The Home
The home was in a great school district, right outside a very ritzy neighborhood in Orlando called Baldwin Park.
When I arrived, there were actually two houses on one lot. (not zoned for this, but that is a different discussion) One was a very, very old frame house, and the other was a block home that was a complete disaster.
The owner was wired beyond control. He wanted to sell and had a ready and willing buyer at the property. He was literally hopping. I took a quick look around and went into negotiation mode.
He was following my every footstep…
How to Negotiate with a Seller
I went to the first house and looked at the wiring. He said, “I know it’s not good. I will sell it to you for 21,000.” I said nothing, just kept walking. I next looked at the kitchen and just shook my head. He said “I’ll sell it for 18,000.” I said nothing. I went outside and stared at the roof. He said, “The roof is shot. I’ll sell it for 15,000.” I said nothing.
I made $18,000 because I shut up and
let the seller do the talking.
I walked around the yard and looked at all the junk, and he followed. I went in the other house and asked, “Where is the kitchen?” and he said, “It’s not put in, I will sell it for $12,000.”I then asked if the only redeeming part of the house, a new roof , had been permitted and he said no. He said he would sell for $10,000. Again, I said nothing.I walked outside and just kept staring at both houses and shaking my head for many minutes. Finally, he said “Okay, if you can close next week, I will sell it to you for $5,000.”I said I would think about it and call him later in the day. I accepted his offer and sent him a contract for the $5,000.
The Dealbreaker
He called me back the next morning and said his wife would not have sex with him if he took less than $10,000. I said I couldn’t pay that price, but would meet him in the middle at $7,500. He called back 25 minutes later and accepted.
I sold the contract two days later by an assignment of contract for $18,000. Very, very nice wholesale fee all because I shut up and let him do the talking.
Too many times we like to dazzle the sellers with all we have learned in some seminar. Resist the temptation and listen more and just stare at problems with the house. Subconsciously, they are lowering the price in their head even if they don’t say it.
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