How To Overcome the Fear of Making Your First Real Estate Offer for Investors

I met with a couple of clients of mine last night to write an offer on an investment property. This was their first investment property and they were a little nervous to write the offer, excited, but a little nervous.

There were dozens of questions running through their heads: Would the offer be accepted? Would the seller get mad at how low the offer was, compared to what they were asking? Would they counter? What would they counter for? Should we ask the seller to pay closing costs? How much earnest money should we use? These questions and more needed to be addressed.

It's OK to be nervous when you write an offer, but don't let that stop you from writing the offers. We found out this morning that the seller could not accept their offer, but they submitted a counter offer. If the sellers had accepted the offer my clients wrote, my clients would have been very happy. They had done their homework on the deal. They knew what they could rent it for. They knew what repairs it needed and had gotten reasonable estimates to get those repairs done. They knew what they could sell it for and they knew about their financing situation. They were prepared, and even though this offer wasn't accepted, it was a necessary first step. This was the first of many offers that they will be writing.

The next time they make an offer, I suspect they will be less nervous since they've gone through it once before. The one after that, they will be even more comfortable. It will get progressively easier each time. I have a saying: "The first is the worst." I usually use it when I am talking about why you should just do something to have it done and accomplished. I use it as a battle cry to destroy procrastination caused by wanting to have everything perfect, but it is appropriate here too. Writing your first deal is usually the most uncomfortable because much of the process and outcome is unknown to you. So, go out there and make an offer where the deal will work for you if it is accepted. Get over the fear earlier rather than later. I think you'll be glad you did.