Juliana joined the mentorship programme in March 2007 and describes here the thrill of sourcing and negotiating her first Below Market Value property deal…

I Started To Work The System
“Hello! My name is Juliana and I started to work ‘The System’ in January because I wanted to join the Mentorship Group in November but it was full and I didn’t want to wait until the next group in March to start. So I just got all the mentorship audio-seminars {Refering to audios available on SucceedInProperty.com} and listened to everything and started to apply everything.

I Thought, ‘Thats Not A Reason To Sell A Property Below Market Value!’
So, in the first month, in January, we sent out 20,000 leaflets and from these 20,000 leaflets, we got 26 phone calls. From the 26 phone calls, I was waiting for the person with a typical reason for being motivated to sell. For example, to moving abroad, repossession and things like that. Then, one guy rang and his reason to sell was that he wanted more time to complete his PhD… And I thought, “This is not a reason to sell!”

Anyway, I went to see the property with an estate agent I knew in the city. The estate agent told me, the property value was £110,000. So, I thought I’d offer him around £90,000.

We Only Saw The Place From The Outside
We just saw the place from outside actually, because the tenants, they weren’t there. So, I had to go back again later, to visit the property. In the meantime, I discovered that the market value was not £115,000 but £105,000 so, I had to offer less than I thought. I was afraid, of course.

I Had To Go Back With A Reduced Offer… I Was Afraid
So, when I finally got to see the place and it was terrible. It was an ex-council property and the tenants, they were a mess. The kitchen didn’t have a floor. I can’t imagine how somebody could live like that. I was more afraid now because, now I would have to offer less money to the guy. I knew he wanted more time and he had to pay his mortgage blah…blah…blah… So I said, “Okay, I just have to make the reduced offer. If I just make the reduced offer, nothing can happen to me!”

But He Accepted My Offer… I Couldn’t Believe It!
So, I got on the phone, “Hello? Hello, Gary! This is Juliana. So, I saw your property and we can pay you just £87,000” and he said, “Okay!” and I said, “Oh, okay!” “Okay, so I agree. We can carry on.” I couldn’t believe it. But, yes, this was my first deal.

Ranjan Bhattacharya says:
There are two interesting points about Juliana’s deal.

1. In the 17 years that I have been in the property business it never ceases to amaze me the number of different reasons vendors have for being motivated to sell their property at below market value

2. Juliana based her offer to purchase this property purely on what the property was worth to her and she has stuck to her guns. That’s the way to do it!

Click below to listen to Juliana’s 3 minute audio describing her first deal…

 My First Property Deal - Juliana: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Alistair joined the mentorship programme in March 2007 and talks about his first property deal…

There’s A Text Message On My Mobile With A Below Market Value Property
Hi, my name is Alistair. I have a very interesting one. About two to three hours after leaving here {refering to a mentorship session} on the first day, there’s a text message on my mobile saying he thinks his house is worth £121,000 and he wants to sell it for £100,000. I thought “Okay, great!” Then he sends another text message, “Are you interested?” “Yes, I’m interested.”

We Arranged To Meet And He Wasn’t Even There!
Anyway, I went down to see this guy…it’s a funny story…no, it’s not that funny, but it’s an odd story. I met this guy, now he lives in a place which is right in the Northwest of Scotland. He is part of two families who basically own this town. But he is the blacksheep of one of these family’s, but nobody talks to him! He’s just an absolute idiot! I mean, I called to see him at his property and he wasn’t there. We arranged a meeting and everything, but he just wasn’t there. So, I call him, knocked on the door, no answer, called him. He was down the fish and chip shop. So I went down the fish and chip shop, and saw him there. He’s about 34-35, my age but he’s talking to youngsters making out what a gangster he is!

