You Miss 100% of the Shot’s You Don’t Take

You Miss 100% of the Shot’s You Don’t Take (Wayne Gretzky)

Over the weekend I put in an offer on a property that I didn’t even go see.   More importantly, I really didn’t think I would get it.  Get this… I got it!!!

Now to give you context, right now in the Barrie we have a seller’s market.  That means for the most part sellers are dictating prices within reason and often getting them.  We are seeing not many listings and many multiple offers on properties most selling for over asking.

This property had no pictures which is an indication that something is up with the house.  The question is what?

Here is what I did know when making the offer.  I loved the area it is in and I knew that the lowest sold in the area over the last 3 months was $420k.  Minimum a $30 k buffer, worse case scenario.  It was 30 years old, so relatively young compared to what I have been buying a plus in my world.   A younger house has an increased chance of having a breaker panel over fuses.  Increased chances of copper wires and not aluminum wiring.  No chance of galvanized plumbing.  Windows although might be 30 years old unlikely to be wood.

I knew I could build it into a legal secondary suite and land at a forced appreciation price of at least $550k. My offer was listed price of $390K, with a short inspection time and no financing conditions, clean but in my opinion because not over listing not likely to get the house.

In my head and my realtor’s for that matter we were convinced that someone was going to bid over.   My realtor was in Mexico and frankly I didn’t want to take the time to go look at a property I was unlikely to get.

Here’s the thing, we put the offer in because of the location, the $30k spread to address any significant deficiency’s in the house, and the ability to build it into a legal suite.  We included the 3 day inspection period to get out of it if need be.  Even if you think there is little chance you will get the property, it is important to keep up the momentum of making offers.  To keep the positive energy of making deals even in hot markets, a flowing.  Truth is you just never know when the opportunity will flow your way.  Sooner or later your going to connect.

In hindsight, why do I think I got the nod?  First, I am looking at what’s new on the market daily.  Shopping daily, comparing prices daily.  So, when I see an outlier that is 30K below lowest, I pick up on it quickly.  In a hot market speed becomes your friend.  You need to take action put an offer out immediately, early bird gets the worm if you will.

Second, I am able to make those quick decisions because I have had bad situations happen before and know the cost of repair.  I have had carpenter ants that ate through my joists,  floods that destroyed basements, furnaces that went, asbestos in attics, pipes that have frozen.  I know that there is enough of a cushion in the price to cover any significant issue that might not be caught in the inspection.  Let me say, the fear of the unknown is still there just strongly countered by a “you got this girl”.

Thirdly, this one might be coming from left field for you but I have an expectation that deals will flow to me right now both from an investor perspective and purchasing perspective.  I have my ALLOW deals to flow mentality running.  No fear in how I will pay for them just an understanding that they are on their way and the money will flow in perfect timing.  So may seem airy fairy to you but this is what you need to take away from it.  In this mentality, I spend zero time worrying about how to find them, or how to fund them.  ALL my time and energy is spent on looking for opportunities and potential of what can be.   When we have this mindset the potential solutions are endless and there is an energy shift that attracts more of the same to you.

Finally, unbeknownst to me because I never went to see the property, there is no power to the property.  In fact, there are a tonne of wires hanging down in the basement.  My guess these wires and lack of power turned a lot of potential buyers away.  Experience tells me that these issues are irrelevant particularly if I am going to be ripping the property apart to build a legal secondary suite.

Lesson to be taken here, is it is never a bad idea to put an offer in on a property you know is a good price.  As Wayne Gretzky says you will miss 100% of the shots you do not take.  You never know when one of those shots might just land on the highlight reel, against all odds.