Wholesale House Flipping Letters Of Intent

Hello Everyone

My experience with sellers is that they know very little about contracts, title companies or any of the procedures that are involved with the selling of their home or property. I think it is your and my duty to make the situation as comfortable as possible for them.

I rarely sign a Purchase Contract with a seller until we go to the Title Company that is being used. When the seller and myself are ready to perform on a contract, I will encourage them to meet me at the office of the title company, with a title officer or the attorney that owns the company. At this point they can ask any questions about the contract or procedures involved. Once the contract is signed then I proceed to finalizing the cost of repairs estimates and locating the right buyer/investor/rehabber to purchase my contract.

Many people that try and wholesale or flip contracts are way too aggressive with the seller to get them under contract. I personally feel that this will lose many deals for them and of course lose a great amount of income. Sellers are nervous about any situation where they have little knowledge. After all, we are talking about their home and in most cases a great deal of value. If you push too hard, you are going to lose. If you have very little experience in this business, your lack of knowledge will also make them feel very uncomfortable. If you have no exit strategies or terms offers for the seller, you are going to look very novice.

I suggest starting with a Letter of Intent. A legally non-binding agreement that gives the seller several basic elements of what the contract will look like. A seller wants to see how the buyer wants to purchase the property and with what conditions. With the right terminology in the Letter of Intent and if it is constructed properly, the seller will feel obligated to perform as the letter requires.

In a Letter of Intent, negotiations can go back and forth without re-writing lengthy pages of a complex Purchase Contract. A Letter of Intent also allows you to back out without any recourse from the seller. If there is something that can't be worked out, then all parties move on.
Letters of Intent are easy to construct and will allow both parties to see all of the facts. Your letter must be fair to both sides. Having this letter will allow extra time to do your due diligence. The Letter of Intent that I use, allows me five days to prepare the final contract.

THERE MUST BE SOME BASIC ELEMENTS OF THE LETTER OF INTENT:

1. Buyer's name
2. Seller's name
3. Property address and description (legal description not necessary)
4. Your proposals
a. Terms
b. Conditions
c. Purchase price
d. Due diligence
e. Title closing date
f. When the formal contract will be provided to seller
g. Buyer will take AS IS
h. City, County and State
I. Disclaimers
j. Date

A successful wholesaler always knows that sellers have to see credibility and feel comfortable with a person they basically don't even know. Your job is to cultivate that relationship and you have a professional responsibility to know what you are doing.

Using a Letter of Intent allows the seller to become more comfortable with you and they won't feel so pressured to just sign a large part of their portfolio away to someone they just met. It is very distressing to see fly by nighters come into this business who are void of any skills, just fast talkers. If you learn to be knowledgeable and skillful, you will leave those types of tactics in the dust. Sellers almost always have a sense of a person's credibility and professional experience.

The reason for my success is directly related to credibility and cultivating a deal so the seller is comfortable with me and the procedures that are involved, but I am always in charge. That is your job as a professional wholesaler.

If you would like a formal Letter of Intent document please email me at :
metroplexhouses@inbox.com. You can use it in the future to help you get more deals closed.

Duane Stephens
www.LearnToWholesaleHouses.com