Does any body have screening list,or just a good set of questions to ask a seller when they inquire about you purchasing their home(im wholesaling)?Thanks
A lot of “gurus” may have a laundry list of questions for you to ask. I don’t. I ask open ended questions. Actually what I say isn’t a question at all. I say, “Tell me about your situation.” They usually open up. This makes them feel comfortable. My own website just has one box for sellers to tell me about their situation. I think sellers may be a bit initimidated by some of the forms they are asked to fill out.
Eventually, I get around to asking them the address of the property so I can run comps. I tell them up front that I probably won’t be the one buying their house, but that I will put a contract on the house and then market it to find an end-buyer.
You can ask them how much repair work might be needed to get the property in tip top shape. I always tell them, they won’t be the ones making repairs. I don’t even ask them what they owe on their house. A lot of investors will ask this question. I figure the truth comes out when I give them my offer (after looking up comps). If my offer is less than they owe, they’ll tell me or they just won’t accept my offer. If my offer is a lot more than they owe, they might accept it.
I live in Virginia and a seller in Texas that owns a house in Indiana contacted me about buying his house. He wanted $20,000. Without seeing the house, but having some info from tax records plus what he told me about repiars, I offered $10,000. He accepted. I learned he owed $6,000 in taxes and he was happy to get enough to cover the taxes. Afterwards, he sent me pictures and the place looks like cr@p.
I keep my questioning simple. You need to listen more than you speak and make your sellers feel comfortable talking to you.
Just my 2 cents.
Good question, I don’t use a script, I just try to get to know them on the phone so I can go visit them in person. Let them talk, get friendly, find out their motivation. Just because they may have indicated that they are motivated, doesn’t mean they really are. If the price is low enough they might be ready, if they say we really don’t have to sell now then they’re just tire kickers. Herbster