4 Easy Tips for Fall Home Staging
By Tarek El Moussa
If you’ve watched any episodes of our show, Flip or Flop, then you know that Christina and I have been in the house flipping business since the real estate crash in 2008. While I think it’s pretty clear from our show, our blogs, and our work that we’re the real deal, that hasn’t stopped some people from calling us scammers. I was talking with Christina about that the other day, and it got me thinking about how important reputation is. In addition to learning how to flip houses to make extra money with no scams tripping you up, you also need to learn how to conduct yourself so that buyers, sellers, and other legitimate real estate professionals won’t think you’re a scammer.
The problem is, there are a lot of real estate scams out there. People are so used to running into scammers on the Internet (and in real life) that they tend to be suspicious when they see a good deal. So how can you put people at ease and let them know that you’re a legitimate, honest real estate investor? Here are a few tips that have helped me and Christina over the years.
Don’t Make Your Pitches Sound Too Good to Be True
First, whether you’re talking to a motivated seller, a private investor, a contractor, or a buyer, don’t make your pitches sound too good to be true. Basically, if you promise more than you can deliver, the person you’re pitching to is going to know it. They’re going to start looking for the catch, and they’re probably going to find it pretty quickly. Or they’re going to just say no and walk away without looking further into your offer.
Fortunately, it’s pretty easy to avoid this. Just stick to the truth. Yes, you want to make every deal sound as good as possible, and you want to highlight the benefits of investing in your project, buying your house, or selling a house to you, but don’t bend the truth when you do this. Always have concrete evidence to back up your numbers, and always have great work to show your buyers.
Always Do Great Work
Speaking of which, thanks to a few bad apples, people tend to be suspicious of house flippers. They think that you’re going to do poor work and make cheap updates to your properties because you want to make the most profit possible. The more people in the industry do great work on their rehabs, the more we can dispel that myth. Plus, when prospective buyers ask about your work, you can point to all of your quality projects, and you can even get your previous buyers to act as references.
Know Your Scams
This helpful article from Forbes detailing “Three Real Estate Scams and How to Avoid Them” is a great place to start, but you should stay up to date on all of the latest scams out there. Knowing what real estate scammers are doing will not only help you avoid getting scammed yourself, but it’ll also help you avoid sounding like you’re pulling the same kind of scam.
With our Success Path Education workshops, Christina and I show new real estate investors how to change their careers and make extra money with no scams. To do that, we go a long way to show that we’re really who we say we are and that we make our money fixing and flipping houses. You can do the same, but you’re going to have to make sure that you look and sound as legitimate as you are.
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