You should always be prepared when a Buyer or Seller says YES... I carry Buyer and Seller packets with me all the time. They are pre-made, and I have a little plastic file box that I keep in the back of my truck all the times.
When you are dealing with a motivated Seller, and they say YES, you need to act while the fire is still hot. You should be able to go to your vehicle and pull out a folder with all the paper work you need.
One morning I got a call from someone that was going to lose their house to foreclosure. After talking to the Seller on the phone, I found out that the sale was going to take place in two weeks. They had already sold the house to someone else and were prepared to move that weekend. I pulled comps on the house and met the sellers that evening. After about 1 hour in the house, I put the deal together, and got the Deed to the house before I went home for the night.
Would I still have gotten that deal if I had to meet them the next day with the paperwork, who knows?
I can tell you of one I lost just last week because I was not prepared.
It was a cash deal from a referral. I met the person Saturday afternoon. After looking at the house, I agreed to their asking price. (They had it priced right, and I didn't want to lose the deal buy trying to negotiate them down). I didn't have my paperwork with me this time. (I was hauling some furniture for my sister the day before, and left my box with all the paperwork in my garage) We made an appointment to meet Sunday afternoon to sign the Purchase Agreement. I showed up at the house at the scheduled time, but no one was home. After calling and leaving a few messages, they finally called me back that night to inform me that someone else looked at the house this afternoon and offered them $8,000 more than they were asking.
If I had gotten the Purchase Agreement signed while I was there, I would be closing on the house next week. Instead of sitting her crying to you about it.
What should be in your packets? That depends on your buying strategy. If you only buy houses for cash, then you should at least have a Purchase Agreement with you at all times. In fact, no matter how you buy houses, you should always have a Purchase Agreement in your vehicle.
I deal allot with Pre-Foreclosures, and "Subject To" deals. Here is a list of the forms I keep in my Packets.
Buying Packet:
- Purchase Agreement
- Property Information Sheet
- Warranty Deed To Trustee
- Agreement and Declaration of Trust
- Contract For Deed (if Applicable)
- Limited Power of Attorney
- Letter of Agreement (CYA Letter)
- Selling Cost Sheet
- Authorization to Release Information
- Change of Address Letter
- Re-Sign Document Agreement
Selling Packet:
- Purchase Agreement
- Contract For Deed
- Lease Agreement
- Option Agreement
- Rental Application
- Application Receipt Book
You will not always need all the forms, but I keep everything with me so I have what I need when I need them.
I also keep a Check List in the packet. I use that to make sure I get all the documents I need signed. That is also a great place to keep specific information about the property:
- Mortgage information
- Utility info
- Scheduled Closing date
- Closing Company / Attorney info
- any other info you need for that property
Always try to get a copy of the peoples Drivers License, Just incase you ever need to prove that they were the ones who signed the paperwork. I have personally never needed them, but you never know. If you don't have access to a copier at the time, then use a camera. I use a digital camera, and that works just fine.
Happy Investing,
Mike Jacka
www.realestatepromo.com