The Most Valuable Wisdom I Want to Share Is. . .

If you're buying a property to hold and rent, or to flip, or a turnkey, you should always get a home inspection. A $350-$500 expense can save you $1,000s and a big headache.

It sounded backwards to me at first, but I have learned now to get the buyer first!

This will show ALL things you dont want to see on walls,floor and ceiling as well,it will freak you out.
Good for pet urine,the smelly stuff you cant get rid of,the black light will find!

Aaron-n-Suzy

My main philosophy that I operate by is that it HAS to be a win for all three parties involved.

If the seller, end buyer and myself are not coming out better at the end of a deal, I will refuse to participate.

I have had sellers approach me to do deals where I could easily have made six figure profits if i would structure them a certain way. I knew that the buyer would jump on the opportunity to L/O because they trusted me but that they would never be able to get the appraisal to get the loan at the end of term, so i refused.

Must be a win for everyone. I sleep well at night.

Karen

Honesty is the key, building rapport get's deals done. You are looking for people that "Must Sell" or "Need to Sell". After that you are really just connecting dots.

Don't be afraid to help people understand what cash investors are looking for, and be able to back it up with why.

For example:

An investor has to put up cash on these properties, half closing costs, structural engineers reviews, inspections, put up another 20-100k to fix up the prop. Then hold for 3-4 months to sell just so they can pay closing again, and new commissions %6 of new value upon re-sale. It all adds up.

Whole-sellers/ cash investors have a specific purpose. Look for the people you can help the most and help as many as you can, and in anyway that you can.

In many cases that is a quite a bit of cash to invest, and risk on each deal. Ask your seller if they would invest that to hope the market doesn't take a 2-8% drop in the next 7 months of time it is going to take to re-model and sell. They will understand.

Keep the "want to sell" people in the hopper, and send something to them every quarter or holiday. Jump on the "have to" and "need to" sellers asap.

First, I am so thrilled to see the responses from each of you here. This is one place where I have hoped that people would come and share those bits of wisdom that do help you sleep well at night, and that make the difference in your success, and I see some familiar faces responding. For those reading here, these are people to listen to, they truly have your best interests at heart.
There a couple of phrases that I would encourage every investor to write down and always remember. The first came to me from my original mentor, A.D. Kessler, whose motto was: "There is Always a Way." And there is, if you will be committed to moving forward.
The second is my own little nugget of wisdom from my experience. It comes in the form of three words: "Negotiation Never Ends."
Now you can choose to take that negatively, if you like, but I have found that this guides me in my dealings with people. I can accept any situation, in advance, knowing that just when you think you have all the details worked out, something else will come up that needs to be worked out.
I always have a Plan B with every property, knowing that my original plans may need to be modified. And I remain flexible to additional negotiation that will come along as well.