Offer a Solution for Your Seller (LA 969)
Offer a Solution for Your Seller (LA 969)
Transcript:
Steven Butala: Steve and Jill here.
Jill DeWit: Good day.
Steven Butala: Welcome to The Land Academy Show, entertaining land investment talk. I’m Steven Jack Butala-
Jill DeWit: And I’m Jill DeWit, broadcasting from sunny Southern California.
Steven Butala: Today Jill and I talk about how you should offer a solution to your seller.
Jill DeWit: You kind of are by [crosstalk 00:00:19]-
Steven Butala: This is one of those-
Jill DeWit: Sending an offer. Hopefully it’s a solution. I have stuff to say about this. I know you do, too.
Steven Butala: This is… I wrote this topic for Jill, quite honestly.
Jill DeWit: Thank you.
Steven Butala: Before we get into it, let’s take question posted by one of our members on thelandinvestors.com online community. It’s free. The question is long and I love the question and I want Jill to answer it, so I’m going to read it.
Jill DeWit: Okay, I just want to ask about this topic that you wrote. Was that coded for, “I’m tired. I’m going to cue up some topics for Jill?”
Steven Butala: No. I’m not tired. This came up because… I don’t know. It came up on the call last week. It’s a big… “I somehow have not recently conveyed in all the many venues that we are here… If I sound frustrated about this, I am. By the way, tomorrow’s topic is called Offer a Solution for Your Buyer. We’re here to offer solutions. We’re not here… I… Here’s the message [crosstalk 00:01:16]-
Jill DeWit: To take everybody to the cleaners.
Steven Butala: Here’s the message. Here’s the message. No, no [crosstalk 00:01:17] here’s the message [crosstalk 00:01:18]-
Jill DeWit: Or I [crosstalk 00:01:18]-
Steven Butala: Take them to the cleaners.
Jill DeWit: Yeah, that makes it… Yeah.
Steven Butala: For what… Somehow, this whole business model is built on buying property incredibly inexpensively and solving a problem for the person you’re buying it from. They’re no longer considering price at all. You’re just taking it off their hands. They don’t have to pay it for the taxes. If it’s a house, you’re just buying it so they can get rid of it. Solving a problem and then here’s the overview, and then for the buyer, hopefully it’s a wholesaler who’s going to resell it or do something to improve it like rehab it. You’re solving that problem for them so they don’t have to go out and find their own acquisitions or deal… God forbid, deal with a real estate agent.
Jill DeWit: Can I add something to this? This is [crosstalk 00:01:57] one thing… this is like a hot topic for me. I know we’re going way [crosstalk 00:02:00]-
Steven Butala: Me too.
Jill DeWit: Way off topic [crosstalk 00:02:01]-
Steven Butala: It’s a hot topic for me.
Jill DeWit: Because here’s my thing, too, think about this. The way that we’re offering a solution is a very professional, kind, polite way by sending a formal thing in the letter. We are not skip tracking somebody’s cellphone and calling them or, Heaven forbid, getting in our car and going on and knocking on their door and saying, “Do you want to sell?” That to me would… That really bothers me, I’ve just got to say. If you-
Steven Butala: Wow, we got to this topic fast.
Jill DeWit: We did.
Steven Butala: Let’s go… let’s keep going.
Jill DeWit: We did. I was just thinking about [crosstalk 00:02:30]-
Steven Butala: When you-
Jill DeWit: About how we really are offering a solution because here is the thing, we offer very… We send a very polite, real, professional letter saying, “Hey, we’re interested in your property. Here’s what we’re willing to pay. You have two choices. One, throw it away, B, call me back. That’s easy. I’m not standing in your doorway, on the other end of the phone, and like other people do and they think that’s the way to do this trying to talk you into something. That makes me mad.
Steven Butala: Well, there’s a whole-
Jill DeWit: I’m done.
Steven Butala: Undertone… there’s a whole culture of people out there who believe that if you… the only way to make money is to have an angle, and to have… to come in at it some way [crosstalk 00:03:06]-
Jill DeWit: Exactly.
Steven Butala: Some really kind of… put screws to somebody and make sure that they’re kind of… pull the wools over their eyes a little bit.
Jill DeWit: “Look what I got.”
