Facebook is one of the great tools for real estate. Networking, selling, building buyer?s lists, and even advertising if you want to spend some marketing dollars. I?m on Facebook quite a bit and it has helped contribute greatly to the building of my business. When I stop and think about it, the real estate investor?s relationship whom I do the most business with was formed thanks to Facebook.
However? as is the case with anything in life or business, there are always trade-offs. In this case, Facebook allowed a disgruntled seller to hunt me down and give me a piece of their mind.
With that being said, the key dynamic you should understand if you want to get into real estate investing is, GROW THICK SKIN.
I remember reading other investor?s battle stories and finding it comical in a sense. When it finally happened to me though, it wasn?t so comical, but after stopping and analyzing things, I learned I just needed to toughen up a bit.
The Scenario
I found a house that had been sitting on the market a while already, so I talked with their agent and threw out a pretty low offer. The agent took the offer to her clients and as I expected, they shot it down, but ?did? offer to come down from their asking price. This number still wasn?t where I needed it so I declined and told them to keep me in mind.
Fast forward three months and a few more times of going back-and-forth and we agreed on a purchase price.
The Facebook Message
After having closed on the house and with?renovations?underway, I was doing my usual routine of checking my Facebook messages. I noticed I had a message in the ?Other? folder (the place Facebook puts messages from people that aren?t on your friend list). I thought, ?Oh nice! Hopefully another professional reaching out to me.? Whoops! I was wrong?
It was a message from the person who identified themselves as the seller of the house. It was a private message to begin with, so for privacy concerns and out of respect for the seller, I won?t copy and paste it, but it basically contained three points.
1) I lied to them.
2) I took advantage of them.
3) Thanking me without realizing it.
I?m assuming they saw some of the marketing I was doing for the house (I begin immediately after purchasing) and then went to trusty Facebook to look me up and see if I had a personal profile.
The Aftermath
If I?m going to act like a tough guy, I?d say: it didn?t bother me, I just went about my day.
But, I?ll give you the honest side of things. It did shake me up a bit. Now it isn?t like I dropped to the floor and started sweating with the shivers; however, it did shake me up in the sense of, ?Did I actually screw these people over??
Yes, yes, I know. I?ve read the same things you have: you need to?separate?emotions from business. And while I agree 110% with that, this was the first time I?d ever been accused of something like this, so the emotions and business began to flow together rapidly.
Bottom line: I was shook up.
Assessing the Situation
From the get-go I ?knew I didn?t screw anyone over, but have you ever had the feeling where you ?know? you are in the right, YET you still feel like you need some reassurance to be ?certain? you are in the right? That?s how I felt, so that?s what I did.
I spoke with my project manager and told him about it and how they said I lied to them. Through my?negotiations, I told them the estimated things I planned on doing to the house. I suppose after seeing my marketing, they noticed a few of those things weren?t mentioned: therefore, I lied. As my project manager said:
Since when is an ESTIMATE the same thing as a FOR SURE?
Although I already knew this, again, it was nice to have reassurance that indeed an ?estimate? is just that, an ?estimate? not a ?it will be done 110% for sure.?
I then spoke with my brother-in-law about the message and how they claimed I took advantage of them. My brother-in-law, a former Lieutenant in the Marines, gave his usual simple, yet all encompassing answer and said:
Did they not have the ability to tell you ?No??
Once again, this reassured me. No one had a gun to their head and forced them to accept my offer. On top of this, they were working with a real estate agent (professional), so it isn?t like I was dealing directly with them and using Jedi Mind Tricks on them. I?negotiated?through THEIR real estate agent.
The final point is more just to display the irony in things and ?why? I (nor you) should ever get shook up and doubt yourself.
The Facebook message started out like this (not paraphrased): ?While I am grateful to no longer have two mortgage payments?? and then it went into the rant.
Did everyone catch what the seller just said? They NO LONGER have two mortgage payments.?If that isn?t a ?Win-Win? for everyone involved, then I don?t know what is! They were finally able to eliminate this second mortgage payment, I was able to get a good deal as an investor. That is how capitalism works.
Lesson Learned
Continuing on with the final point from the previous section, this fact and this alone is the only reason needed to justify the?business?we are in. As investors in order to get a deal done, we need to figure out ways to create ?Win-Win? situations. I should have realized this from the start, but I didn?t. Shame on me. ? Lesson #1
Just because you have (or are trying to) create a ?Win-Win? situation, people may not see it like that. Although you are not trying to take?advantage?of people and lie to them, some people may?perceive?it like that. Grow thick skin and be prepared to get chewed out at some point in time. ? Lesson #2
It?s okay not to be a ?tough guy? all the time. As I mentioned already, I had done my education and learned about how I need to expect to get confronted at some point, but I suppose I failed that lesson as it shook me up. With that being said though, if you need to, seek reassurance. Don?t let it slow down your business operations. I knew I was in the right, but it was on my mind. After talking to my project manager and the former marine, I was at peace and back to my usual self. There is no shame in admitting being shook up a bit. It shows you care about your business and productivity (face it, if you are shook up, your productivity and?efficiency?are going to decline). ? Lesson #3
Photo: imagerymajestic / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
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Author: Clay Huber
Clay's Website: http://huberpropertygroup.com/
Clay has written 22 articles for us.
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