Learning "How to Write Money Making Offers" is one of the most exciting skills you'll learn as a Real Estate Entrepreneur. It's a lot like learning how to print money legally. These skills will literally change the way you think about Real Estate Investment. Not only will these skills open new doors of opportunity to you, they will also give you the confidence to profit from opportunities you once thought out of your reach.

But before we get started, listen to what I have to say, and listen closely...

The value of this information is more than just dollars and cents. Money comes and goes. The skills and attitudes stay with you forever.

It's the confidence the skills impart. The new found sense of freedom. The change in the way you view the world around you.

Protect this information. Don't lose it. Read it more than once. Read it again after you have had an opportunity to think about some of these concepts. Read it after you've put some of these skills into practice. Don't just read it once and forget about it (which I'm not sure is possible). Don't underestimate the value of these skills!

Learn To Take 100% Responsibility

When it comes to "Writing Money Making Offers" you have to take 100% of the responsibility. Nobody is going to do it for you. You have to be proactive and make the offer the way you want to make it. Not the way it's always been done. Or the way the pre-printed form dictates. But do it the way you choose to do it.

The real tragedy is most people will never be exposed to the idea of freedom of choice. But… you've been exposed. And now, what you do with your freedoms is your choice. You can choose to give your freedoms up and be no better off than an animal, or you can exercise your freedom to choose and become more proactive. Like I said… it's your choice.

Printing Money… Legally!

O.K. Let's figure out what were trying to accomplish in "Writing Money Making Offers". We're not just trying to buy a house under favorable price and terms. That's not a bad goal but it's a little confining. What we're really trying to do is Create Value!

We're going to take an ordinary piece of paper, put some ink on it, get it signed and then...... take it to the Bank. Just like cashing or depositing a check. We want our paper to have value. Real Estate is just our vehicle.

Well then, what constitutes Value?

The most obvious is Price. If we can get a Contract accepted on a piece of property below market value it should be worth something. Or, if we get a Contact accepted at market value and someone else is willing to pay more, we have created value.

But terms are where the real action takes place. Anything is possible with terms. At some point, price makes no difference with the proper terms (in fact, price really is a term). We'll talk more about terms later, but suffice it to say, terms create real Value.

People used to say, "You name the price and I'll name the terms, or you name the terms and I'll name the price". In fact, you may have used this yourself. If accepted, this becomes a no lose situation for the Buyer. But more often than not, this just lets the Seller know there has to be something (value) in it for the Buyers or the deal won't go together.

Our Goal is to Create Value

Now that we've established our goal, let's talk about how to accomplish it. The very first thing we should do is get off the preprinted forms. The best way to do this is to learn how to modify these forms (Contracts). The reason is this...

All preprinted forms have a built in bias. To understand the bias, you either need to know who drafted the form and for what purpose, or read the form and see how it conflicts with your goal of creating value. The one thing you can be sure of is this:

Unless you drafted a preprinted form yourself, it doesn't represent your best interests.

We live in a world of preprinted forms. So it becomes paramount we learn how to modify these forms in the least offensive way. Let's look at an example...

What happens when Susie Salesperson calls you up with a really good deal. You meet her at the property and decide to make an offer. Immediately, Susie becomes excited and pulls out (careful now) one of her companies preprinted Contracts. There are only a couple of blanks to fill in. All of the rest has already been taken care of for you (or to you).

What are you going to do?

If you refuse to use her Contract, she may never call you again. Or worse yet, she may think you're some kind of scam artist. Gossip gets around quick in the world of real estate. You want to make the offer and you want Susie to like and trust you. How can we accomplish our goal and not send up red flags?

Well, as it turns out, the offer and acceptance process is not exactly a clean game. The typical Buyer and Seller make several changes as to price and terms before a Contract is finalized. Now, these are not the same changes we might make, but they do make changes. It's not neat and pretty because they typically just scratch through what they don't like (such as price) and write in what they do like… then initial it.

It's a dirty job but someone has to do it!

This is not exactly high tech. But it is typical in the industry. So, how can we use this to our advantage? Here's what I recommend...

Use the standard preprinted Real Estate Contract accepted in your area. If you haven't read this form, get your hands on one and read it. Note those areas (preprinted clauses) which are not in your best interest. Also take note of all the blanks you will have to fill in.

Our strategy then becomes to fill in the blanks with words and phrases to benefit us and modify the preprinted clauses to our advantage. In other words, we are going to take a Seller's Contract and turn it into a Buyer's Contract with the least amount of resistance on the part of either the Seller or their Agent.

What you need to know about Contracts...

