How to start a conversation with a buyer?

My suggestion to everyone with your question that is starting out is to find a couple of real estate investment clubs in your area and start attending the meetings on a regular basis. These clubs are loaded with members actively buying properties and always on the look-out for more people they can work with to bring them properties. The guest speakers are always extremely successful at whichever niche of the RE world they work in and frequently are also looking to expand their list of people that will bring them deals. The people, buyers, you will meet range from those looking for a steady supply of a few props for themselves to members who manage the funds of large groups of people who have invested their money with that group and the member you will meet needs a large number of props to buy/rehab/flip so that his investors receive a return of 10 - 15% on their money.

With these people you don't have to worry what to say because they are as eager to work with you as you are to work with them. Go up to them, introduce yourself, they will ask what specifically you do, you ask them what specifically they are looking for, give them your card, make sure to get their card, and here's THE most important thing - follow-up with them! The knowledge of what they want and their card in your pocket is not going to do you any good unless you call them and actually arrange to start working a deal with them. These people are for the most part, nice, friendly and ethical so please, never be afraid to introduce yourself and then follow up.

Some of the REICs allow you to attend their meetings for free, others charge in the area of $25. Once you decide a club is a worthy investment, you can go ahead and become a member for an annual fee which will be less expensive than paying per meeting and also offers members-only benefits.

Please, if the club is an hours drive from your house, please don't decide not to go because you don't want to drive that far. I have had people ask me about the clubs I go to and when I tell them where the meetings are, they lose all interest. Ya gotta go where the meetings are and if you don't, you are throwing away valuable assets. There are only so many clubs so if you find one that is at all handy to your location - go. I also know people that will drive over 100 miles one way to go to a meeting. These people are just generally working hard at their RE careers and making deals. Make the drive - listen to one of Dean's tapes on the way there and back - it really is worth the effort.

Actually meeting and chatting with these seasoned investors will give you confidence to talk with buyers in a cold call situation, such as may come to you from newspaper ads, flyers, mailings, and craigslist. Reading Dean's books if you haven't yet had the chance to do so will also give you a good idea of what to say.

If you don't have any actual deals yet, start by asking your buyer what he is looking for, get as many details as possible, then just tell him you don't presently have anything like that but you are finding new props constantly and you will give him a call as soon as you have what he is looking for. Also, there is no reason to wait until you have a buyer's list to start looking for props. Spend time both lining up props and finding buyers.

Good luck!

Rule # 1: You always have deals. You tell a potential buyer you don't, your # gets thrown out

(The following is a simulated conversation of a response of an ad you placed)

Investor:Hi im contacting you about the ad for homes you have available

You: Yes what are you looking

Inves: I'm looking a multi-family, short sale or foreclosure preferred. Has to be vacant or owner-occupied only. I don't want to spend over $250k which would include any compensation you require. Do you have anything???

You: Wow, I just had exactly what you were looking for; I had a 3 family short which was vacant and needed work. I interact with direct owners and attorneys all the time, and i'm actually waiting for another home in this range. Whats your name and # and when I get the info i'll call you
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I know you shouldn't 'stretch the truth' per se, but if you have an opportunity where a potential buyer comes along you have to retain their interest; you being new you may not know when the next opportunity comes along. However never lie about being an agent or anything that requires documentation. But there is also nothing wrong with telling someone you're fairly new to the game, but you have acquired resouces in a quick time to find them what they need.

If you're new never tell someone you have a 'team'; that sounds very tacky and corny and gives off like you think you know more than you really do. keep the convo simple and NEVER!!!! give up an address unless you see a LOI or/and POF first and its verified

That's good advice. I have a question about (I assume) POF meaning proof of funds or letter of intent. If my buyers are cash buyers how can I go about getting this information from them? Do I ask for a bank statement or a statement from where ever their funds are? I know about loan buyers because I just get the pre-qual letter from their bank (provided it is from a major bank and not a HML), but with the cash buyers I don't know of a way to get proof of funds from them without asking for their personal account information. If that is what I need then I am sure they are used to it, but I just want to make sure. Thanks again for the information.

