a good call script when a seller calls?

Do any of you guys have a good call script when a seller calls about a property for sale? i have one but i am open for help and advice thank you.

You should write down what is the information you need to make a decission, and your script will be based on that. I used to ask so many questions, now I ask very basic information:

  1. Name
  2. Phone
  3. Address - I can lookup the configurations of the house online myself
  4. How soon they want to move - tells me their motivation, the sooner the more motivated they are
  5. Why selling - ties in to the above question…
  6. how much is it worth
  7. how much they want for it
  8. condition
  9. do they have a mortgage or own it free and clear.

fadi - thank you for sharing the questions… quick question - where do you usually go to find the configuration of the house? If the house is not in the MLS, how do you find the configuration (# of bedrooms, # of baths, sqf, etc.).

Thank you for the help.

i want to say thank you, Fadi for your input i ask alot of questions my self when a seller calls so i basically going to base my script off the easy stuff.

:beer tx

Zillow.com :slight_smile:

Get the basic info like Fadi said and then close for the appointment to get something in writing. A great script for that is “What will work better for you 12 on wednesday, or 7 pm” also be sure that all of the decision makers are present.

Just to add to the discussion, a script is good to remind you of questions to ask. Eric brings up great point about technique in asking, not asking open ended questions so you don’t lose control. In his example, (i believe thats a Yes or Yes negotiation tactic) you would present the seller with a choice where both options would work for you vs an option to mull over it and lose the chance to close.

As far as the questions goes, if the answer to the question would never contribute to your exit strategy, then no need to ask it. Now that doesn’t mean the answer has to be related directly to the property. Some questions may have an emotional impact on the seller to prep them for your offer. Although, I usually ask these in a face to face negotiation vs over the phone.

I’ll give you an example… over the phone, I want to know if the numbers will work for me. It is not a closing tactic, and my main interest is to quickly evaluate motivation and price range to know if I should schedule an apt.

Today I got a call (well, a lady left a voice mail 2 days ago and returned her call today cause I am lazy). She told me her story and was worried that the capital gain on the property would knock her mother and father in laws out of SS income and benefits. All that took place before I even asked any questions, just called and said hi and asked how can I help.

The obvious answer was that I am not a lawyer, but as far as I know, if they have not lived in the house in the past X years, yes it could but if she likes I can check with my lawyer. I asked her if she has a mortgage on the house (see item 9 in my question list) and she said no she doesn’t, its free.
Now, I have learned to ask this question because it may impact my exit strategy. In this case, it was a perfect setup for me. I told her one way we can do it is give her the money in payments that way it would not impact their benefits. She got excited about that… For her, she will get her money without hurting her in laws. For me, I get to make payments on a house with zero interest!

Then I asked her about the house… tell me about the house… sorry I don’t have a pen… I am driving, so I will call you later to get more information about it, but let me ask you this… how much do you want for it? (I never name a price, I always want them to throw one out first).
She said she did not know… she never done this (none of them did)… her friends and family said to sell for the tax value… (I stayed quiet)… but she knows it is not worth that much because it needs repairs… here I agreed and explained that tax value is not always a good indicator… she continued to talk and threw out the figure $15k to $20k for her children. Right there, that tells me she would sell if I offer her payments on $15k. I am thinking $500/month for 30 months = $15k. I get a house free and clear in 2.5 years, she gets her money.

I came home, I just called her to get the address again since I was driving and scheduled an apt for Sat. 9am to look at the house. I know the house had gas leak, and is not in a good shape. My meeting will her and seeing the house will dictate if it is a good deal or a bad one (now it all depends on condition and rehab amount).

With the address, I jumped on zillow and I found out it is a 2/1 850sqft built in 1938. None of these figures makes me excited, I never liked to buy something that small… but would it work as a rental? we’ll see the condition on saturday. I figured it if brings in $400/month in rent, it would be worth it.

But… Zillow’s zestimate of the house is $75k! she asked for $15k… that can’t be right… Tax value is $50k… comps… not much useful comps since all houses are in the 3/1 range… but… still a good deal (again depending on condition, not willing to dump $20k into it to rent it, heck I would not be interested in rehabing it either).

I hope this helps you see how I use my questioning to get the info I need to make a judgement.

By the way, last month I got a call from a guy who wanted to sell me a house for $175k… I asked him how much is it worth, he said $165k… he was suprised when I told him we buy at a discount… he said oh no… I don’t want to sell on a discount… you get both the good and the bad :slight_smile: