1. Always Buy From Motivated Sellers
The first Golden Rule for Property investing is that you want to buy property from what we call motivated sellers. A motivated seller is someone who really needs to sell their property. They've got some problem and because of that they're more flexible on the price and/or the terms of the sale. This is because for these people it's not about getting the most amount of money, which is what most sellers want by the way, it's about getting speed and certainty that this transaction is going to happen.
Most people when they're looking to sell a property don't start out as motivated sellers. They want to get the most they possibly can from the sale of their property, but as time goes on people become more motivated. They have deadlines they're trying to hit. Maybe they need to emigrate or they're moving for a job. They could be growing the family, or their family is shrinking. Maybe they've got financial difficulties. They see selling this property as part of the solution to that problem.
Given that one in three sales in the UK fall through, even if someone gets a sale agreed there's a pretty good chance it might well fall through. Selling a property is not a fun or enjoyable experience. If a sale falls through it's really quite stressful.
If you can find these motivated sellers and then come up with an ethical win-win solution, they get what they want, and you can get a much better price or flexibility on the terms of the sale. It's important to understand here that we're not looking to take advantage of people. We want to find the ethical win-win that works for you and works for them. It is a numbers game. You need to learn how to find these motivated sellers and when you do, you're going to be far more successful in your investing.
"We’re not looking to take advantage of people. We want to find the ethical win-win that works for you and works for them."