Steven Butala: It’s nothing… That’s not what Land Academy is about. That’s [crosstalk 00:03:18]-
Jill DeWit: Not who we are about.
Steven Butala: It’s never been about that, but-
Jill DeWit: Not us.
Steven Butala: Sometimes there is… Members here who are vocal about that, but my point is this, and this is right on topic. What happens every single day with all of… with Jill and I and with all of our successful members is these properties come in. They come in and you’re staring at a property that is with a signed purchase agreement for a property that’s worth half… maybe it’s a property that’s worth a hundred grand and you’re about to buy it for 30 or $40,000. What do you do? You’re… of course you buy it, and then you get to thinking, and this happens to every single person including me. “Well, it’s worth a hundred thousand dollars. I’m going to ask a hundred thousand dollars.” That is where you fail.
Jill DeWit: That-
Steven Butala: Trust me.
Jill DeWit: That’s more tomorrow’s show. It’s not for the solution for the buyer, but I love it. That’s a perfect overview.
Steven Butala: Chris Dwyer asks, “I’m new to Land Academy. Been thinking about joining the program. Before I do, I’d like to ask the community a few questions to see if it’s a good fit for myself and for my wife. Our reasons for doing this revolve around earning additional income to accelerate our path to financial independence and ultimately creating a lifestyle that allows us to enjoy more time with our kids and our family.” I can tell by the way this is written, you’re already going to be successful.
Steven Butala: “We both work full-time jobs. We have two pre-teen kids. We can carve out about five to 10 hours a week for land investing. We have good income. Save a chunk of that, and we have access to capital as a result. Our goal is to replace our current income with land investing, which allows to quit our jobs and work on our schedule, our own schedule. Is five to ten hours enough time to make this program work on the outset?” I think he means in the beginning. “What are the main reasons people flourish or fail? Why would you choose Land Academy over other land investing programs? The ones that are out there? If we wanted to invest in our home state of Pennsylvania, are there any statutory reasons that would prevent us from either flipping land or selling on terms? Thanks in advance for your time. I think this-
Jill DeWit: Wow.
Steven Butala: “Is what you and your team answer this question 50 times a day.”
Jill DeWit: I know. Will you go back? I kind of want to hit the questions one by one without missing any because that was really, really good.
Steven Butala: I’ll ask you, okay?
Jill DeWit: First of all, Chris, I think it is, thank you for taking the time to really put this out there and ask all of the questions that are obviously on your mind, and I get it. I think you’re coming at it for the right reasons. You’re not coming at it like crazy like, “I want a Ferrari”, or something silly.
Steven Butala: Exactly.
Jill DeWit: Like, “Hey, I just want some breathing space for my wife and I. We want to eventually be able to take some nice vacations. Maybe replace a job or something. Maybe my wife can stop working.” Or whatever it is, or just… Well, it did say, “Quit our jobs and work on our own schedule.” That’s a great plan. Just like anything… Beginning, “Is five to 10 hours enough to make this work at the beginning?” Just like anything, when you start something new, well, there is going to be some time up front and there is going to be a learning curve and I’m glad that you’re planning that.
Jill DeWit: If you both sat down and carved out let’s say 10 hours a week in the beginning, you could spend two weekends, and I like this, too, by the way, there’s a lot of people in our world that are like this. If you said, “This is what we’re doing on Sundays and set the kids up with dinners and everything and games”, you could one Sunday get through most of the program and another Sunday get through the second part of the program. By the third Sunday, kind of be… have your head wrapped around it and be thinking about picking a county and moving forward. I do think you could do this at the beginning.
Jill DeWit: Hopefully, what often is… especially when just, and I’ll get into it a little bit more, hopefully it inspires you. A lot of our members, they start off with a schedule like this and then they get excited. They see what’s possible and they carve out more time and it gets them there a little bit faster, so I think that’s good.
Jill DeWit: The other thing you need to think about, let’s say you spend 10 hours one weekend getting educated, another 10 hours educated. Now, the next weekend you’re working on picking a county. The next weekend you’re thinking about getting mail out. You need to kind of plan that out, and then by then you’re going to have to set up something for the phones. That for you I think is going to be the hardest thing because you guys both work full-time jobs. As you’re doing this, set up PATLive, but it can also happen, so during the week, once you have your first offers going out and they’re coming back, PATLive can be answering the calls so you can kind of stick to your schedules and follow up those when it works for you.
