Explaining the Options to the Seller: How to Seal the Deal

When you’re talking to a seller who wants to sell their home fast, one thing they may be researching are their options. Now, they may not know what all of their options are to selling their home. They might think that if they can’t find a seller listing it FSBO, they’ve got to list it with a realtor. They might not want to do that because they want to sell their home fast and not have to pay the realtor’s fees, but they don’t know any different.

This is where you come in. As a real estate investor, you know there are different options when it comes to selling a property. You can: listing it with a realtor, land contract, lease option, and various zero-down strategies.

Offer Pros And Cons

One thing that you can do is to go over some of the options with the seller and give them the pros and cons to each. And, while you’re doing this, let them know what options you’re able to move forward with them on. If you’re niche is Subject-To deals let them know this is your area of expertise and sell them on the pros of this technique.

See, sellers oftentimes want what they can’t have. For example, a distressed seller might want to sell their home at market price in less than two weeks. Chances are that’s not going to happen, but what you can do is show them the pros of your services.  You can explain to them the option of a ‘Subject-To’ deal and let them know they can sell their home fast, but will have to reduce their price by a certain percentage in order to make it happen.

At the same time, they may be thinking that they could just list it with a realtor for full price. However, you can explain to them to cons to that, such as them ultimately paying between 7 and 15 percent in closing costs, and it taking months to sell it. Or, it might not sell and fall into expired listings. This could let them know real quick that this is not in their best interest.

Be Confident In Your Services

So, if they’re talking to you about other ways to sell their home, go through some options with them and be prepared to inform them about the pros and cons to each. This might not seem like it would be productive or maybe you fear they may decide to go a route where you can’t help them. However, when you’re sure that your method (Subject-To) IS the best way for them to get out from under the home in a hurry, you can convey this to them confidently. When you can explain the many pros to this technique, they’re much more likely to choose this option, which is a win-win, because then they feel like they’re truly choosing rather than them feeling like you’re trying to persuade them.

Now I’m not saying you always have to go through options with the seller. This is mainly for those that are asking about or contemplating other options. You don’t have to bring this up to them, but if they bring it up to you, saying they are thinking about a short sale or lease-option or letting it fall into foreclosure, you can be ready to roll with your pros and cons for each, really honing in on the reasons you think the ‘Subject-To’ strategy is the best for both the seller and you.