Discord Question: Access To Data Tree List

This is episode number 2,122. Jill and I are talking about how to handle land sellers who say, “I love your offer but.” This is a very real-world situation that Jill deals with on a daily basis. I’m going to sit back and learn with you. All week this week Jill and I are talking about helpful land acquisition rules we didn’t realize that we live. Each day on the show, we answer a question from our Land Academy member discord forum, and we take a deep dive into land-related topics by popular requests.

Yuri wrote, “Does anyone here have access to data tree lists? This would require you to have your own separate data tree membership, not the group version through Land Academy.” I have no idea, Yuri, what kind of list would I be looking for?

I know what it is.

What is it?

It’s a shortcut version of trying to get a list. There’s all kinds of things that are in there.

Is it like our other data supplier back in the day?

Yes.

That was like an easy button.

Yes.

They picked the top ten things they thought you needed when you downloaded the ownership data and it wasn’t necessarily the right ten for what we needed. That was it and then I don’t want that.

When you have a comprehensive data set like RealQuest or DataTree that we are licensed subscribers to we pass on to you as members. I didn’t wake up one day and say, “Let’s sign up for DataTree and get everybody hooked up on it.” This is decades of me using substandard products, trying to make lists work, doing all kinds of stuff and failure, success. I’m being very polite about this. This is decades of using substandard products and still making this work.

DataTree is a raw database. It is only as good as you as data as the person who’s choosing which data and how to manipulate it. DataTree lists is something that some developer who went to college and is about, I don’t know, 22 years old, thinks that you want. They create radio buttons and then statements and cute little things that they think is going to make this easier for the user. They don’t know.

I’m always afraid of this, Yuri. If I’m getting a list, what am I not getting? There’s something somebody, not me took out of this data set because they think this is what I want and what I need. It’s a little bit easier for me. “No, I want all 280 categories or whatever. I’m going to look at and pick what I want.” That’s what you have to do, Yuri, that’s interesting. This is how smart this group is. We want all the raw data. There’s a lot of landing hand people, your engineers, your accountants, your smart tech people, a lot of this group because you want to pick and choose and make it great. We’re probably getting mail out by not using lists. I know that we’re getting mail out there that other people are not who are using lists. All those easy buttons take stuff out.

Let’s make this a visual because this is actually really I don’t want to gloss over it. Let’s say you own a convenience store and you only want happy, shiny, wealthy people to walk in the door who say hello to you. They don’t talk to you too much. They say hello. They’re very pleasant and they spend no less than $100. That’s silly. You’re going to go out of business. Same thing if you own a pizza place. I only want happy customers who order this pizza because it’s the cheapest for us to make.

Paid by American Express.

If I go to Jill and say, “I’m going to hit all these easy buttons because some developers and I only want these people to call back that are real happy and they love the offer price and they just want to do the deal.” Do you know what she’s going to say? You’re out of your mind because I’m missing all these opportunities. All I need to do is talk with them for a minute and a half each. They’re going to sell the property. They’re going to be happy to do it and we can put the deals together.

Back in the day, there was a huge focus on back tax property and a lot of people were really focused on only mailing people that were behind on their taxes because they knew that that would just be the quickest way. I would often comment, which is very true. We don’t discriminate whether you are current or behind on your taxes. We’ll send offers if it meets our criteria. What’s funny is I would tell people this and they finally figured it out. Believe me, I’m like, “You will not believe how many wonderful pieces of property we have bought from lovely people who have been paying their back taxes because they didn’t know they didn’t have to. You missed out. I bought all those.” Like, “Oh.” There’s something like that going on.

I Love Your Offer, But…

Well said, Jill. Our topic, How to Handle Land Sellers Who Say, “I love your offer, but?” This is bright and Jill’s wheelhouse.

It’s just getting to the bottom of it. I’ll cut to the chase. What is the but? The but could be, I love your offer, but can you have five grand because this is how much I need to pay for this procedure? I love your offer, but I don’t know what to do. I’m overwhelmed here. It’s my dad just passed. Can you help me figure this out? Yeah, we can. This to me is just asking those open-ended questions. That’s the time to do it. It’s not shove them into a box. If you do, I love your offer, but there’s this one condition, you have to figure out what the condition is, figure out with them how to solve it, and then help them and you get the deal done. Am I missing something?

Every time I see this, I feel compelled to even quote Pee-wee Herman, who says, “Everybody I know has a big but.”

I have not heard this. No.

It’s because you probably never watched Pee-wee Herman with the kids like I did.

Not to the extent that you have, no. There are people reading right now who are probably saying, “Who is Pee-wee Herman?”

