Again I would like to say thankyou for allowing me to post a topic in this forum. I greatly appreciate the opportunity.
My question revolves around unhelpful real estate agents.
I am looking to vendor finance a property (or 2) with +CF however it seems that those properties are listed with real estate agents. When I ask "is this seller open to vendor financing a small proportion 10-20% of the loan" the response for the REAs is always (immediately) "No". They obviously reply without even asking the seller. I even had one lady write to me "we don't offer vendor financing in _____(town)". I wrote a fairly abrupt email back to her and probably won't ever be using her again due to her narrow-mindedness. There are some excellent opportunites available and it is exceptionally frustrating when these people are so unhelpful.
I just can't help feeling that these REA's don't want to help make a sale, or is it something I'm doing wrong, the way I'm asking?
So my question is, is it ok to track down the seller and communicate with them on an individual level and attempt to negotiate terms. I gather it would be tricky to track down the seller. I believe RPdata is one method of doing this. Are there any other suggestions. Or is there a better way of dealing with REAs?
I have also come across some websites (they were on a current affair last PM) listing sellers who want to sell privately (ie no REAs):
buymyplace.com.au
homesales.com.au
also if you put "for sale by owner' into google it comes up with a few other sites.Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated and thanked.
RegardsThe direct approach is probably best ie you have a contract in hand (with the owner's details) – drop them a note in the mailbox (or call if yuo have those details).
REA will not help you as they are not paid (or permitted) to arrange finance unless they are licensed to do so. If they did so, it would be a second deal they would have to broker in order to close the sale.
Thanks Scott
That's an excellent idea. I never stopped to think that owners details would be on the contract and to access their details I should attempt to obtain a contract.
I guess my only thoughts on this are, if I continually chase down contracts from REA's and they fall through (due to a lack of agreement b/w myself and the seller) how long before the REA catches on and stops sending the contracts through. This is just me thinking out aloud (in writing
. I suppose I'll only know if I give it a try. And hopefully if REA's can see what I'm trying to do then perhaps they'll be a little more helpful.
Thanks again
NathanAhoy hoy
"Working" a real estate agent is definitely an art form.
As for them not presenting your offers to the vendor, it was my understanding that they are obligated to do so? The first time I tried to offer VF through an agent, he just told me "That won't work for her", when pressed as to whether or not he was even going to tell the vendor about my offer, he said he'd mention it to her in his "Weekly wrap of activity"…..
In any case, because VF is a bit out there, you've got no hope in hell of getting the deal through unless you get the agent to agree to it in the first place. To do this, you really need to develop rapport with the agent first. If you find an agent that you don't "click" with, I really think your chances are better if you try and find one you do get along with.
One of my friends has told me that he has presented creative offers via agents, and they have come back with a "no" in the near future, with my friend suspecting they never presented the offer to the vendor. In those circumstances (assuming owner/occupier) my friend would then detail his offer on a piece of paper, and put a note on the front saying "Sorry my offer didn't work for you", just to make sure the agent wasn't lying!
Assuming you can't find an agent that speaks your lingo, the only other way is to present the information one piece at a time. Eg, Ask them if they're willing to accept a big chunk of money now, and a small chunk later first. If you get agreeance, then work out how much now, and how much later. Step by step.
If you offer, say, $280 000 with $220 000 up front with payments made on the 60 000 at 6%, interest only, for 5 years with the balance paid at the end, and the vendor says "no" – which bit are they saying no to??
Hope this helps
Andrew
Sorry, just proof read my post (after posting)…
My mate would then drop the offer in the vendor's letterbox so they were actually aware of the offer!
Hi Nathan,
You can also get the Vendor’s name and last registered address through a Title Search (cost $5-10, so it may become costly after a while).
The local council will have that information, but there will be limited circumstance when they will give that information to you. (eg, if you are the neighbour and you need to contact the owner in order to fix up the fence)Hope that helps.
