Transcript:
Hello. Andrew Fidler with LaPlante Real Estate coming to you as always from Toledo, Ohio.
A tidbit for purchasing investment property whether on the market or from a private seller to quote Sun Tzu, “If you wait by the river long enough the bodies of your enemies will float by”.
I can’t tell you how many real estate deals I found at time one and I ascertained they were good investments at a certain price and I told the seller at that point I was interested in purchasing at that price. That information needs to be conveyed professionally and politely.
I’ve done well. I’ve profited well from that “suspenders” kind of text message – open, very low social register scale, by being very approachable and very simple in my communication method. I am very open and agreeable to the owner saying, “well, thank you. My property’s been on the market five days therefore I’m not interested in your lower offer that you say is the correct offer” and so he’s gonna wait.
Now, fact one, you must be comfortable losing the deal okay. I have a set of duplexes right now that I’m bidding on and I’m actually closing on right now that are being purchased at an unprofitable price and the reason I’m buying the properties with unreasonable prices is they’re adjacent to my personal home. I want the land. I don’t frankly care what it costs. It’s not about the investment; I want that address.
The exact opposite is true when we’re inside the city of Toledo and we’re bidding on a random three bedroom house. So fact one, you need to convey your target price, your action price, in a respectful, friendly manner. Leave the door open for future conversation. Then you need to be willing to lose the deal. It is a simple mathematical conversation. You have to be willing to say, “there’s more fish in the sea; it is not just about this one investment. There’s nothing special about it”. You must detach.
Then you need to let time go on favoriting, bookmarking. Making sure you’re talking about the deal with other people will help you to remember to check on it periodically. If you’re using favoriting or bookmarking, as you get reductions in the marketplace you’re going to get notifications that say hey the property’s come down, the property’s come down, the property’s come down. Somewhere in there it would be time to reach back out to the seller let them know “hey do you remember me? You were on day five and you weren’t willing to exercise my price”. Maybe your price can come up a little bit.
I don’t stay firm and fast; this is not a rigid negotiation. If you were offering fifty thousand dollars it is totally permissible in my opinion to say, “we’ll come up to fifty two”. I’ll come up a little bit. I will show some leniency and ability to meet in a middle ground at a price that makes sense, but ultimately, by staying available, staying reasonable and friendly you will get the deal.
I have an entire historical portfolio of properties that I purchased and, of course, I’m making the video because I just did this twenty four hours ago on another property, that the strike price can be had. The strike price is there. So use this wisely. You need to be tracking properties and you need to be tracking them.
It’s fascinating. As you get to know the city of Toledo more, just because you lost a specific address in 2026 it does not mean you’re not going to see it come up in 2029 and that is where your experience in this town comes in handy. Your ability to tell your spouse, “Hey I remember that property way back when that I was really bummed out we lost. It’s back on the market at a better price, with better figures. This is what I know. We’re gonna go after it again”.
So stay calm. Stay willing to make a marathon out of real estate investing. It is not as simple as just snatching something off the market. If you’re paying the retail price you’re probably overpaying. The best wisest answer is to take the time to lock your equity in at the time of purchase. That is what is going to bring you your value.
As always, I’m available. LaPlante Real Estate is available to guide you on those investments. Hopefully you’re using us as your agent. If you use us as your agent that is going to put us in the driver’s seat of being responsible to get money in your bank account. So if you’re buying an occupied building we need to get everything organized, get the leases renewed, get them paying rent. If you’re buying a vacant property fresh out of foreclosure there’s a big headache ahead of LaPlante Real Estate. We need to get your renovation done, we need to get your unit occupied, we need to make sure that we have it marketed, moved in and paying rent.
That is the headache that separates a property management company like LaPlante Real Estate from any random agent who just gets commission at closing and is ready to go help somebody else. Buy a new property; we’re responsible to put money in your bank account at the end of the year and the responsibility for both of us, owner and property manager, is to make sure we’re buying a property that we’re confident is going to make sense because it is easiest for us and cheapest to buy an asset that makes sense at the end of the day. You want to make investing in real estate a marathon. It is not a get rich concept, but I can tell you heading into twenty years in the business, it is absolutely a path for consistent wealth and the city of Toledo has been a stellar market for that. It is the only market that I invest in. That’s also why my company only invests here in Toledo, Ohio.
As always, thank you for your faith in our company and thank you for your commitment and investment here in Toledo.