Jill DeWit: Do you want to add to that? Or do you want me to keep going?
Steven Butala: Well, let me paraphrase what Jill is saying. Five to 10 hours is easily enough. We have very successful members how even still do it. Honestly, I don’t spend five to 10 hours a week buying and selling real estate. I really don’t. I spend it on other stuff and we still buy tons of it, so heck yeah.
Jill DeWit: Going on, what are the… I’m taking too long on these questions, so thank you. I’ll try to shorten them. What are the main reasons people flourish or fail? I think it’s… really comes down… I know this because I’ve asked them, we’ve surveyed our members and we see it happen all the time. They… those… you either stick to it and you’re committed or you’re not. It’s never about money, seriously I’m not kidding.
Steven Butala: Sound like a man.
Jill DeWit: It’s never about money, it’s never about time. Honestly, it’s never about all these other things that you think it is, it’s just… it just comes down to you not sticking to it. Why are you laughing [crosstalk 00:08:58]-
Steven Butala: Just got back from New Orleans with a bunch of women and she came back… first thing she said to me was, “Oh my gosh. Women are difficult.”
Jill DeWit: Now I know why you love me so much.
Steven Butala: Takes them a long… That’s what she said. Takes them a long time to get ready. It’s very [crosstalk 00:09:13]-
Jill DeWit: Takes them a long time to order lunch.
Steven Butala: It’s difficult for them to decide what they want to eat while a waiter is standing there with a pen in their hand.
Jill DeWit: Exactly.
Steven Butala: Like six things like that. I’m like, “You know what? I should have recorded this whole thing.”
Jill DeWit: It was so funny.
Steven Butala: Stuff I’ve been saying for 50 years.
Jill DeWit: Have you ever heard me walk up to a bar and say this, “What’s the most buttery white wine you have?” I’m like… here’s how I do it. “Vodka water. Fruit if you have it.” Done. That’s it. That’s [crosstalk 00:09:45]-
Steven Butala: Here’s another impression of certain women ordering lunch. “I’m feeling like something red, and maybe with a side salad. I’ll go… other people order first. I need to look at the menu.” That’s one of a million quotes I have stored up for some [crosstalk 00:10:05]-
Jill DeWit: No, I-
Steven Butala: Unhealthy mental reason.
Jill DeWit: I do have to say, the person that I traveled with was actually phenomenal. I would say of all my friends, this is the easiest, best person, lowest maintenance. I mean, seriously.
Steven Butala: Awesome.
Jill DeWit: Really.
Steven Butala: Good save. Does she listen to this show?
Jill DeWit: I don’t know. Anyway, but true. No, I mean that, seriously. She’s an awesome traveler. We travel [crosstalk 00:10:26]-
Steven Butala: Jill is going to answer this question in a second. What are the main reasons people flourish or fail?
Jill DeWit: I did answer.
Steven Butala: I will say this, it’s that question tucked into all these other technical questions about can I do it or not that is the question you have to really, really ask yourself. If you’re already successful, which you are, both of you, I can tell, are already successful at what you’ve set out to do and you’re going to be successful with this if you make it a priority and that’s it.
Jill DeWit: On the same page it sounds like. Chris [crosstalk 00:10:58] for asking this question.
Steven Butala: We have many, many, many husband and wife teams or spousal teams let’s just say or life partner teams or just business partnership teams that flourish in this environment. Jill and I are a perfect example.
Jill DeWit: Why would we choose Land Academy over the other land investing programs that are out there?
Steven Butala: Deliberately go slow on this question.
Jill DeWit: Okay, I love this.
Steven Butala: So do I.
Jill DeWit: Well, here’s the thing. I… we… Why would you choose this? It has to sing to you. There are so many other business models out there, so many other things that you could do. There’s ways to do what we do and you have to pick the one that sings to you. We are data people. This is the place to be if you’re not afraid of Excel, you’re not afraid of data, you… I have to say it, you’re pretty smart. You maybe have run your own business or have an idea to do that and you know what it takes to do that stuff, then you’re in the right place. We are all about using data and creating systems and making this a business and not making it a hard kind of thing. Letting the data and the other things do the work for you.