KennyCheers boys
Thanks for the advice, it is greatly appreciated.
I will keep your ideas in mind as I pursue the concept.
On another note, anyone know how to find someone to pass on deals to (ie like a birddog I believe they call it).
I have come across quite a few deals (10-15% yields) and I am short of cash and would love to know how to pass these deals onto investors to make a few bucks so I can get involved myself.
Any ideas is greatly appreciated.
Thanks
NathanHi Nathan
Just need to be a wee careful in Qld especially if you are not a Licensed Buyers Agent.
The OFT will love to see you offering your unlicensed services.
Great idea mate just need to make sure you dot all the i's and cross all the t's.
Richard Taylor | Australia's leading private lender
Richard
Thanks mate for your advice. Me being inexperienced in investing could you please expand on your message. I would dearly love to make some money by perhaps assigning contracts of great +CF deals since this will help me to begin my own investment portfolio, but obviously if this is illegal activity I will stay well away.
Do you have any suggestions to whom I might pass on these deals or where I might look for such investors. I have been looking around for local investment clubs however there are none. And there appears to be not a lot of places to advertise for an investment or finance partner.
I appreciate your assistance mate.
Regards
NathanGuys, another way is to get a solicitor onside who will do the odd title search for you as a thank you for referring business to them. Sometimes being nice really pays off.!!!
DD
Hi Nathan;
I had similar problems, but with agents in the States. Well, I was an agent in California for 5 years – but this was the common problem when I was the buyer trying to get my ‘creative’ offer though to the seller/vendor. Here’s the problem:
Most agents have no idea how vendor financing works. And I will go further to say most ‘investors’ don’t really understand it either. So even when you get a agent whose willing to play ball, the investor cant even explain it to the agent who THEN has to go explain it to the vendor who just wants to sell his/her house (not finance someone else to buy it from them). The agent doesn’t want to look an ignoramous, so they say: Shove off Mr. Creative Investor. People want to sell their homes to credible people with money, not penniless blokes just hot from a seminar.
So here what you do: Ask the agent if you can have a meeting with the seller in person (with all parties present, obviously). The last thing you want to do is to turn your potential helper (the agent who wants to get paid) into your own personal and private enemy by appearing as if you’re trying to go behind their back to get to their client. Doing that to any respectable agent will make them look unprofessional – something that good agents take very seriously. Good agents are control freaks in case you haven’t figured it out. Moreover, if the vendor could sell their property by themself, they would. But most of them don’t know squat about the ins an outs so they rely very heavily on their hired guns opinion. If the agent says: Mr. Vendor, you have a crackpot investor here. 9.999 times out of 10, the vendor won’t give you the time of day – even if you were the last ‘buyer’ on the planet.
If you’re a younger guy, bring an older person with you for credibility. Not your mom, preferably someone whose a property veteran and can handle the myriad of questions and objections that the vendor will come up with. You’re trying to get them to TRUST you, because after all, VF involves trust to a certain degree.
Objection handling:
How do I know you’ll make the payments? Look, Mr. Seller: I am going to put 12 months of monthly interest payments into a third party bank account (we call them escrow accounts) so that you know Im good for it. The money will be sitting there and paid out every month. Or 6 months, whatever you decide.
Offer them a lump sum of money vs. amortized payments over 10 years. Who would take $20k right now vs. $50 a week for the next 10 years? I would. I would be losing $4K as a vendor, gaining $4k as a buyer (also called discounting). Plus, the vendor gets his house sold plus a $20k lump sum to boot.
Don’t have an extra $20k? Think of something else that would be valuable to the vendor to make the deal sweeter for them. I’ve had some friends deliver a Harley Davidson in exchange for VF.
Anyways, hope this helps.
Rachelle
. I suppose I'll only know if I give it a try. And hopefully if REA's can see what I'm trying to do then perhaps they'll be a little more helpful.
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