Whoever you are saying that, you are smart.

You’re right.

You are a smart person for not.

It’s good. That’s yeah that we are not poopooing you at all. That’s totally good.

All kidding aside, everybody has an issue, especially with buying and selling houses and mobile homes. It’s not the price. Jill said this a million times. It’s almost never the price. It’s my house isa disaster, and I’m not going to sell it with a real estate agent because I’m embarrassed.

Everybody has an issue with buying and selling houses, and it is not always about the price. Share on X

Maybe that’s their land. We’re talking land. Maybe it’s like, “I have all this trash all over it or my neighbors look what they’ve done to the lot next door is terrible.” It’s just got to the bottom of it.

Address their specific needs. The more they talk about it, the more they’re going to trust your developed trust, and the more they’re going to do a deal with you.

This is more common than not. It’s very rare that a seller is signed, done, and ready to go exactly how you did it. It goes, “It does happen.” You’re like, “Oh.” What’s funny is when those do come back, I always go, “What I missed. Did I overprice this because they’re a little too here?” No, I want you to question it and make sure but more often than not, in that situation, you really just didn’t hit them at the right time and you are solving a problem for them which is great.

Back to my point, most sellers kind of want to feel like they’re going to get a little something out of it. I love all this. Are you really going to get me paid out that fast? We’re at, “Let me just double-check with Susie. My Susie at ABC Title can usually do these in ten days. Let me just I’ll call you right back. I’ll make sure. If not, we’ll figure out something else so you do.”

It’s just a huge number of people that are just really hanging their hats out of squeezing a few thousand dollars more out of I love it when that happens because it’s fine. Two to five grand on a typical deal that we do. It’s fantastic. If it makes you feel better, the seller here’s $5,000 more. I don’t ever say that. I’ve always wondered about this. I’d like to really do some psychology-based research about what it is about negotiation and getting money off or getting a better deal that it cannot be always just about the money. I’m not like that. I just want to get a deal done.

Address the client’s specific needs. Listen to them when they talk about it. Do this and they will trust you more. Share on X

I know. It makes me feel really great when I do find out what the situation is and I am solving it. Like, “I know, Jill, I’m so happy to get your offer for $19,000. I’ve done the math and I know that I can pay off my car payment and I can do this if it’s $23,000. Is there any way you can do that?” If I can do that, how great is that? Everybody walks away feeling great. I know what the deal is and how it’s going to work out. I know that I’m really solving the problem. They had no other way to get that money, especially that fast and solve what they need right now. It’s kind of some of these people. These are very serious financial life rafts. We’ve thrown them, if you will. They’re like, “Thank you. If I had listed this with an agent, and waited six months, I would not be in foreclosure and I’m dead.”

This is a joke lost over it really fast, but this is the common response to our mailer. The common response through our mailers is not to sign it, send it. How do I get it closed? It is, I love this, but sometimes it’s about price, sometimes it’s not. What it does is it forces you to listen, participate, and develop a relationship with the seller. I’ll tell you that.

We live in a world where pushback and negative comments, just negative everything is very common and will never work. If you’re going to answer the phone and meet sellers from where they’re coming, embrace the situation, borderline become friends with them, establish some serious trust one way or the other, and get a deal done together. Animosity and pushback will never work in this environment. If that’s your natural response, you need to find somebody.

Don’t answer the phone. That’s easy.

That’s right.

Just don’t answer the phone. Use PatLive and not your mom. Join us tomorrow where you discuss the pros and cons.

Wait a minute. I want you to do an impression of your mom answering your phone.

Did you imagine?

Do you think our parents secretly listen to this show?

I don’t think so. Here’s what happened when my mom answered the phone. “Hello, this is Jill’s phone.” It would go like that. “Is Jill here? I got a few things to say to her.” “So do I. Let’s start. She didn’t answer me too.”

“She doesn’t call me back on time either.”

“No, I can never find out what I need to do. I’m lucky I found her phone. You better believe I’m going to pass on that message and I’m going to pass that message to my own.” How would your dad answer your phone? Do you want to go over there?

My dad would say, “What are you talking about? He sent you a letter to buy his land. Yeah, I wouldn’t do that. Whatever that is. It’s, yeah, I’ll talk to you later.” I’m being nice.

Closing Words And Next Episode’s Topic

That’s funny. That’s good. Good role-playing. Join us tomorrow. We discuss The Pros and Cons of Buying Land in Rural Versus Urban Areas.

You’re not alone in your real estate ambition. We are Jack and Jill. Information and inspiration to buy undervalued property.