Pay the right price

Before making an offer, learn your market area. Take the time to find out what the properties have sold for, and how long they were on the market before it was sold. You can get this information from web sites, local newspapers, but the best resource is the MLS (Multiple Listing Service). Make a business contact with a local realtor and have them access this information. Armed with the information you can estimate the ARV (After Repair Value), and how long the selling cycle will be. NOTE: The sell cycle can be shortened by using seller financing as an exit strategy.

Deal with motivated sellers

Only motivated sellers will negotiate an attractive selling price. To date, I have not heard of a strategy that converts unmotivated sellers into motivated sellers. There are many ways to find a motivated seller. One of the easiest is to scour the There are many ways to find motivated sellers. The easiest is to find is a newspaper listing that actually states, "Motivated Seller". The biggest waste of your time is working with an unmotivated seller. They will eat up your time and your energy, and are a black hole for investors.

Make offers, not excuses

Robert Kiyosaki (author of Rich Dad Poor Dad), states, "On average, you have to make 20 offers before you buy one property." You need to look at many deals! Remember, looking at deals and making offers is not the same thing. It is not unusual for an investor to look at 40 deals to make offers on 20. If you do the math, 100 looks equals 50 offers which brings 2.5 deals to the table. Successful investors keep their deal funnels full and continually look at, make offers on, and close deals.

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Analysis Paralysis

New investors think that they must know every aspect of a deal before they make an offer. As stated above, you are going to visiting many perspective deals, so why not be prepared to make an offer before you lave the property. On every visit have a blank sales contract ready to be filled out. It is very important that you include a subject to (escape) clause include in your contract when making an offer. We suggest that you fill in the contract as much as possible prior to viewing the home. If the seller wants some security, offer them a small cash deposit, suggest $10 to $100. If the property looks and feels like a good deal, get it under contract. Once the property is under contract you can due your deal due diligence.

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Patience

Successful real estate investing requires hard work. Promises of instant riches heard on the late night infomercials are the exception rather than the rule. You need to diligently pursue your goal, patiently make offers, and wait for one that meets your criteria. The deals are there, you just need to go after them, because if it were easy then everyone would be a Real Estate Investor.

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