Steven Butala: Jill just answered the next question. Why would you choose Land Academy over other land investing programs that are out there? There’s only a couple other programs that are out there that I know of. One of them… There are… a big difference without going into any detail, if you want to make this a business, not a hobby, Land Academy is for you. If you want to buy some extra property because you think it’s fun and funny, the other two programs that are out there, you should check those out. They’re packed full of hobbyists.
Jill DeWit: What I love, too, is I’ll be honest, I have a lot of people that have come in our group that came from other …
Steven Butala: From them.
Jill DeWit: Programs, and they got to the point where like, “This is great. I got my feet wet and it kind of gave me a little dance along the top, idea of how this works and one way to do it, but gosh, now I’m ready to grow my business. I need to take it to the next level and I still have some questions and there are no answers there.” Then they came to us and like, “Oh, okay, now I get it”, and then the tools and the things that we do provide, access to the data, the cheap mail, stuff to really make it a business is what we do.
Steven Butala: Of all the other land programs out there, we’re the only ones who devised this system of using data and sending blind offers in a huge… in a very, very brainy type way.
Jill DeWit: Giving access to this stuff you can get [crosstalk 00:13:36]-
Steven Butala: The other ones all focus on [crosstalk 00:13:37]-
Jill DeWit: That’s the main thing for me [crosstalk 00:13:38]-
Steven Butala: Back tax property.
Jill DeWit: That would be a game changer for me right there, I’m not kidding, Steven. If I were a fly on the wall and I was just getting into this, knowing that you could get access to DataTree [inaudible 00:13:48] which is coming, but RealQuest Pro and TitlePro247 and things like ParcelFact and to help me… deeds, DeedPerfect, that’s a game changer. That’s already taking so much work off my plate. Wow, and the access to stuff that I didn’t have and some of them I can’t get [crosstalk 00:14:05]-
Steven Butala: I don’t want this whole episode to sound like a sales pitch, but [crosstalk 00:14:08]-
Jill DeWit: True.
Steven Butala: This didn’t… none of this happened on accident. It’s very simple. Jill and I have been buying and selling real estate since the ’90s, separately and now together, and all the tools that we’ve been using, we just put them in the form of a website.
Jill DeWit: It’s perfect. All right, this is a question for you so I’m going to read this. “If we wanted to invest in our home state of Pennsylvania, are there any statutory reasons that would prevent us from either flipping land or selling on terms?”
Steven Butala: There’s statutory reasons in every single state and they’re state specific about why you can and cannot sell property on terms, and they’re getting worse. They’re only getting worse because people are abusing them, so bad people. We’re all good people, there’s a few bad people. Check it out. Pennsylvania, I lived in Pennsylvania for several years and I know Pennsylvania as a state, a regulatory state is not the best on the list [crosstalk 00:15:02]-
Jill DeWit: For terms.
Steven Butala: Just for anything. It’s very legislated. It’s got rooted in history like that, so the further west you go, generally the more compliant real estate gets until you hit California, and the California, as liberal as it is, is one of the most pro-real estate places I’ve ever, ever been. All the things I can bitch about in California [crosstalk 00:15:23]-
Jill DeWit: There’s a lot.
Steven Butala: Real estate is not one of them.
Jill DeWit: Exactly.
Steven Butala: They’re very pro development in real estate.
Jill DeWit: That’s true.
Steven Butala: It’s probably why the traffic is the way it is.
Jill DeWit: That’s true. That was awesome [crosstalk 00:15:33]-
Steven Butala: You can do this anywhere.
Jill DeWit: Yeah, I think we got this [crosstalk 00:15:34]-
Steven Butala: That’s the answer.
Jill DeWit: Yeah, and just do your homework and those states that have… Just those states that have… Here’s how we look at it. If there’s a state that I come along and there’s some extra steps I got to jump through, if I really want to sell things on terms, then I only flip for cash there. I don’t sell them on terms [crosstalk 00:15:48]-
Steven Butala: That’s it [crosstalk 00:15:48]-
Jill DeWit: I get terms in other states that are easy for me. Problem solved.
Steven Butala: Well said.
Jill DeWit: Thank you.
