Bad stance. - Posted by HR
Posted by HR on March 25, 2000 at 21:51:27:
Brian,
This stance reeks of amateur. Lose it, fast.
Think about it: if you were a realtor (and you were good, ie you actually bought and sold stuff for your clients) would you want to deal with someone like this? What this stance implicitely says is: “I don’t have the cash/resources (and probably the expertise) to do the deal.” Realtors HATE folks who can’t do the deal, because they don’t get paid. Can you blame them for screening out folks who waste their time and can’t buy real estate?
Remember, only 20% of the market is open to creative deals. The entire realtor industry is geared toward the 80% of the market that will sell within 7% of fmv on normal (ie. cash out, new first loan) terms. It’s going to be a very rare realtor bird who wants and knows how to deal with the 20%.
Those that do deal with the 20% are going to know right away that you are a newbie, and thus inexperienced, and the good ones are not likely to deal with you.
So what do you do?
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Realize that all of us have been in these shoes before. This is just another of the early hoops to getting started.
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Learn the lingo so you can converse intelligently with realtors (it sounds like you can; you may already be doing some of this anyway, I don’t know. I share it nonetheless to be helpful). Better yet, learn the lingo so well that you bullsh#t the realtors into thinking that you are more experienced than you are. Personally, that’s the stance I have taken, and I have few regrets about it. Fake it, in other words Brian, till you make it. Share war stories of your (fictitious0 rehabs that went well and bad; (after you have done a few, by the way, you will have plenty of war stories, and they won’t be fictitious.). You don’t have to say too much, but if your realtor thinks you are a newbie, you are dead.
Would you work with you, after all, if you were in their shoes, knowing what the probability of closing a sale would be?
Most realtors are slightly intimidated and awed by re investors; use this to your advantage. They have heard glorious fish stories of mega profits. Some doubt the profits; others sense they are on the wrong side of the fence. Use the mystique to your advantage.
- If you want access to the MLS, become a realtor. Yea, yea, there is the liability issue and the need to disclose, but I definately feel the benefits far outweigh the cons. Want a way around the liabilities? Have your spouse/partner become a realtor. Don’t have a spouse? Well go get one! There are lots of realtors out there! )LOL.
Seriously, my wife got her license so we would have unfettered access to the MLS, and we have never regretted it. It also helped her learn the biz, it created another biz for us, it’s the only way to do safe comps, etc.
- Get your financial house in order, so you can make all cash offers and be able to pull it off. Partners, credit cards, signature loans, etc are all some avenues to explore.
I have NEVER had success with a creative offer through a realtor. Face to face with an owner? Yes. Thru a realtor? No.
- Want to know something silly that creates mega credibility for me? My business card. Since I have a home based business, I decided to invest in real fine cards, letters, and stationery. My bcard is a bifold card (which most folks have never seen before), on special paper, with a nice logo (designed for me by a graphics designer for $300 from a local university), etc. It IS so professional. Man, I always get comments on that card. And you know what? I’m a general contractor. Cause it says so on my professiona card!
These are just some ideas, Brian. Improve your stance, your position before the other. It doesn’t matter who the other is: seller, realtor, loan officer, etc. Be a player. And fake it till you make it.
If you hang on long enuf, you will make it. This is all part of the Mt. Everest learning curve of rei. Good luck.
HR