Anyway, I went with him back to his place and he says, “I’ve got 6 to 7 people interested, they all want to give me this much, how much are you going to give me?” I just said, “Okay, look Donald, I’m sorry I wasted your time. If you’ve got 6 to 7 people interested and they have offered you that much, I’m not going to offer you any more than that.” I then just closed my folder and put it in my laptop back and headed for the door. Just when I’ve gotten as far as 2 steps, “No, no, no, wait” …and all the bravado just dissappeared.

I Tried A New Negotiation Technique I Learned…
But anyway, to cut a long story short. I listened to some of the tips on negotiation {refering to audios on SucceedInProperty.com} So, I thought, I know he wants a £100,000, and I know the deal works at £100,000. But if I give him £100,000 he’s going to leave the deal thinking he could have got more.

So, I offered him £95,000. He came back to me and he said, “Oh, come on, there’s no way I’m accepting £95,000. It’s £100,000 or nothing.” So I said, “I’ll have to go away and think about it.” But of course I went away, but I didn’t think about it at all. We spoke again about 3 or 4 days later, and I said “Fine, I’ll give you the £100,000.”

So, we wanted to turn it round pretty quickly.

My Solicitor Said It Was Impossible To Sort Out My Finances In Just 13 Days
We, sorted out the finances in 13 days (which my solicitor first said was impossible.) My father and my girlfriend got involved and helped me with the deposit that we needed and we managed to get everything sorted in 13 days. The reason for the sale was that he wanted to piss his brother off. He wants to sell-on the house below market value because his brother is so well known and respected in the area.

We Put It On Sale And Accepted An Offer Above The Asking Price
Anyway, we put the property on the market. We had offers for £128,500 but I was expecting to get £130,000. But recently I’ve recently had my arm ripped off for it, and I’ve just had an offer at £135,000 and they want me to take it off the market immediately. So, that’s that.

A Big Thank You To You Guys…
…I just want to say thank you very much to the people in the forum {refering to the online forum exclusively for mentorship programme members}. Without you guys, I wouldn’t have done this. There was a lot hand holding and the forum is actually fantastic. The other thing is if anybody gets leads in Scotland, and they’re not going to use them, give me a call, we’ll do a joint venture. Or even if you just want me to check out a property lead, I’ll happily to do it, just to help, okay!

Ranjan Bhattacharya says:

1. Alistair used a very powerful negotiation technique to secure this deal. The deal worked out for him at £100,000 but if he immediately offered the vendor exactly what he wanted, the vendor would have been left thinking that he could have got more.

2. When doing your first deal, especially if its 26% below market value, it is essential to have a network of experienced property investors around you to steer you through to a successful completion. Through the mentorship programme forum, Alistair was plugged into a support network of experience which he trusted and knew he could rely on.

Click below to hear Alistair talk this 26% Below Market Value property deal:

 Alistair - My First Deal: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Prab joined the Mentorship Programme In March 2007 and talks here about his first property deal.

I’m Going To Come And See You To See How I Can Help You
Hi! it’s Prab here. I think it is really worth going over the deal I did earlier this month because the call first came a good few weeks after the leaflet had first gone out… I think it was about three or four weeks. From the moment she called, I could hear there was a nervousnes in her voice. Her name was Lauren. I said, “Look, Lauren, when I come see you, I’m not going to be come to see you for a business meeting, I’m going to come and see you to see how I can help you.” I said, “I’m in a business but I’m actually going to see how we can help each other.” That made a big difference. I could hear her on the phone, she was like, “Oh, my God! That’s such a relief.”

She Was Afraid That The Deal Might Not Happen
I went to see her. She told me she only owed about £150,000 on the property in terms of mortgage. So, that’s the first I learned, is to always get a redemption figure as soon as you can. She actually didn’t owe £150,000, she owed £200,000.

But, as it turned out, even with the amount she owed, it was still manageable. What I learned from this was it’s really important to show people you’re listening because she obviously only said she owed £150,000 because she was afraid that the deal might not happen… If she was open and honest with me, she thought the deal wasn’t going to happen.

