this enough… always, always, ALWAYS continue building your buyers list.
That’s the ‘secret’: buyers.
Call them all for every deal until you get a ‘yes.’ You should be talking to 50 buyers every single day.
Even if your buyers say no to your deal, don’t stop there. No, sir. Ask them how much would they buy it for. Be persistent.
So remember: Always be marketing for buyers. Price the deal right. Advertise your deal in front of the right buyers.
