Why You Should “Fire” Potential Sellers

When I first started out in this business a long, long time ago I was a desperate investor. I had almost no money and I would have done anything to get a deal. Unfortunately, my desperation showed because I made deals that I would never do again.

Don’t get me wrong. I never made any horrendous deals, but I would “give in” and not negotiate as well as I should have. For instance, these days when I do a lease option, at the very least I get 60 days before I have to start making the landlord’s mortgage payment. But when I first started I would let a seller talk me down to 30 or 45 days.

I don’t do that anymore. Now I have the self-confidence (and money) that comes with doing many deals and eventually becoming a successful investor. Now I make people qualify and if they annoy me or are “problem” sellers I’ll actually fire them.

For example, earlier this week I got a call from a seller. The numbers looked good but from the many, many questions this seller was asking I could tell that he was going to be high maintenance and that I likely wanted nothing to do with him.

I have no problem with people who asking questions…

However, after I’ve answered the same question 50 different times and have shown the seller the paperwork that answers the question then I begin to lose my patience. In fact, with this particular deal, the seller got on my nerves so much that I literally told him “Mr. Seller, I’m going to be completely blunt with you. You should go somewhere if you’re not happy with what I’ve told you. I’ve already showed you testimonials. You’ve seen how I can help you. So if you’re still not comfortable I recommend you go somewhere else.”

After I said this to the seller I could tell he was surprised…

And he instantly back tracked and started apologizing. But I still told him that he should probably go somewhere else. And right before the conversation ended and I thought I was done with him, he asked me again the same question (which proves he really is a “problem child.”)

I haven’t heard from him again, and actually don’t want to. If he did give me a call I would first tell him exactly how things are going to work and that if he has any problems with it then I will not buy his house and he will definitely have to go elsewhere.

Being this firm with a seller is certainly not easy when you’re starting out in this business. But after a few years you realize that the deal of the century comes along once a week. Life is too short to deal with these horribly pain-in-the-butt sellers so if you come across one I would consider not working with them.

At first you’ll think the money will be worth it, but after you get paid you’ll realize you never want to work with that type of person again. Trust me on this one.