advertising and antsy seller - Posted by SueC

Posted by Jessica on October 25, 2000 at 17:34:29:

To avoid any situations with the seller, run an add that only lists the town the house is in and not the specific address. When serious buyers call, you can explain to them that you are an investor and are closing on the property soon, and then give them the specific details.

Technically you’ll be just testing the market in the area and not actually advertising the property.

advertising and antsy seller - Posted by SueC

Posted by SueC on October 25, 2000 at 15:07:51:

I am going to run an ad this week on a property I’m closing on in 10 days to see if I can start getting interested buyers. My sellers are uncertain about some of the creative type things I’ve been doing (for example, they balked at putting a lock box on the house even though it was in the contract - I finally convinced them they wouldn’t get an early close without it!)

Are there any issues about running the ad before I even own it that they might raise to cause me problems? My contract says I can bring prospective tenant/buyers through the property before closing, but it doesn’t say anything about advertising. Since I’m not calling myself the “owner”, I don’t see any problems here, except that they might not like it - any thoughts?
TIA

Re: advertising and antsy seller - Posted by B.L.Renfrow

Posted by B.L.Renfrow on October 25, 2000 at 23:02:07:

What are the sellers so concerned about?
Are they still living in the property and don’t want drive-bys stopping to look? Or don’t want the neighbors to know they are selling? Assuming they are otherwise rational people, I would try to find out exactly what concerns them, then address it.

Do they realize you are an investor and will be marketing the property? Presumably they do, since they know about the lock box. If they thought you were going to be living in the house I could see how they might be upset, but that doesn’t seem to be the case.

Personally, I always start my ads as soon as I sign an agreement with a seller. Waiting until closing to start advertising would just ensure a longer vacancy. I am in a small town and advertise prominently, so my sellers who are in the area usually see the ads. I have had a couple get a little miffed when they saw the price I was asking, knowing, of couse, they are getting considerably less. But I have already explained my role to them, and the fact that my intention is to make a profit, which most of them understand and accept even if they don’t particularly like it.

Brian (NY)