Offer REJECTED? You've Got OPTIONS

There’s a house we want in Lincolnton.

But there’s a problem.

At $240k, the owner’s asking price is too high for us to buy and fully renovate.

Still, we tried.

$190k offer.

Rejected.

There was a time when I would have said, “Oh well, next,” and moved on.

But not anymore.

We’ve started looking at every deal like it’s life-or-death.

And since we’re not ready to die, we moved to option two: light cosmetic renovation.

Paint cabinets instead of replacing them.

Carpet instead of hardwoods.

That sort of thing.

$200k offer.

Rejected again.

But remember — life or death.

So we still didn’t walk away.

Instead, I went to the house.

I walked around with the owner, ostensibly asking about the property… but really asking about his story.

When did you move here?

Why?

I know you’re moving to Arkansas — but why Arkansas?

I knew he needed to sell the house.

But I also knew that before I could solve the problem, I needed to understand his problem.

Mostly I let him talk.

During the conversation I mentioned that we probably couldn’t increase our offer.

Then I asked the crucial question:

“Why not just list the house with Brooke?”

“Well,” he said, “the Realtors all want me to declutter… and there’s just too much. I can’t do it.”

Bingo.

Here’s the thing.

This is an up-and-coming area where young couples want houses they can build sweat equity into.

And do you know who doesn’t care about clutter?

Young couples buying sweat-equity houses.

“Tell you what,” I said.

“Let me go back and see if there’s anything I can do to get a higher offer approved. And I’ll circle back with Brooke. I think you can sell this house exactly as it sits.”

Of course, Brooke had already seen the house the week before.

I knew he could.

I told the seller I was confident listing would be the best solution for him, but that I’d call him back later that afternoon.

By the time I called, he’d made up his mind.

“I want to list it with Brooke.”

So:

Option one — buy and renovate with a potential $75k profit — is gone.

Option two — light cosmetic renovation with maybe $40k profit — also gone.

But option three just opened up.

Referring the listing to Brooke.

That will come with about a $1,800 referral check.

The lead cost us about $300.

That’s a 6x return.

And six more leads we can buy in the same area.

Not too bad.

Especially for a lead that, not too long ago, I would have walked away from the moment my first offer was rejected.

Turns out sometimes the deal isn’t the house.

Sometimes the deal is just staying in the game long enough to find the next option.