Richard
Bothell, WA

Any legit investor completely expects to be asked for thier POF,....proof of funds. Not all with give up without you giving them info, so it might be a stalemate but then the next move is up to you; you either pass on them as a potential client or you hedge your bets and move onto a future client whenever that is.

They will give you excuses like "I have been doing this for nearly 20 years and i never had to provide a POF. Everyone knows me. This is insulting. You tell me the address, I buy the house, I give you your money. We make big money together."

Ignore the excuses and stick to your guns and turn it around on them "I haven't been doing this very long and I don't mean to insult you but I never heard of you and I have to protect myself, so i'm not giving you the address and I think we can still make money together."

If they do send you a POF, make sure there is a contact # at the bank you can call to verify.

Never ever be afraid to ask a question; it might be that question that you didn't ask that was the reason of your downfall or you getting shafted over your money not coming through

great advice above!! i would also post an ad on craigslist to attract buyers i would state
I am a local investor that is looking to help you find that profit making investment.I FIND HOUSES THAT ARE BELOW FAIR MARKET VALUE!!! if you r looking for a deal call me NOW!!!! 9999-oooo-oooo

or u can state that u r new to the investing arena and are willing to FIND that next PROFITABLE DEAL for you. do you need someone to find great deals for you TODAY???? then call me and let me know what you are looking for!!!! I WILL FIND EXACTLY WHAT YOU WANT!! and if i dont i will KEEP looking!!
when they call you telll them you will ACTIVELY look for them EVERY DAY UNTIL YOU FIND what they want. example: area,price,sfh or duplex or whatever. just ask them what they want and u will build rapport for sure because you are LISTENING to them and telling them u will help them!!
good luck
jay

I wanted to say thank you to all the people who truly are the supporters to newbies like myself. With this advice I can go and take that first step. I will keep you guys posted and I will try to help all the future investors.

If you're nervous, practice to someone or in the mirror on what you're going to say.

If you talk and your conversation is full of "um,...um,...well um,..." thats not very reassuring to someone who is investing forst their time and then their money into believing you can find them a home.

I can always be PM'd if you wish further convo's

I have posted about how I feel like a fish out of water with this very topic! This advice is so valuable to me! Thank you so much! I've been struggling with replying to leads because I'm a HORRIBLE liar through and through, so saying I have property I don't have is so difficult! And its great to know its ok to say we are new at this! Glad to hear of the other routes and options available to all of us.

My 2nd day on this site, I started out gung ho, and told a potential buyer that I may have something he's looking for, and then he responded telling me what he wanted and where and I froze and waited a day or 2 to respond. The user locked me out of replying to him or looking at his profile, and it has bothered me for over a month now! He still has me blocked, and it just made me feel like a total failure before I even got started so I've been treading lightly.

Practice what you will say with yourself in the mirror, or someone at home. Don't do it once or twice, but enough times and day's or weeks until you are in control of your conversation and it flows fluidly out from within you. Also remember that no matter how confident you get you'll always be a little nervous upon making/keeping contact with any potential buyer. The jitters are always worse when you're thinking about trying something for the first time, but after enough try's you'll find it'll all just start to come easier and easier.

Good Luck!

Bryant

I can't believe that someone on this site would do that! Please don't let it bother you. With all the great people here there is no reason for you to have to deal with someone with an attitude like that. His actions certainly should not have made you feel like a failure. He is the one that failed to treat a fellow DGer with respect and to offer the support we all strive to put out there for one another. Just move on and try to forget it happened.

Thanks for posing the question my husband and I have been asking ourselves for days, "How do we find potential buyers?" All of the advice has been helpful, my battery has been recharged. Thanks again.

Al and Dee