I sometimes find it amusing that so much time is spent by investors wondering how they will find motivated Sellers.  Being "in the industry" of real estate sales, of course, allows me a different perspective than if I weren't a professional Realtor.

The way we (REALTORS) discover motivated Sellers is to interview an interested prospect, perform the market analysis, go through the process of explaining fantasy pricing (what they'd like to get) vs. reality pricing (the likely market price), then to coach the sellers on the need for proper preparation.  If they want a maximum price, they must provide a product of the quality indicated by the price.   

As REALTORS, we want our sellers to realize a sale at the highest possible price.  We also have to face the music that if they won't list at the price which is our absolute best case market price, we may need to walk away from the listing.   Most times, an overpriced listing is worse than no listing at all!  Why?  The overpriced seller becomes a nightmare, demanding exorbitant amounts of time, open houses, advertising, is often unwilling to improve quality of presentation expecting the market to accept the house in "as-is" condition, etc.  It's like trying to sell a beat up old car with a flat tire for the price of a "cream puff".  Ain't gonna happen.     

Many will just take the listing then do a thing I call "bait and wait", the subject of another blog post.   Through this process, what we uncover is whether we actually have a motivated Seller.  I don't know about other Realtors yet it's much the same for all of us -- if I can't get a listing at or below my absolute best case price then I know I'm not dealing with a motivated Seller.  They don't really want to sell their house, they just want to create a monument to the community, with my name on the sign, advertising to the world what a poor listing agent I really am.  They make a decision to list at the fantasy price then to wait until the appreciation catches up to the price.  

Fortunately, the most motivated Sellers have already listed their property with a Realtor!  Why can I say that?  Because they have already committed to paying a substantial fee to sell!  So, when my investor clients want to go fishing for motivated sellers, I remind them that the most motivated Sellers usually have a REALTOR'S sign in the ground already.   

It's a great service that we offer, and when that problematic listing does finally sell, it's an awesome feeling to present the Seller with the proceeds check.  I did that today and it's a wonderful feeling.   For 5 months that listing sat, but I knew I had a motivated seller, because he listed in the price range I indicated, and because they continued prepping until the property finally sold. 

Motivated Sellers are actually easy to find (just look for the sign) and with them it is a joy to work!