When modifying a Contract remember that hand written language is given top priority. Next comes type written language, then comes printed (boilerplate) language. Language in an Addendum, takes priority over any conflicting language in the body of the Contract. You don't have to scratch out the part you don't like (although this is an option) just add conflicting language of a higher priority. Keep this order of priority in mind when modifying a Contract.

Any ambiguity in the language of a Contract is considered the problem of the maker. This means there is a higher level of responsibility placed on the party who composes the Contract than on the other party. Sometimes... it is to your advantage to use and modify other's Contracts versus creating your own. Just be sure to read the entire Contract and modify it with words which are easy to understand.

Contracts can be binding and create liability. Keep this in the fore front of your mind. Ask yourself this question: "What if something happens and I'm not able to perform as agreed?" What is your exposure? Always limit your liability. Always!

So... the easiest way to modify Susie's Company Contract is to be prepared with an Addendum with all of your goodies spelled out. An Addendum is a piece of paper with language in it that modifies a Contract. An Addendum is attached to a Contract. All you need to do is write "See attached Addendum" on the face of the original Contract. This should be mentioned in the "Special Provisions" section of the original Contract. In addition, you could write this in any blank on the Contract where you want to refer to the Addendum for additional details.

Using an Addendum makes modifying a Contract easy. And the best part is that you can prepare an Addendum ahead of time when you are not under any pressure. You can think it through and make sure you don't miss anything.

Our other alternative is to modify the Contract on the fly. Because you will be more apt to make a mistake or forget something with this method, I would recommend you carry with you a Contract Checklist. A Checklist will save you a lot of misery (and make you a lot of moola).

When modifying a Contact on the fly, make any changes under the "Special Provisions" section of the Contract. Generally, you will find the space allocated for "Special Provisions" to be inadequate. Susie's Company and the maker of the Contract really don't want a lot of Special Provisions (they would just assume Susie fill out the contract and you sign it). Be careful here. Don't leave something out just because you feel squeezed for space. Figure out a way to get everything included, even if it means attaching a handwritten Addendum.

Tell it all, Brother!

Believe it or not, most Contracts have Contingencies in them. A Contingency is something which must occur before the Contract is binding. A typical Contingency in most Real Estate Contracts is Financing. The terms on most houses Susie sells are cash to a new loan. That is, the Buyer must go out and secure financing on her own. The Contract is usually contingent on the Buyer being able to secure Financing. It would be hard for most people to buy, even if you tried to force them to buy, without some type of Financing. So Financing becomes a Contingency.

Another widely accepted Contingency is Insurable Title. The Seller, in most Contracts, agrees to deliver good and marketable title. If any defects are found in the title (and left uncured) the Buyer can request his Earnest Money be refunded and be released from the Contract.

These are just a few Contingencies. Read and become familiar with the Real Estate Contract that's accepted in your part of the world. It won't take you long to become an expert if you know what to look for.

And speaking of Contingencies...

We may want to put in a Contingency or two for our own protection. This is another one of those choices we can make. Contingencies can help you or hurt you. It's your responsibility to insure they help you. Contingencies can have the effect of turning a Purchase Contract into an option of sorts. They can give you control over a piece of property without the corresponding liability. What if, in Susie's Contract we put in a provision that said "Buyer to have 30 days to inspect and approve of said property or this contract shall be null and void." Isn't this just like a 30 day option.

Now, I know what you're thinking. What kind of seller would agree to that? Well, a Motivated Seller would, if you sold them on the idea correctly. You see, it's hard to tell from walking through a house if it has structural damage, or termites, or bad plumbing, or whatever. You really need more time or the help of experts to make these determinations. Aren't "Home Inspections" becoming more and more a part of the home buying process?

There are a lot of different Contingencies and different ways to mask them. Don't get too cute with Contingencies. The best way to use them is to be up front and honest about what you are trying to accomplish.

Oh yeah! Consider making your Contingencies "self liquidating". In the clause above, if you don't do anything, you don't incur any further liability. The Contract just becomes null and void. As opposed to requiring action on your part which for some reason (like you forgot) you fail to perform. And always disclose, disclose, disclose...

Being open and up front with Sellers and their Agents will not only let you sleep better at night but it has the effect of negotiating people's expectations. Once people understand what you're trying to accomplish (and like and trust you), they will actually do the negotiating for you. They expect certain things and they accept them more readily.

Your biggest Advantage

Think about these basics. Your biggest advantage as a Real Estate Entrepreneur is being able to make the right choices. It's your quickness and agility. It's your maneuverability. But you have to be responsible. You have to learn to represent your own best interest. Be proactive.

In the process, we'll strive to accomplish our goal of Creating Value.