Negotiating with Sellers

Guys, There’s no bad parks just un-favorable pricing and terms . I have recently come up with deals that I cannot get the seller to negotiate in a reasonable manner.

I’m getting the:

“this is my price and terms so don’t bother me with anything else”

This would be fine if it was a reasonable price and terms that was supported by the metrics, NOI and the current condition of the park.

what tactics have you used to get the seller to move forward and negotiate in reality land?

Lou

You cannot force a mobile home park owner to sell. But other forces can. Divorce, boredom, death, serious illness, financial pressure – these are what make sellers get serious. Unless the park is a disaster, the average owner will make more money from operating the park than selling it. So there has to be some type of external force making the seller want to pull the trigger, or he’ll just leave the park on the market for 100 years at a ridiculous price. We call that concept “fishing for idiots” and it’s no different than people who put something on eBay at ten times what it’s worth, just hoping that somebody doesn’t know any better. Of course, the idiot never comes along, and the item sits unsold until it finally gets yanked.

If the seller really needs to sell, then the challenge is getting them to understand the reality of why the asking price is too high. This type of seller will respond to logic. But he won’t believe you because you’re on the wrong team. So you have two choices. You can get on his team by “bonding” with him. Or you can use a third party to prove why the price is too high. The options include a bank, an appraiser or the broker.

The bottom line is that you can’t force a seller to sell (and they become more resistant the more you try). Instead, you have to work the system. Think Kung-Fu and use the force of the seller against them – but in a win/win way.

The key to buying real estate of any type is in locating the motivated seller not in attempting to motivate a seller.

Once a buyer presents their case to support the price they are offering there is little to do other that wait while moving on to your next seller/offer.

I’ve been a real estate broker for 24 years and I have boiled the cause of the majority of real estate sales down to the Three “D’s” of real estate Death. Divorce. Debt.