Real Estate Investors: Credibility Counts
By JD Esajian on April 7, 2014
There are a multitude of reasons why people opt to work with one person over another. Convenience and familiarity are two of the main factors. While these are important, it usually comes down to whether or not you can deliver on what you say you are going to do, how you are going to do it and when you can get it done. How the people you meet at investment clubs or networking groups give you an opportunity comes down to how much credibility you have and how comfortable they are to entrust you with a deal. If you have ever burned anyone close to them in the past, you can believe you will be passed over on this and every other deal that comes their way. Credibility is everything in this business.
People in real estate are very focused on the bottom line. Personal relationships may be a starting point but they will only get you so far if you can’t deliver on what you say. More often than not investors want the path of least resistance and will directly work with or refer people that they can trust. You build up this trust as an investor by keeping your word, honoring your contracts and overdelivering and underpromising. If you say you can close in 10 days you had better be ready to close on time. There is nothing wrong with saying you can’t do something or you need a little longer to do it but whatever you say you can do you better deliver on or you can expect people to start looking elsewhere.
Things happen in deals from time to time. If an inspection issue or unexpected problem with financing comes about this can be explained and justified. What is inexcusable is when you agree on a contract price and back out when a better one presents itself. You will make more on this deal but you will never get another deal from this source ever again. Not only that but you can expect to be badmouthed by the attorney, realtor and buyer or seller. With the way social media is rampant nowadays this can quickly spread throughout their networks. You may not even realize it but you could have lost multiple deals just by trying to squeeze every last dollar out of one deal.
Can you do what you say you will do? Regardless if you are working with wholesale buyers or distressed homeowners nothing will lose you credibility, and ultimately deals, quicker than not being able to deliver on your promises. The irony is that often times you do not need to exaggerate what you can do you already had the deal if you were just straightforward. The more credible you are the most trustworthy you will be and the more opportunity you will get. With more opportunity you should be able to close more deals and with more closings you can get your name out and have more people work with you in the future. This is the cycle in real estate and it starts with being credible and following through on what you say you can do.
Your reputation and how credible you are make up your investing reputation. This counts for more deals every year than you realize.