Jade Jean Blog

Said he’d keep it if he couldn’t sell it. That doesn’t sound very flexible to me. Did you notice how I kept mentioning the problems he has—as a way of reminding him that his property is less than perfect? That has a way of bringing the seller back to reality. It was real smart of you to mention land lording. That got him thinking. If you had to score this seller’s flexibility thus far, what would you give him? A one, two or three?”

“He’s between a one and a two.” “Good guess. Wants his price and his terms. Closer to a one. But let’s not give up yet. Let’s see if he’d take a substantially lower price for quick cash.”

We made our way back upstairs. Philip and Nora were asking questions about the area, the garage, the hardwood floors. At the proper moment Mary approached the seller.
“I want to ask you what would your equity be in the house if you sold for thirty-nine thousand dollars?”

Taken From:The ROAD TO WEALTH

I returned to his first point by saying, “You know, it’s hard to qualifyfor new loans these days.” The seller agreed. “You almost have to be gold. But if I can’t sell it myself, I’ll list it again. And if it doesn’t sell, I’ll just refinance it myself and rent it out for enough to cover the payments.”

“How do you feel about being a landlord?” Mary astutely asked. “That’s my last resort. I’ve rented stuff before, and it’s a big hassle.” Mary changed the subject. “Mind if we look more upstairs?” The seller went upstairs, leaving Mary and me alone to review some of the facts we had gathered.

“Did you notice he wasn’t very flexible?”
I asked. “He wasn’t? I couldn’t tell,”
she said, shaking her head. “He didn’t want to carry any financing. Wanted us to get a new loan.

Taken From:The ROAD TO WEALTH

“Do you have that solved now?” I asked.
“Not yet.”
“So it will need to be repaired again.”
“Yeah.”
“Tell me about the offer that didn’t go through,” I asked.

“It started out at forty-two five, and they wanted us to pay the closingcosts, so we raised the price to forty- four. But then they couldn’t qualifyfor the loan.”

“Have you already made arrangements for financing the new house you bought?” I continued. “Are you just waiting for a sale on this house before you move into that one?”

“We already put some money down. I need seven thousand dollars down from this home to cover closing costs. Plus my wife wants to buy all new drapes and furniture and everything.” “But didn’t your ad say you only needed five hundred dollars down?”

“Well, I figured the buyer could get a new ninety percent loan. It’s appraised for forty- four thousand. So you’d be able to borrow at least thirty-nine thousand. You’d only have to put five hundred down. Thirtynine five is a damn good price. The guy across the street bought his house two years ago for thirty-nine thousand, and he doesn’t have central air or a garage.”

Taken From:The ROAD TO WEALTH

Steve looked down the information sheet and spotted something. “You have an appraisal at forty- four thousand dollars?” he asked. “We had a contract to sell this house. Got to the point that a bank set up the paperwork and did the appraisal. But the buyers couldn’t qualify.” I raised my eyebrows so that Mary could tell that this was an important piece of information. Steve broke the silence.

“Neat little yard you got back here.” ‘Nice house,” Mary added, obviously impressed with the cleanliness. “I can tell you put a lot of work into it.” “Yeah,” the seller replied, “it’s also got a new air conditioner and a new roof.”

“Then why do you want to leave?” I said, fishing for information.
“We’re buying a bigger home.”
“Are you anxious to move?”
“Not really. We’re ready but not anxious.”

Here was another clue. We continued to look through the upper floor. Then we went down in the basement, where the seller showed us the new air-conditioning system. Mary noticed some water problems, and the seller explained that he had removed a tree in the backyard and that ever since, when it rained, the water poured into the basement through a window.

Taken From:The ROAD TO WEALTH

As we drove through the neighborhood, I pointed out the clues to look for. We spotted several for-sale-by-owner signs. Nora was concerned about the number of houses for sale. I told her that in some cases, this can work to the buyer’s advantage because the more competition the more flexible the sellers have to be.

“Here’s the house,” Philip said as we pulled up across the street from a cookie-cutter suburban home with a For Sale sign on the front lawn. The neighboring houses were well cared for. We quickly cased the house. It had a one-car garage. The lawn was green and mowed, with well-placed flowerbeds. I pointed out the gutters and cautioned them to look closer for peeling paint and water damage. Before we went to the door, I encouraged them to scour the inside of the house for problems— leaky faucets, water stains on ceilings and floors, rotting floors, especially around the toilets, worn carpets and other wear and tear.

Mary rang the doorbell. The seller, a thin man in perhaps his early forties, came to the door, gave us an information sheet on the home and invited us in.

All of the preliminary clues—the well-manicured lawn and the wellthought- out information sheet—were indications that the seller was well organized and in no hurry to sell.

