If there is anything I've learned about closing deals it's that speed and simplicity wins.

We were looking at deal that was white-hot in a sellers market (COVID). We knew that once this deal became noticed it would draw tons of attention (and it did). I was working with a local broker, staying close for months. One day he sent me an email in advance that he had a potential deal that was a perfect fit for us. He also wanted to expand his buyer base by working with a new operator. That's not even the sweetest part. The owner was a widowed women who inherited a real estate portfolio from her late husband. This was the last property of the portfolio since it was the best performer of the bunch. Game time.

Once I had the story and deal size I knew we needed to move quick. Initially the broker told me he would have financials in 1-2 weeks and that we would see the deal first. A week or 2 goes by, nothing. We needed to make a move or we would lose the deal. My partner and I agreed that we should immediately schedule a visit with the broker onsite to show how serious and committed we were.

We scheduled the visit, wrote up a contract and sent an offer the next morning. The offer was simple and quick. We came in just under asking and offered 50% earnest money to go hard if they inked the deal within 48 hours. Boom! They accepted and we won the deal.

Moral of the story. In a competitive environment, with a competitive deal you need to show simplicity, speed, and commitment. It's important to understand a sellers motives and to align yourself accordingly. We were able to get ahead and differentiate ourselves from the pack using these methods.