The American Education Institute

When you begin your real estate investment activities, whether you know it or not, you are playing a “numbers game.”  This is not a lottery, an illegal racket, or running numbers for some neighborhood bookie.  No, this is merely the same legal–and necessary–activity engaged in by every successful salesperson on earth:  bang on enough doors until you get a “yes.”

This is how the game is played:  You must contact a goodly number of people.,  Of that number, you are just naturally going to find some people who are interested in what you have to offer, which in this case is an offer to buy by means of creative financing.  Of the number who are interested, a few people will just naturally be motivated enough to receive from you a flexible purchase offer.  And finally, of those few who are serious enough to receive you offer (and possible bargain awhile with it), there ought to be one who will take it.  Bingo!  That’s how you buy your properties creatively.  You are literally selling your buying services.  And you’re just looking for a customer.

As you might imagine, this works something like bowling.  The more pins you have up there, the easier it is to hit one.  In order to get that middle pin (the king pin), however, you have to “strike” them all.  You might roll a ball and hit one or two pins, or more, with your first turn, but if the king pin is the one you need (or, in this case, your most flexible seller) you’re going to have to roll a strike.  In real estate investing, in order to find your own king pin (the “king” of the “castle” you wish to buy?)  you are going to have to make contact with every other pin (seller) out there.  Miss one, and you risk missing your “king.”

In less abled and more practical terms, it’s logical–isn’t it?– that the more potentially flexible property sellers you contact, the more successful you can expect to be.  Make for yourself yet another written goal of contacting 28 seller a week.  That’s four per day, every day, every single week of the year.  If you call 28 seller, yo may expect to look at 6 properties.  Of that 6, you should expect to make offers on half, or 3.  Of those 3, you may expect to purchase 1.  “Twenty-eight to six to one” —make that your mantra.  Write that down. Make that your goal.

And think about this, too,while you’re at it.  There have been studies which have shown that for every three people in this country, two are already in the process of buying, selling, leasing or renting real estate, or they know of someone else who is.  That’s two out of three of everybody!  As you begin to play your numbers game, those are certainly number you can live with, aren’t they?

But you have to keep at it.  If you stop, you’ll miss the king pin.  And if you never strike the king pin, you’ll never Strike It Rich.

Dr. Eric T. Martin / 100% Financing When Buying Real Estate / 5-31-09