Contacting Sellers for Lease Option Deals

General Real Estate Investing
1

I’ve been emailing FSBOs to find sellers that may have an interest in selling their house on a lease purchase.

The message something basically tells the FSBO they will “get top dollar for their house if they can be flexible on the terms of the sale”.

Most sellers ask me “what do you mean by flexible on the terms of the sale” and then I break it down and explain basically what I do for them in a lease purchase transaction.

Is there a simple way to tell the sellers ‘flexible on the terms of the sale’ so they will not have to ask what do I mean?

Thanks
Peter

2

No matter what your initial message states the homeowner is going to have questions. But that’s a good thing because it gives you the opportunity to speak with them and allows the homeowner to warm up to you. No one is going to business with you without speaking to you and developing a relationship based on trust.

3

You’re setting yourself up for a hard slog the way you’re describing your approach.

Instead, market the benefits of what you offer, not what the seller ‘has’ to do to ‘get’ what they want (besides calling you).

Leave out the ‘if your flexible’ crap. You might as well say, “I’ve got some candy …covered in lint. Want it?”

You’ll focus the seller on the lint, instead of the delicious, sweet candy you have for them. Forget that.

Work on sifting in the most likely prospects that want your candy, and deliberately weed out the diabetics, that wouldn’t be a good fit.

In other words, get the phone ringing with people that want your benefit.

Part of your pitch is NOT describing over the phone, how to unwrap the candy (describing the transaction process) you’re offering. You ease them into that in person.

For example, once you’re in front of a prospect, you show the seller the candy (deals you’ve done that look a lot like theirs); you show how others have enjoyed your candy (offering testimonials from people you’ve helped); you generate a consensus on the seller’s frustration and pain of not having their candy (lazy agents that won’t market their house, ongoing bills, failed escrows, etc.); you demonstrate how much deliciousness the seller will enjoy with your candy solution, as opposed to the broccoli they’ll end up with otherwise (after having to pay agents, take a haircut on the price, becoming a landlord, etc.); and then finally you unwrap the candy for them and hand it to them (describing the transaction, followed by the paperwork approval, and then to closing).

This is what we do (with a couple more added twists).

Otherwise, you’re describing the hard-sell approach.

:beer

4

Try calling landlords, because they’re already willing to lease or rent, so half the battle is over! You might also want to check property records and see if any of those FSBO’s own their property outright, in which case you could go with a CFD.

5

Whats a cfd?

6

CFD - Contract for Deed

The site has an “Investing Abbreviations” list that can be accessed from the left hand column under “Investor Information” or at http://www.reiclub.com/real-estate-abbreviations.php!

Keith
Moderator

7

When you get a FSBO or FRBO that says they may consider doing a lease purchase type deal, how do you transition to let them know that YOU will not be living in the house but the tenant/buyer will be living in the house?

Some sellers ask for YOUR credit report and they want to know if YOU will be living in the house.

If YOU are doing a L/O assignment deal the seller wouldn’t need YOUR credit report but if you are doing a SLO does the seller need your credit report?

How do you transition to let them know that the T/B that the seller approves will be living in the house?

Thanks!
Peter

8

Re-frame your offer to the seller.

Evidently you’re leading sellers into thinking “YOU” are looking for a lease/option …and “YOU” don’t have the credit/finances to buy conventionally.

Instead re-frame the offer as offering to find a ‘full price’ buyer in return for the option consideration (that’s the clunkiest way to put that, but that’s the gist).

The tenant/buyer is putting “HIS” ‘skin in the game’ and the seller can review the tenant/buyer’s credit before the deal is closed.

You can find out how to navigate this elegantly with either Todd Toback’s Lease Purchase system, or Ron Legrand’s system, or one of the other reliable systems offered on this site. Just saying.

Trying to remain all guerrilla and ghetto is gonna cost you more money and time, than simply getting some training.