I’m just starting out Wholesaling and I decided to send out written offers to the sellers instead of giving them over the phone, would this be a better way to present offers? Also, I just sent out an offer which was a letter of Intent which is good for 60 days from the date on the letter. Should I continue to use the letter of intent or should I make my own personal written offer to purchase their property? Thanks!
It depends on who are you sending them out to. Meeting the seller is always best since you can find out the situation and justify your price if need be. But if you are sending them to hundreds of people, then this approach might be ok. It all depends on how good your list is, and the content of the mailing.
One note however, 60 days is a LONG time. You should make it valid for 10 days or so. You want them to act now, not sit and think about it for couple of months.
Brian - my perspective based on my experience with negotiation (not real estate specific though)…
Until you put your offer on paper you don’t have an offer. Let’s assume you do all your negotiation verbally. You go back and forth with the seller and then eventually you reach an agreement. You then put your offer in paper and send it in - you are basically giving the seller one more opportunity to back off of the deal. If you do your negotiation in paper, than once the seller accepts it, it is final - you have a binding contract…
The other thing to consider is that sometimes the seller may tell you that your offer is not acceptable when you make it verbally. I am not sure exactly why, but it seems that when people see things in writing they consider it more seriously than when they hear it. So, an unacceptable verbal offer, may suddenly become an acceptable written offer… I hope this makes sense…
Good luck!