The good old days were refreshing. You can put up a sign in your yard and get quick responses from interested potential buyers, or hire a listing agent and not worry about their commissions eating up your cash. The time has changed.

Real estate has become competitive. In some areas, it is a seller’s market. In others, the buyer takes the reins. No matter what, there are thousands more people in real estate now than there were then. With investment seminars and investment shows becoming more common, the real estate pool is growing every day.

But what if you are in a hurry to sell? Does that mean you’re motivated? Let’s take a look at what constitutes a motivated salesperson, and whether or not some of these sales techniques will work for your situation…

Reasons:

  • You are facing foreclosure

Times can be tough. You may have been laid off from that job and not been able to replace the income in time. The bank sent you a letter notifying you of a lis pendens (the beginning of a foreclosure, also known as a pre-foreclosure) You have no options and you don’t want foreclosure to end up destroying your credit.

  • you are behind on taxes

As before, this is an immediate situation that can destroy your credit. Taxes will be collected no matter what, so there’s no need to add bad credit to the mix. Back taxes will not only eat away at your capital, but will also be attached to your future wages.

  • you have bad tenants

You constantly receive complaints about the tenants of one of your properties. Police are becoming a normal sight in front of the property. Perhaps the tenants are turning their intended investment into a drug house. He doesn’t want to deal with the situation and would rather take money out of the investment and walk away.

  • you are divorcing

Let’s be honest. Not many are fair in divorce proceedings. Who gets the house? None of you? So you have no choice but to sell quickly so you can avoid your soon-to-be-ex like the plague and get some cash to start anew.

  • you are retiring

If you’re a retiring business owner, or a couple with a home you’ve had for years, you just want some cash for your equity so you can move to warmer climates and bingo.

  • You inherited real estate

You’ve just inherited a home or multi-unit property, but you’d rather have cash in place. You want a quick sale and you don’t want to be bothered with maintenance.

  • You are an out of state owner

He thought he could manage investment property in California while relaxing at home in Maine. Unfortunately, good help is hard to find and all the property managers turn out to be drunk. The grass is tall and you are receiving letters. You’re causing more heartache than it’s worth.

  • You just want some extra money

You don’t need the property in question and just want to top up your bank account.

These are all valid reasons that would make you a motivated seller. The only question I have for you in this case is… are you greedy?

The number one killer of real estate sales is a homeowner who is too proud to accept that the market will not support outlandish property valuations. Fair market value may be high, but no one is biting. How’s that quick sale going? The first step to selling your home fast is recognizing that you need to be open-minded. If you can be open-minded about the sale price or terms, then selling fast will be a piece of cake.

Where are my target buyers?

You have quite a few options. Some will take longer than others. Probably the number one way to sell quickly is to find a wholesaler. A wholesaler is a real estate investor who searches for discount properties, writes an offer, and then assigns the contract to one of his many cash buyers. Often the wholesaler will have hundreds or even thousands of investors on their contact list who are ready to buy immediately. His investment partners have been qualified by the wholesaler with proof of funds and will have shown the wholesaler multiple deals they have closed in the past.

There are wholesalers who buy properties in multiple states, while other wholesalers are limited to a single state. Some of them even stick to a specific city or regional area. They are known for using phrases like “we buy houses, any area, any condition.” While many wholesalers stick to deeply discounted properties, others work with low capital deals where Subject2 and seller financing can be put at stake. These are some of the techniques that require you to be a truly “driven” open-minded salesperson.

Another option for a quick sale is Craigslist and other classified websites. If you’re going the classifieds route, you should be prepared for ‘tire-kicker’ responses. There may be many new investors and people who are just looking, which will take you a long time to screen out before you find a real buyer. When you post a classified ad for your home, be sure to include as much detail as possible in the ad. Skipping rooms, bathrooms, parking, and other features will only mean you’ll have to spend time discussing these things when you’re fielding the multitude of calls you’ll receive.

If classifieds aren’t your thing, you’ll want to find buyers through a more direct route. Go where they hang out. There are forums like EquityPaper and BiggerPockets that have premium subscription options for real estate listings and other networking tools. These are forums where investors meet to discuss real estate issues on a daily basis. If you list your home in these professional member areas or marketplaces, you can get responses from interested buyers fairly quickly.

Determining the value of the property for an investor

When listing your property, there are a few things potential buyers will want to know in addition to the standard property details. ARV (after repair value) is one of them. To find your ARV, go to Zillow, Trulia, and Redfin. On each of those websites, search for your property and write down the estimated value for each one. Add up all 3 of those values, then divide the sum by 3. The result will be your ARV.

After you have your ARV, you want to determine what the new buyer will have to invest in the property to repair it. If your house is in excellent condition, you only have to consider simple things like paint, appliances and other things related to the tastes of the buyer. You would multiply your square footage by $10 to get the total credit the buyer will want. If the property needs some updates like flooring, new toilet, etc., then you will multiply the SF by $15. Broken windows, doors, etc. they will cost $20. If the house is a mess and a complete rehab, then the multiplier is $30. Now subtract that number from the ARV.

Whether or not the buyer is a wholesaler or pinballer, they need to do something with the deal. This can range from $2,000 to $50,000 or more, depending on the location, value, and other factors of your property. However, many good wholesalers will stick to the price of $10,000 or close to it. So take your new ARV and subtract the buyer’s profit to get an expectation of how much money you’ll be offered for the property.

Creative financing for a quick sale

Assuming the final number from the calculations listed above wasn’t even close to taking care of what you owe on the property, then you need to learn to get creative. Some wholesalers and flippers will continue to purchase a property with little or no capital.

Topic 2 Financing

Item 2 is a technique that allows new buyers to take charge of their mortgage payments and take control of the property. Sub2 investors seek leverage so they don’t tie up their credit, but can get a rental property at the same time.

A seller may have a concern when it comes to a sub2 deal. For example, what if the buyer defaults on the mortgage and ends up as a bad credit item for the seller? Well, there are protections for sellers during existing subject 2 financing agreements.

  • A single late payment can be a deal breaker. It can be done so that in this case the buyer defaults and loses the property back to the seller. This one possibility is the #1 reason why this is a rare scenario. Most Theme 2 investors are experienced. They have been doing it for years and have made millions through rentals with these types of deals.

  • Limitation clauses, such as the one that requires the buyer to refinance the property in their own name within a set period of time, further reduce risk. Let’s say in 2 years, the buyer must refinance. By then, they will have built up enough equity through paying down their loan to make this a possibility through traditional lending methods. Even in the worst case, they can get hard money after that time to take advantage of the extra time to change ownership or obtain other financing.

Deed or Lease Option

If you’re not in a rush for a ton of cash, you can sell with a deed or lease option. This will ensure that the buyer is responsible for maintenance, insurance, taxes and everything else, while giving you a monthly income stream with little risk. With either technique, you will get a quick sale. The best part is that you keep the deed to the house until the buyer’s obligations are fulfilled. If they default, you can simply evict them and start over with a new buyer. The best part is that you’re earning interest on your principal at a rate you agreed to at the sale.

FSBO (For Sale By Owner) doesn’t have to be difficult. It can be quite lucrative and surprisingly fast when you learn to be creative and open-minded.