You know this phrase: People in hell want ice water.
Well, I’m realizing that it applies to a lot of sellers we come across…
In general, sellers think their house is worth more than it is. Or, for example, they have a lien on the property due to back taxes and want their selling price to get them out of trouble they created for themselves.
Here’s the thing…
You’ll hear A LOT of crazy things from sellers, especially them overpricing their property for a myriad of reasons.
Don’t worry about sellers or those problems. It’s their problem if they owe back taxes or they owe more than the house is worth or have liens or judgements tied to the property.
They have to take care of that. Not you.
Here’s what you need to do: Make the offer at a price that works for you.
It will either get accepted or it won’t.
Yes, part of our job is to solve their problem, we can help them, but NOT at our expense. The numbers must work.
See, most sellers want their price, all cash and to close in 7 days… but the houses usually aren’t worth what they want or need and usually need much more repair work than they think.
From our end, it’s very simple — we look at comps of sold and listed properties, plus repairs needed, and we come up with our offer price. And you tell the seller, “I’m sorry you owe $8,000 in back taxes… $XX is what I can offer you for your house.”
Just get used to the idea that all sellers want full price. You just need to offer them a price that works for you based on the numbers. Period.
As time goes on and no one is buying their house at the price they want, they’ll eventually become super motivated (and desperate, sad but true). When you follow-up with them later, they’ll likely be ready to sell at your price.
Manage your own expectations about sellers.
And no matter what, always make offers. At least 5 a day.
