Are you a real estate investor? Do you own rental property? 🏠

If so, you’re invited to participate in the Flock Homes-ResiClub Real Estate Investor Survey.

The survey results will be published later this month in the Zuber Letter and ResiClub—and in other mainstream media publications.

Why you’re losing out on great real estate deals

We are in a buyer’s market, so it’s time to get to work and start writing disrespectful offers. But did you know you might be sabotaging great deals and not even know it?

On Thursday, I spoke with top real estate agent Beth Traverso about the common mistakes buyers make when submitting offers on real estate and how you can avoid them. Here are the highlights:

1. Poor communication: Beth says sometimes buyers will just open with sending a link to a document, rather than communicating professionally and properly with a seller. Every step is an indication of your ability and willingness to see a deal through to the end, so it’s important to approach a potential deal with seriousness and professionalism from the jump. Laziness will sabotage your deal. 

2. “Spraying offers”: Don't write 35 offers on 35 listings—that’s lazy. Do the work first, pick out the best deals, and then consult an agent. Beth says buyers should be strategic about where they focus their energy. More selective buyers get better results and they won’t burn out the agent they are working with. Find the three best listings, research them, and follow up on those properties. 

3. Writing sloppy and texting offers: Only complete, written offers are considered. Beth says texts do not count as written offers and says her seller would not consider any offer that doesn’t come with formal documentation, including pre-approval letters and proof of funds. When these documents are missing, and the seller’s agent has to chase you down to get your paperwork in order, you could be sabotaging a deal.

4. Not reading agent remarks: Agent remarks can contain key deal conditions like a required lawyer reviews, estate sale details, or required review periods for offers. Failing to acknowledge such conditions can result in an offer being dismissed and can make you look unserious, Beth says. 

5. Not explaining low offers: If you’re making a low offer (like 35% below the list price), you need to provide a clear justification why. The seller might be in a horrible spot, and you just slap a 35% offer with no communication, they’ll just say no.

6. Not being friendly or kind: You should have a friendly negotiation style. At the end of the day you are working with people, and sellers don’t respond well to aggressive tactics. When negotiating, rather than criticizing the property outright, say something like: “In order for it to work for us, there are some things we’re going to need.” 

   People don’t like to work with mean people. The seller needs to say yes, and if they don’t like you, you won’t get that far. Setting a positive tone from the start is important.

ResiClub chart of the week:

This week, ResiClub’s Lance Lambert posted the chart below on X:

Lance points out that 25.4% of mortgage borrowers have a rate above 5.00%, whereas 74.6% have a rate below 5.00%.

“The higher rate share is gradually increasing, as new buyers take on rates above 6.0% + borrowers slowly pay down,” he wrote.

Number of the week: 45%

I read something this week that scared me a lot. Morningstar recently reported that 45% of Americans will run out of money in retirement if they stop working at 65. 

That was my No.1 fear when I was 30 years old—and that is the fear I had when I created my goal of getting four rental properties.

At the time, the idea was that these four rental properties would be cash flow positive and paid off by the time I reached 65. My grand plan also included the idea of contributing to my 401k with my company matching my contributions. This way when it came time to retire in 35 years, I would have a seven-figure 401k and a seven-figure real estate portfolio. But more importantly, I would have options.

Obviously, the story didn’t go as planned. I retired at 45 and now run the One Rental at Time business. 

But I still believe that for many people, if you are working full-time and contributing to your 401K or IRA and investing in one, two, three, or four rental properties, cash flowing properties, you will have options when you get to retirement age.

Register for ResiDay

I also want to remind my readers I’ll be speaking at the first-ever ResiDay, hosted by Lance Lambert’s ResiClub, in New York City on Friday, November 8th.

There will be hundreds of influential housing single-family landlords, developers, lenders, and brokers who are shaping the future of residential real estate, homebuilding, mortgage lending, and build-to-rent. Several prominent real estate journalists will also be there.

The ResiDay discussion will center around where the U.S. housing market is now and where it will go from here.

Expect great conversation, networking opportunities, and just plain fun—I hope to see you there

Follow me on X: @1RentalataTime

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