Possible Options Deal...need advice

General Real Estate Investing
1

Hi. I do mostly wholesale deals but this owner called me off my signs and is interested in making a deal with me on a house she inherited as the beneficiary of the death of a relative. There are 4 people that this house was left to…and this woman is the power of attorney.

Anyway this is a bit trickier than I am used to dealing with. First off, the house is what I would consider a pretty house. There is very minor fixing up…maybe some cosmetic things here and there but nothing worth mentioning. Second, she currently has it under contract with a realtor. It is listed in the mls and she told me that she has had it listed with the realtor for about a month. I didn’t ask her why she was calling me though.

I didn’t really get into the numbers at this point because I wanted to do a little research on the house first…find the comps, liens, etc. I also didn’t get into the numbers because I don’t like to work with people who are working with realtors. I do not like to cross anyones contract mostly by fear of lawsuit or getting screwed by realtor or just because where I am at most realtors tend to screw up investor deals.

Do I call the woman and walk away and tell her to call me when her contract is up with the realtor or do I say something different. I try not to turn people away unless I have good reason. What would you do?

2

Does she kow that you only buy houses at deep discount? Seems she may be a little confused about your program, especially if the house listed on the mls.

Sounds odd, you would think if she just wanted a quick sale she would have set the price with the realtor low, unless the realtor was trying to pump up value for commissions.

I would call her just be curious and see what she needs/wants.

3

Terry, I think you have already answered your question, and correctly. She is listed with a Realtor. So your hands are pretty much tied unless she is willing to meet her obligation and pay the Realtor’s commission if you two strike a deal.
This scenario happens to all of us quite enough. When I find myself in this situation, I tell the homeowner that for me to be able to assist them they first need to cancel their listing. If they are serious, they will. If not, call 'em back in a month or six weeks and they may have had an attitude adjustment at that time.