Habits of Successful Real Estate Agents: Contracts, Offers, and Sales Techniques
Previous: Preparing to Become a Successful Agent
Chapter 10 is the longest chapter in Bob Helms’ book, and for good reason. It covers the habits that separate top agents from everyone else. This first part focuses on something most agents get wrong: how to write offers that actually win.
Stop Focusing on Getting OUT of the Contract
Bob starts with a mindset shift that most beginners need to hear. New agents spend too much time loading their offers with contingencies so they can escape the contract if something goes wrong. But here’s the problem: if your offer is buried in escape clauses, you won’t win the bid in the first place.
Bob’s point is direct. If you don’t win the bid, it doesn’t matter how protected you were by all those contingencies. You’re an observer, not a participant.
The goal is to minimize contingencies and show the seller that you and your client are serious buyers who expect to perform. Every competitive bidding situation calls for a win-win approach and the strongest offer you can put together.
What Makes a Strong Offer
Bob lays out a practical checklist for looking strong, even when you’re bidding below asking price. Because sellers aren’t just looking for their price. They’re also looking for surety, meaning confidence that the deal will actually close.
Here’s what he recommends:
Offer a large earnest money deposit. You might only be liable for 1-5% if you default, but putting up more money upfront shows you’re serious. You’ll need the full down payment in 30-60 days anyway.
Shorten your inspection period. Get commitments from inspectors early and limit your due diligence timeline accordingly.
Attach a loan preapproval letter. If you’re using financing, this removes a major concern for the seller.
Include a 1031 exchange cooperation clause if you know the seller is doing an exchange. This prevents the seller from having to write a counter-offer just to add it, which avoids the “well, since we’re writing a counter anyway” problem.
Pre-negotiate extensions. If you anticipate delays in closing, build the extension into the original offer. Sellers are much more likely to agree to an extension upfront than if you surprise them with it later.
Keep the ability to assign the contract. Use “Joe Buyer, and/or assigns” as the buyer identification. This isn’t about flipping. Both you and your clients may have partners or entities that need to be named later.
This is solid advice and honestly applies to more than just investment properties. The core idea is to remove friction for the seller. Make it easy for them to say yes.
Ask What the Seller Really Wants
This is probably the single most powerful tip in the chapter. Before writing any offer, ask the listing agent: “What does the seller really want?”
Most agents assume they know. The seller wants their price, a quick close, and to sell as-is. But Bob says that’s often a serious mistake. Many listing agents don’t even know what their seller truly wants because they’re assuming their seller is like every other seller.
If you’re the listing agent, ask your seller to explain in detail what matters most to them. If you’re the buyer’s agent, ask the seller’s agent to find out. This simple step can completely change how you structure a deal.
The Erroneous Assumption Sale
Bob illustrates this with a real story. He and Robert were buying a fourplex to upgrade and flip. The seller was doing a 1031 exchange, so they assumed he wouldn’t carry a purchase money loan because that loan would be taxable as boot instead of tax-deferred.
But when they asked what the seller really wanted, they learned he couldn’t find anyone willing to pay his asking price. So they offered a higher price in exchange for the seller carrying a short-term second loan. The increased price more than offset the seller’s tax penalty, and the seller agreed.
They completed the purchase, refurbished the property, and made about $100,000 in profit when they resold it.
And that’s why Bob calls it the erroneous assumption sale. If they had stuck with their original assumption that the seller couldn’t carry paper, there would have been no sale at all.
The Offering Summary Letter
The second technique Bob has used for years is submitting every offer with a one-page offering summary letter. This is especially important when you can’t present the offer in person.
The letter does three things:
First, it summarizes the offer highlights. The deposit amount, down payment, loan details, total price, contingency timeline, and closing date. All laid out clearly at the top so the seller can see the strength of the offer immediately.
Second, it describes the buyer. Their qualifications, motivation, financial strength, and credit score. This addresses the seller’s need for surety. You want the seller to feel confident that this buyer can and will close.
Third, it sells the buyer’s agent. Your track record, your closing rate, your experience. In the book, Bob’s example letter mentions his 30+ year career and over 95% closing rate on every transaction undertaken. If you don’t have that kind of track record yet, describe your company’s experience and your team’s capabilities instead.
Bob shares an example where his buyer was not the highest bidder but still won the contract. Why? Because the seller was convinced the buyer offered the best surety and was the only one who asked about and granted the seller five extra days to stay in the property after closing.
That’s a deal that was won by asking a simple question and writing a good summary letter. Not by offering the most money.
My Take
The common thread in all of these techniques is empathy. Understanding what the other side actually needs, not what you assume they need, and then structuring the deal around that. It sounds obvious, but most agents are too busy protecting themselves to think about what the seller really wants.
And the offering summary letter is the kind of thing that takes maybe 30 minutes to write but can be the difference between winning and losing a competitive bid. It’s a small edge that adds up over dozens of transactions.
Next: Habits of Successful Agents - Networking and Referrals
This post is part of a series retelling “Be in the Top 1%: A Real Estate Agent’s Guide to Getting Rich in the Investment Property Niche” by Bob Helms (Robert P. Helms). ISBN: 978-0-9983125-9-0. Published 2018.