I was wondering what is the better way to approach sellers to see if they motivated enough to do a terms deal such as a lease option, owner financing or subject to deal.
I am interested in sending out an email campaign to sellers to see if they have any interest in selling on terms and especially lease options.
Should I use a general approach such as …I’m interested in your property give me a call…
Or
offer them a benefit to get them to call as “Home not selling? I can make you a full price offer to buy your house…guaranteed offer in 48 hours.”
Or “If we can agree on a price, would you take monthly payments for a certain period of time and then get completely cashed out of the property at some point during that time?”
Some say don’t use the terms “lease purchase or lease option” because many sellers don’t really understand these terms.
Otherwise, if you’re emailing off craigslist, for example, it’s wiser to maintain an organic, unpolished message and text. That is, without coming across like an illiterate retard.
For example don’t misspell words, and sound like a redneck. People actually do want to know if they’re dealing with a knowledgeable, reliable, trustworthy and literate person, and not a dimwit with a dream.
That said, it pays to be as to the point as you can. “I am interested in buying your house. Please call me at…”
If you’re gonna pitch some creative financing solution, let the seller talk first, and give you a reason to pitch that solution.
If the seller tells you he needs a fast sale, then you pitch the “fast sale” option, which happens to be a lease/option disguised as a long escrow kind of a 'fast sale."
If the seller tells you he’s not in a hurry and wants full price? Great, you’ve got the full price, not-in-a-hurry option, which also happens to be a lease/option. Who knew?
The point is to find a reason to offer the seller what you want to give him, after he tells you what he wants to accomplish.
Now, if the seller says, “I want cash, and I want my price, and I want it today,” then you invite him to do something with his body, that is otherwise physically impossible, and wish him luck in the process.
In any event, just get the message out that you want to buy a house, and sift the respondents for motivation levels, and flexibility, before you ever make a pitch, and use what you learn from the seller to guide you in making your pitch.
It looks good! In addition to that AND to make a ton of money, consider a Facebook Ad campaign targeted to your area. You can make a meme with Meme Generator or one of the other 1000 ones in the App Store.
Share it with your Facebook friends and Boost it for $5-$20 for even more leads. The leads should respond to your email.
You can be WAAAAYY slicker than this by adding an autoreponders, YouTube, Twitter and other online and offline marketing techniques.
When I send out a mailing for lease options, I don’t use the term “lease options,” I just say “would you like to rent to own your property” that way people understand what you are talking about.
it’s easy to confuse sellers when explaining seller financing and subject to and lease option (to tenants). It might be difficult to convey exactly what it means in an email. I use my normal script, and when it comes down to selling and someone is getting ready to sell, then you find out what they really want and what they want to achieve and their timeline, then you can decide which strategy could be a good fit and start explaining it to them in a way that makes sense. Hope this helps!
I agree with you. Another thing to remember is to avoid using ‘jargon.’ I would never use the term ‘lease option’ with a prospect. That’s practically the kiss of death.
Instead, I describe a solution in simple, if not simplistic terms. Instead of asking a seller something like “Would you be interested in a Lease/Option?” I would instead frame the question in a way that doesn’t trigger the seller’s skepticism, which using the term ‘Lease/Option’ does in fact do.
Assuming the seller was stuck on his price, I would focus on the terms that make the price less of an issue.
For example, I might say, “Mr. Seller, you want ‘x-hundred-million-thousand-dollars’ for your house. I’m prepared to give you that, if you agree to rent me your house for a period of time, until it makes sense for me to pay you off in full.”
Without going into all the possible seller responses, I’ve just offered to pay the seller his full price in return for a long-term lease, with the option to buy …while suggesting that paying the seller off now doesn’t make any sense.
Of course, if the seller ‘is’ interested, he’ll want to know what “period of time” means. And this could mean several things including time needed to scrape up 20% down; waiting for the house to appreciate 20%; or time to fix up the house and improve its value, etc. etc.
Of course, too you want the right to sub-lease the house. My justification for this stipulation could be this simple.
"Mr. Seller you want to be paid on time, all the time, no matter what happens is that right?” Seller agrees. “Mr. Seller I can guarantee that as long as I have the right to let someone with my same qualifications take over my agreement, if necessary.
(Restating and affirming commitment) So, in order to make sure you get paid on time, no matter what, I will need the right to assign my agreement to someone who will maintain our agreement for the full term. Sound good?"
The seller can’t really disagree with this. If he doesn’t agree, then you might say, “Next!”
Meantime, I’ve avoided all jargon and made things as simple and easy to understood as possible.
Otherwise, I could have said, “Mr. Seller in order to give you full price and guarantee a payoff, I will need to engage in a multi-year contract lease, while maintaining an option to buy, along with full third-party assignment rights.”
Personally, I do this the old fashioned way…I call all homes that are for sale AND for lease, or lease purchase, or for sale by owner with an out of town number, or any for sale by owner with photos showing the house staged or empty. This, to me, indicates a motivated seller.
Then, as in days of old…I actually go out and meet the seller, and walk through the house as if I am inspecting, but in reality, I am building a rapport…a relationship with the seller…so that when I am finished, we are no longer strangers…and likely the seller has acquired some confidence in me…that I might be the only party who can solve his problem…of getting rid of his vacant house!!
Then, I can make him an ‘unreasonable’ offer…and most of the time, they will accept my unreasonable offer…which includes ‘subject to’ deals, long term lease purchase, or some other form of creative financing terms.
I’m NOT just talking here…since 1991, I have flipped over 400 houses…and I have trained dozens of newbie investors through my Consulting Practice to do the same…and my methods still work…to quote Ted, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”…that is what I think!!
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If they are motivated to sell then whether you are offering terms of cash isn’t the pull. I approach everyone offering to buy their house fast and once you start the conversation you can tailor the offer to their needs or give them the option of a cash or terms offer. I don’t think trying to market terms is to early a time to get into that detail.
Make sure your message is short and to the point if you are going to do something like that. Better yet, if there is a phone number in the listing pick up the phone and call them!
People send me messages like this (usually property management firms on my rental listings) and they drive me crazy sometimes with how long and rambling they are.