Taken From:The ROAD TO WEALTH

“Where will I get an offer form?” Mary asked, concerned. “You have forms in your MasterPlanner. I’ll help you fill it out. Do you have a checkbook with you?”

“Uh, yes.”
“Do you have five hundred dollars in your account?”
She shook her head. I could tell she was embarrassed.
“How about one hundred?”
“I don’t think so.”
“Fifty?” I asked, a bit embarrassed for having asked.
“Maybe twenty,” she admitted.

“This is wonderful,” I said in an attempt to be positive. “OK. Give him a hundred-dollar check and in the bottom left- hand corner write ‘to be cashed at closing.’ If he asks about that, I’ll come to your rescue with an answer like ‘That’s the way she always buys property.’ But let’s see how far you can go on your own.”

Taken From:The ROAD TO WEALTH

“We already know he’s indicated a flexibility in terms,” Mary reminded us. “His ad said he wanted five hundred dollars down. And he said on the phone he was willing to carry financing.”

“In the jargon, ‘terms’ is another way to say financing. It includes down payment, interest rate, monthly payment and the length of the loan. As buyers, we want to negotiate the best terms possible. We do this by offering lower interest rates and longer payback periods. This makes for lower payments. You might start the process by saying, ‘Your ad indicated some flexibility in financing. What did you have in mind?’ Notice I avoid mentioning numbers. If he mentions numbers, you can indicate your position by wincing or saying, ‘That’s a bit steep, isn’t it?’ From there you can move on to price. ‘How flexible can you be on the price?’ If he balks on price, you might say, ‘Could you be more flexible on the price if I gave you more down or a fast closing?’ You’re trying to gauge the seller’s flexibility.”

“Another way to do this is to talk in terms of the seller’s equity. This seller has a price of about forty thousand dollars and loans of twenty-one thousand. Subtract the latter from the former, and that leaves an equity of nineteen thousand. You might test the seller’s firmness by saying, ‘Let’s see, if the price were thirty-eight for a quick closing, the loans are twenty-one, that means your equity is about seventeen, which you have agreed to carry, right?’ If he says yes, then you say, ‘Suppose, instead of carrying the financing, you were cashed out. Would you take twelve or thirteen thousand cash for your equity?’ I first try to establish the fact that the seller is willing to carry financing with a small down. Then I try to see if he will discount his equity for cash. The lower the price, the greater the profit. But all negotiations are different. If this seller seems flexible enough, we’ll make him an offer.”

Taken From:The ROAD TO WEALTH

Any good teacher knows that the ratio of teaching effectiveness is one by hearing, ten by seeing and one thousand by doing. Translated, that means the best way to teach is to get the student as close to the actual experience as possible. That’s why I had them do cold calling on the telephone instead of just teaching them about telephone technique. That’s also why I took them jogging—instead of lecturing them on the benefits of exercise.

And now I wanted them to experience the negotiating process. After sprucing up from our morning jog, we jammed into the rented yellow Cadillac and made our way to visit a property owned by a flexible seller whom Mary had turned up through her phone prospectingthe night before. As we drove to our appointment, I filled them in on
what to expect.

“What happens when we go inside, Bob?” Mary asked. “You take charge, Mary. It’s your don’t-wanter. My own preference is to wander around the house alone, but some sellers like to show you through to point out special features. While you inspect the house you try to assess the seller’s flexibility in price and terms.”

Taken From:The ROAD TO WEALTH

Every success-oriented person can benefit from the inspiration and savvy of other successful people by listening to audiotapes. As your selfconfidence grows, the negative thinkers in your life will have less influence on you. Some of my favorite brain stretchers are:2

Motivational and Inspirational Classics
How to Stay Motivated Zig Zigler
The Greatest Salesman in the World Og Mandino
The Richest Man in Babylon George S. Clayson
Think and Grow Rich Napoleon Hill
Acres of Diamonds Russell Conwell
The Strangest Secret Earl Nightingale
Seeds of Greatness Denis Waitley

Technical and Informational
You Can Do It! Robert G. Allen
The Power of MasterPlanning Robert G. Allen
The Challenge Robert G. Allen
Diamonds in the Rough Wright Thurston
Personal Power Anthony Robbins
Total Financial Protection Jay Mitton
The Bottom Line Thomas Painter

Taken From:The ROAD TO WEALTH

P rogram your mind with positive thoughts.
M aster your body.
A ssociate with a network of positive people.

P ractice your skills to perfection.
M otivate yourself with goals and deadlines.
A lways look for the good in every problem.

P ray: Count your blessings and ask for guidance.
M agnify your talents.
A ct optimistic (fake it till you make it).

P lan your work, work your plan.
M aintain your perspective: See the big picture.
A ppear successful: Dress for success.

P ersevere.
M odel attributes from other great and successful people.
A spire to be the best you can be.

Taken From:The ROAD TO WEALTH