Steven Butala: Works everywhere, you just have to do your research and get in there and figure it all out.
Jill DeWit: Exactly.
Steven Butala: Today’s topic, offer a solution for your seller. This is the meat of the show. Jill is going to talk in double time here.
Jill DeWit: Oh, am I all set to hurry up?
Steven Butala: It’s okay.
Jill DeWit: It’s already going really long I know.
Steven Butala: This is so important, so we’re [crosstalk 00:16:09] going to go over on time. It’s okay.
Jill DeWit: Offer solutions for your sellers. Well, number one, you are solving something for them already by them calling you back. They may or may not state it, but they’re staring at your offer and calling you back or emailing you or writing you, whatever it is, because you’re solving something, if even, “I’m done with this property. I don’t want it anymore. I want to get out from under it.” It may not be obvious. They may or may not state it. Some will say, “Thank goodness. I need the cash. I’ve got this going on. I’m so happy”, and some are just going to be like, “You know what? I got your offer. Let’s talk. I like it”, and can you do it on Tuesday kind of thing, so you don’t need to dig and find out. Sometimes it’s personal for people. They may not want to share it, but just know that you… there’s a reason they’re contacting you and that’s why we do it the way we do.
Jill DeWit: Do you want to add to that?
Steven Butala: The very nature of sending out let’s say 10 offers, just never send out 10 offers by the way. Always send out 1500 bare minimum.
Jill DeWit: Exactly.
Steven Butala: Let’s say you walk into a bar and there’s 10 women sitting on 10 bar stools.
Jill DeWit: Oh no. Why did you use this example? I can’t wait to see. All right.
Steven Butala: You approached every single woman, regardless of how they looked or are behaving, with the exact same approach. “Hi. Buy you a drink?” Next bar stool, “Hi. Buy you a drink?” You can imagine the responses you’re going to get. You’re going to get everything from, “Drop dead stranger weirdo”, to, “Heck yes, I’d love for you to buy me a drink. You hit me at the right time. I… let’s talk.” That’s what this is. That’s all this is. You’re solving a problem for the girl at the end, and all the rest of them, all the rest of them are going to be annoyed or some version of annoyed or slightly interested but they’re not feeling comfortable talking to you yet. Maybe you just want to change your approach a little bit.
Jill DeWit: Oh my gosh.
Steven Butala: Those are negotiating people. In those 10 situations, somebody will say, “Heck yes, I would love for you to buy me a drink.”
Jill DeWit: Well, you know what? You might have solved a problem for me because I just was thirsty. How about that? I’m thirsty, I didn’t want to pay for a drink [crosstalk 00:18:23]-
Steven Butala: It’s as simple as that.
Jill DeWit: All right, don’t say you’re solving it [crosstalk 00:18:26]-
Steven Butala: Oh yeah, I’m thirsty.
Jill DeWit: Don’t say it for the one poor person stuck at the end [crosstalk 00:18:29]-
Steven Butala: Nobody is poor in this. There’s no poor person. There’s no victim.
Jill DeWit: You said the one at the end. Why is that woman [crosstalk 00:18:36] at the end?
Steven Butala: All right, she’s the one in the middle. I don’t know. She’s the one that actually you caught at the right moment and she’s happy that day. She had a good day at work or whatever. It’s just the same thing. It’s the same thing. If you’re solving a problem for this or you’re solving a problem for the person, you just caught them at the right time and they’re ready to sell their property for whatever reason.
Jill DeWit: Oh, okay.
Steven Butala: We spend… People who are not in this group… people who are not in our group reach out to us all the time, way more than people that are in our group, and ask questions like this. I’m trying to answer that question. The more women you ask that question at the bar, the more are going to give you the answer that you want, so send out a ton of mail is my point. Just sent out… If you’re not getting the response that you want, then send more mail out.
Jill DeWit: Oh my goodness.
Steven Butala: Is it really [crosstalk 00:19:30]-
Jill DeWit: It always comes back to that.
Steven Butala: It’s so obvious.
Jill DeWit: Yeah, it is obvious.
Steven Butala: It’s so obvious. This is so obvious to me. It’s not obvious to a lot of people.
Jill DeWit: What did you do while I was out of town, babe? That’s what I’m wondering. I went… I’ve been in [crosstalk 00:19:40] New Orleans. What did you do while I was away?
