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It’s true that contracts can be stumbling blocks for many new and sometimes experienced investors. The best advice I can give is this. After running 2 real estate offices myself, your realtor will be your best friend for contracts. Here is the rule to follow. If a property is listed with an agent, or a bank is involved in any way your realtor should use the state approved contract and fill it out for you. It should be you telling them what you want to offer, and what your contingencies are and they can take care of the rest. The only time a realtor shouldn’t be involved in a transaction is if it’s a For Sale By Owner situation. In this case, the contract on this site it great! Hope that helps. Good luck, and happy investing!

Hi Earl_Advantage: first thing you may want to do is to get Dean's 30 days fast start, then after reading this book two or three times, you go into the forms and documents on Dean's site to get yourself familarize with these documents. Hope this may help you get started on the right track.

Hi Early_Advantage,

I like the advice you have gotten so far from this thread. I would like to add, find yourself a local mentor from any real estate investment clubs in your area you can attend. Many people will be willing to help you out. Also if you have access to the advisory line with deans program please call them, they can help you as well.

Good Luck,
Shah Ali

I hope to abruptly create a paradigm shift with regard to contracts. Many people fear making offers because they are afraid of contracts. So here's the big statement:

CONTRACTS exist to keep us OUT of Court, Not to make life difficult. They are for your protection, and consequently, are your friends, not the enemy.

As such, we want to embrace what contracts stand for. They are the protector of both parties to the contract, the buyer and the seller, and if there is a real estate agent involved, for them too.

State approved real estate contracts are long and have unfamiliar words and phrases. But, they have also been constructed to be fair and balanced between the seller and the buyer's rights and interests.

We can make a contract even more friendly to our interests by adding an addendum to the agreement. I encourage you to create a sheet that lists a few standard clauses that protect your interests. Here are some of my favorite ones. The sheet that you are creating can be added to any contract as a "Standard Addendum" sheet by simply copying the information below, adding signature lines and filling in the blanks.

STANDARD ADDENDUM

1) “Subject to an acceptable full inspection by buyer and/or associates within 14 business days after acceptance of offer.”
2) “This agreement is assignable in its entirety.”
3) “The Earnest Money Deposit shall be $________________________, and shall be due and payable at the office of the closing agent within 72 hours after acceptance of offer.”
4) “Closing shall take place within ______________ days after acceptance of office at the offices of:__________________________________________, located at ____________________________________________________________ (Address).”
5) Time is of the essence. This offer expires at 5:00 P.M. on the business day following presentation of offer to seller.

(Add Signature Lines and Date here)

In conclusion, please don't let contracts stand in your way in making offers. More experienced investors, real estate agents, and attorneys can all answer questions to help you understand further. And keep in mind that if you agree to something that you cannot follow through with, using the clauses above gives you a backout clause that allows you to terminate the agreement without any penalty during the first 14 business days after your offer is accepted.

I recommend that you join a rei club in your area and find an experienced investor who you can tag along with and watch him do his contracts; and then maybe even help him get his contracts filled out, and he can just review to make sure all i's are dotted and t's crossed... after you do them a few times, you will feel comfortable doing them on your own.

There has been some very good advice given here. I hope that the underlying message has not been buried in our attempts to be of assistance. It's very simple:

No Offers = No Deals = No Paycheck

Please find a way, do whatever is necessary, to start making offers and keep making offers. It's the only path to success.

I really like your ideas! I am working with another investor from my local rei group, or using the state contract when working with the realtor. It used to be my big hangup as well. Coach wall, I love how you spelled out the points in the addendum as well.

Thanks femailceo, I'm sure you are aware of the necessity of of streamlining our efforts as we grow. It is simply not feasible to evaluate the properties and make the number of offers necessary to be successful unless we do so.

Having a standard addendum is just one of several ways to streamline one's business--others include inspecting properties only after offers are accepted, hiring a professional to inspect the property and provide you with an inspection report and photos, etc.

For all those reading here, initially we encourage you to be thorough in your investigation and evaluation of properties, and your processes in making offers. This is part of the learning process. You need to be familiar with such processes as walk-throughs, estimating costs, dealing one on one with sellers and agents, negotiating, etc. Once you have achieved a proficiency in those activities, you should begin looking at your business for efficiency and ways that you can do things faster and with less effort. Your real estate agents and other professional team members will appreciate you for finding the best ways to streamline your business and create more revenue for less time and effort.