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So, I'm writing today’s lesson because I made a really stupid mistake last week.
Basically, I screwed up an amazing deal...
...and lost out on an $8k payday.
Why am I sharing this story with you, you ask?
Because hopefully you'll learn from my stupid mistake and never ever do what I did last week.
So here's what happened...
I got a call from a seller who owned her property free and clear (yay!) and needed to sell ASAP (double yay!).
She was asking $65k for the house, but I knew I needed to get it under contract in the low- to mid-$40's if I wanted to make a nice wholesale fee.
Since this seller seemed pretty motivated on the phone (triple yay!), I decided to head over to the house that evening and meet her in person.
We chatted for a while, I checked out the property, and then I offered her $40k, which I really didn't think she would accept.
She told me she had a few other investors to talk to the next day, and that she would call me once she had spoken with them.
I left the house thinking I wouldn't hear back from her, but to my surprise, she called me while I was still in the car on my way back home and told me she would take $40k for the house! She also told me she didn't feel like dealing with any other investors – she just wanted to sell to me and be done with it.
So, what do you think I did next?
Well here's what I should have done...
I should have turned around right then and there, gone back to the seller's house, given her a deposit, and written up a contract.
Unfortunately, that's not how it went down... I was recovering from the flu at the time, and all I wanted to do was go back home and crawl in bed.
So, instead of turning around and going back to get a contract signed, I told her I would be over first thing in the morning with the paperwork.
(You can probably see where this story is going...)
Fast forward to the following morning at 9am...
My phone rings, and it's the seller telling me that she's had a change of heart, and wants to talk to a few other investors before she signs anything.
Crap.
Long story short- another wholesaler I know got the deal at $42k and assigned it to a buyer for a $6k wholesale fee.
To add insult to injury – the investor who is buying the deal for $48k is also on my buyers list, and would have been the first person I called if I had gotten the deal under contract.
Double Crap.
Moral of the story:
YOU CAN'T STEAL IN SLOW MOTION.
Write that down, and don't forget it!
If you've got a seller who's ready to sign, and the deal is good...
...get that sucker signed up ASAP, before someone else beats you to the proverbial punch!
Alrighty then? Good.
That's all I've got for today.
Now, have a fabulous rest of the week, and remember...
You can't steal in slow motion!
Don’t Delay – The early bird may not always catch the worm, but he sure increases his probability of success.
Act Quickly – If you've got a seller who's ready to sign, and the deal is good....get that sucker signed up ASAP, before someone else beats you to the punch!
Enjoy – Enjoy a higher rate of successful deal negotiations when you maintain a hungry sense of urgency.
Steph Davis
started wholesaling in October of 2006. At the time, she had been stuck at a job bartending for the past 10+ years. She was broke and miserable, and desperately wanted out of the bar scene, which I had been stuck in for the last 10+ years.
She ended up closing four wholesale deals by the end of 2006.
Since then, she's closed more deals than she can count, has written two best selling wholesaling courses (Flip This REO and The Cash Buyer Ninja) and continues to teach others how to wholesale with videos, interviews, and as much useful information as she possibly can, because she knows what it’s like to be a broke beginner, struggling to get that first deal.