Steven Butala: I worked. I got more work done than I ever get done.
Jill DeWit: Okay, cool.
Steven Butala: That’s the truth of it.
Jill DeWit: Here’s another thing about offering solutions to sellers. I have two, three things to say, so that was the first one. Number two, make it easy. Part of offering a solution for the seller is not only offering to buy their land, but you’re offering to make the deed and mail it to them and get a cashier’s check so they don’t even have to leave the couch, honestly. It’s somebody [crosstalk 00:20:08]-
Steven Butala: That’s it.
Jill DeWit: Has to open the door and let the notary in, but that’s about it. Make it easy, explain it all, and that’s my third thing, actually. The third thing is really follow through and hold their hand. Help as needed, answer questions. It all ties together.
Steven Butala: They need to see it as you’re solving the problem. You can’t… you’re not going to sell them. They’re not going to call you and say, “Is that the best you have?” It’s already gone in my opinion. Jill might try a little harder to change their mind, but in my opinion, it’s just the point [crosstalk 00:20:48] wasn’t taken. If somebody gets an offer, they should… when they open their letter and they look at it and they say… for $10,000, they should say to their spouse, “These guys out in California want to buy this property that we’ve own for 20 years for 10 grand, and they’re going to pay us on Thursday. Is there any reason we wouldn’t do this?” The husband should say, “On my gosh, they’re solving our problem. We need to get… we need 10 grand anyway.” Or-
Jill DeWit: Exactly.
Steven Butala: “We’re not going to use that property anyway. I’ve been thinking about this for a year.” Or, “I thought son Johnny was going to use it, but he’s not.” You solved it by them opening it. You’re not going to sit there and-
Jill DeWit: Talk them into it. It’s ridiculous.
Steven Butala: That’s right.
Jill DeWit: You’re not going to. Don’t even think you are.
Steven Butala: That’s right.
Jill DeWit: If you’re at that point, don’t hang up and open the next letter.
Steven Butala: That’s what I think, Jill.
Jill DeWit: That’s it, or answer the phone. There’s so many people. All you got to do is send out more offers, and that’s a whole nother thing I know, but that’s it.
Steven Butala: Well, you’ve done it again. You spent another 20 minutes listening to The Land Academy Show. Join us next time for the episode called Offer a Solution for Your Buyer Now.
Jill DeWit: We answer your questions posted on our online community at landinvestors.com. It is free.
Steven Butala: You are not alone in your real estate ambition.
Steven Butala: Wow, you [crosstalk 00:21:57] and I were saving it up. We had a lot to say.
Jill DeWit: Yes. I just… hit me the whole way we do it and people are still arguing like, “Don’t you want to skip trace and call them?” Why would I skip trace and call somebody? That would really make them mad, and by the way, how many people… if it’s a number I don’t recognize, I don’t answer. How costly is that? That’s a lot.
Steven Butala: Just the whole phrase skip tracing. What is that?
Jill DeWit: I don’t think [crosstalk 00:22:26]-
Steven Butala: You know what skip tracing is if you don’t know? It’s finding [crosstalk 00:22:28]-
Jill DeWit: It’s not legal, right?
Steven Butala: Somebody’s cellphone number, calling them [crosstalk 00:22:31]-
Jill DeWit: Paying money to get it [crosstalk 00:22:31]-
Steven Butala: That’s associated with the real estate. Yeah, it’s like a data… You sign into a database and cold calling.
Jill DeWit: Nobody wants that.
Steven Butala: Yeah, “Notice you haven’t paid your 2017 taxes on that property in Nevada. Do you want to sell it? I’ll give you $500.” How invasive is that?
Jill DeWit: Exactly.
Steven Butala: Why would you ever do that?
Jill DeWit: I agree. Thank you.
Steven Butala: I’d rather sell penny stocks.
Jill DeWit: Wherever you’re watching or wherever you’re listening, please rate us there. We are [crosstalk 00:22:57]-
Steven Butala: We are [crosstalk 00:22:57]-
Jill DeWit: Steve and Jill.
Steven Butala: Angry Steve and Jill. Information-
Jill DeWit: And inspiration-
Steven Butala: To buy undervalued property.
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