Close More Real Estate Deals By Remaining Calm at Closings

The other day I was meeting with a seller in Woodbridge, VA about a rental property, I was going to do a lease option on. The seller was very motivated because the property had been vacant for awhile and he was tired of bleeding cash.

Previously, I had talked to the seller on the phone several times. I had made my offer over the phone, it was accepted, and I was sitting at his kitchen table that day to sign all of the paperwork.

Everything was going as planned…

I was explaining all of the paperwork to him, he was nodding his head and when it came time to sign everything, he hesitated.

He then looked at me and said “I think I want a few more days to think about selling my place to you.” This is not the first time this has happened to me, but every time it does, it’s like a punch in the stomach.

However, once you hear those fateful words, what you do in the next second determines your fate and whether or not you close the deal. The worst thing you can do is to immediately pressure the seller and try to get him to sign the documents. This will scare him away and you will never close the deal.

So what did I do with this seller and what do I do whenever this happens?

Well, when I’m about to close a deal and a seller tells me they might not want to do it, I always remain calm. (Even though in my head I’m flipping out and thinking bad words.)

Next, I use the following script on the seller: “Mr. Seller, that’s no problem at all. I know this is a big decision. Typically, when someone wants more time I can do two things for you. First, I can leave now and then you can call me if you ever want to sell your house, and if not, I will never bother you again. Or second, we can sign the agreement tonight and I will write a special clause that says you have the next 5 days to cancel the agreement if for any reason you are not comfortable.”

On the deal I was at, the seller did not want to do the clause, he just wanted more time to think about it. I thanked him for his time and told him to call me with any questions.

Two days later he called me…

I went back to the house, we signed the paperwork and I closed the lease option deal. All because I remained calm, stayed professional and did not try to pressure the seller at all into selling his house.

I know this is not easy to do, and the words “give me more time, I need to think about this” are devastating words to hear as an investor. But if you follow the above advice you’ll close more deals this year and not scare people away.

Photo: notsogoodphotography

Note By BiggerPockets: These are opinions written by the author and do not necessarily represent the opinions of BiggerPockets.