I Couldn’t Get Hold Of Her For Over A Week
So, that’s the first thing, then we agreed on a price and then I sent the money for leagal searches etc. But then she went missing. No communication and I couldn’t get hold of her for over a week. I left her messages, sent her a letter. I then said to her, “Look, whatever the situation is, even if somebody’s offered you a better deal, please just communicate it to me.”

I Had Almost Given Up On Her
So anyway, two weeks had gone by and I hade almost given up on her. I thought, “Alright, I’ve wasted a £1000 here, It doesn’t matter if you learn from it.”

…But Its All About Persistence
Then, the second thing was persistence. So, just out of the blue, two weeks later, I gave her another call, and she answered it and said, “Can you come round and I’ll explain everything.” She still didn’t tell me that she’d been in contact with someone else. She didn’t say that was the reason she was out of communication with me, she said, “I’ve been trying to get a hold of you,” which, obviously, I know is completely not true.

So, obviously, I didn’t want to go around there saying, “Why are you lying to me?” or anything like that. I was just planning to listen to her again. The long and short of it is she was obviously holding out to see if she could get a better deal. She told me she’s in communication with another buyer, and as it happens, I knew this person as well.

I Told Her That I’m Not A Big Fish Like These Other Guys
I told her that, “Look, I’m not these guys. I am not a big fish like these guys. So, I’m not going to try to dissuade you to go with them or me. I’ll support you with whatever you want to do… So if you just need some advice from me, thats ok too…” The point being, is that I became unattached and I was genuinely ready to help her. The long of the short of it is she went with me in the end, she said, “Well, I’m going to go with you,” and I said, “Look, even if you say yes to me now, if you do change your mind, just let me know. Just let me know. I’m not going to hold you to anything.”

As it turned out, because I’ve got a car show-room up in Leicester, her son had smashed her car up so I ended up getting a car for her…

Persitence Paid Through… Its Been A Great Learning Curve
But the deal has happened, with a little bit of cash out. It’s just been a really, really, really great, great, learning curve. The point is being persistent and continually being there for other people, if you’re there to serve others, they really see that and I think that’s what she saw. It works!

Ranjan Bhattacharya says:

Prab got this deal because of:

a) his persistence and unwillingness to give up

b) his focus on building relationships. At the end of the day, people like to deal with people they know, trust and like. Therefore, if the vendor knows, trusts and likes you then you will beat all your competitors who are competing on just price alone.

Click below to hear Prab talk about this great No Money Down deal with cash-out too.

 Prab : Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Owen joined the Mentorship Programme in March 2007 and describes here how he sourced his first property deal:

Very Simply, I’ve Been Following ‘The System’
Hi, my name is Owen. Very simply, I’ve just been following ‘The System’. So, I did get some leaflets going… Four or five thousand, and recruited some leafleters, gave them a thousand each and they started leafleting. I Got three calls from that. Two didn’t really lead to anything.

The third one was a lady, who understood that I was in the trade, so I arranged to visit her. She lived on her own, in a big 3 bedroom house, and was feeling the burden of living in a big house and wanted to get something smaller and wanting to get some equity of her house. So, she’d wanted to rent something smaller, and just unload the burdern.

Market Value Was £125k, I Offered £97k
So, yes, I went round there, and I was determined not to rip her off and offer her as much as I could. The value I thought was about a £125,000 and I offered her £97,000. She just rang me yesterday and said yes, she wants to go ahead, she wants to make the deal.

Ranjan Bhattacharya says:

What a great first deal. 22% Below Market Value means that this was also a No Money Down Deal.

The important thing when doing your first deal is to follow a proven system which will deliver predictable results. One problem I find is that investors are often too quick to tinker or tailor the ‘System’ from day one and then they blame the ‘System’ when they don’t get the results they expect. Just like a cooking recipe, if you follow it step-by-step, then your results will be predictable.

Click below to listen to Owen’s 2 minute audio describing his first Below Market Value property deal…

 Owen's first deal: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Michelle talks about how she dealt with her first calls from motivated sellers

 Interview with Ranjan: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download