Since I’ve been investing for a long time, many new investors assume I’ve always known how to buy and sell investment properties. Absolutely not true. No one is less experienced than I was in the beginning, but I had an absolute goal and was willing to work hard to achieve it. Let me tell you about my first deal: Jim and I knew we had to tell people we wanted to buy homes if we were going to find deals to buy them. So, we started a little super inexpensive marketing to make the phone ring — walk the neighborhoods and put up fliers, have magnetic tags on our car doors, and put an ad in local nickel paper (the three-line ad was only $265 for a year). I had questionnaires printed and stacked on the phone, so if the seller called, I remember the questions I would ask. Like most new investors, I was terrified. Because I didn’t know what I was doing, I didn’t really want sellers to say “yes” to my offers, so I always did very Low offers. Investor ignorance isn’t always a bad thing. Almost the first call was a woman calling from outside the country. At the time, our phone had a caller ID and said the call was coming from “US Government. Baltimore, MD.” I was convinced I had been arrested for doing something illegal, but I quickly justified myself that I couldn’t do anything terribly wrong at that point, so I answered the phone. The woman’s voice said Do you buy a house? when? The government already knew that I was buying houses?! As it turns out, her son lived nearby and removed our phone number from the magnets on my car doors while I was parked at our local grocery store. The apartment she was selling was actually in our neighborhood, and she was calling all the way from Baltimore, MD! This was very strange. Anyway, it was vacant and was on the market with a real estate agent for a year. She asked for details of the property and promised to call her back. After doing my due diligence, I called and offered 65 cents on the dollar. She said, “Honey, I’ve owned this apartment for six years and still owe it more!” I told her I totally understood, that I wouldn’t be her best offer but I was one of the solutions, and she’s welcome anytime if she has more questions during the sale. I was very relieved that she did not accept my offer. That night, I called… “If we do the deal, how will it be done?” she asked. I explained it to her, and told her we were going to wrap up with our lawyer, and that she would have to write a check for the difference between what I was showing and what she still owed. She thanked me and hung up. The next day, I called again and accepted my offer. I had never even seen what was inside the property before and was scared to death. Later that day she met her son at the property to check it out. It was clean – all new carpeting and paint, all appliances including washer and dryer, two storey living area with two storey stone fireplace, upstairs office area overlooking the living area below. It was amazing. Since this was my first deal and the seller had already paid to take it out of her hands, I took it as a sign that I was on the right investment path! The moral of this story? Don’t think that you need to know everything before you start investing. You really learn what you need to know while investing. Don’t think about the seller. Many assume that if the seller owes too much, they will not accept your low offer. incorrect! Many sellers pay to sell. If their need to sell is large enough, they write a check at closing. Don’t let fear stop you. No one knows what they are doing at first, at what job, but surround yourself with people who know the business, so you always have somewhere to turn for answers. Always be a resource for the seller. Most sellers need help. Show it to them. You are building relationships that will lead to great referrals. Be willing to help, even if you’re not the one they’re selling to. Do you have a story you’d like to share here? We love to hear it!