Big Fat Real Estate Checks Ep 177: Expert Secrets for Finding REAL Motivated Property Sellers

Please enjoy this transcript, but please note that it may contain a few typos. With many episodes lasting over 2 hours, it can be challenging to catch minor errors. Enjoy!

Marco:
Hey, everyone. Welcome to Big Fat Real Estate Checks. We’ve taken a little pause on recording some podcasts and we’re starting up again. Yay for 2025. I’m joined today not by Gabrielle Araish or Francesco Galuccio, but with Brett Buras. The man, the myth, the legend. Spent many years as a wholesaler, decided that he want recurring income, and that’s what he’s doing and is really excelling in a lot of different avenues, including what’s really monetizing. Monetize, Monetizable. It’s a long word. Multi. It’s like gymnasium, lots of syllables. And how to make money in the need that is now. Real estate is very cyclical. There are ups and downs. Money’s cheap, money is expensive. The market’s up, the market’s down, bullish market, bear market, flat market, sideways market, all sorts of different ways of monetizing based on what the market’s doing. 

Marco:
However, people that are motivated will be motivated in any market. And the question really is how to hone in on those motivated humans, remove the non motivated humans and really focus your time if this is the business that you want to be in on those that are motivated, not wasting your time on unmotivated people. And the more volume you have, the more you have to really sift and sort quickly who’s motivated and who’s not. And of course, the objective of this podcast is to show you that you don’t need money to make money. You need skills. You need the tools of the wealthy in order to do so. 

Marco:
And our goal, our focus, our drive are raison d’etre, our ikigai is really to help you help others and really understand what it takes to become a successful investor, successful human, and really understand that we have to come from a place of service. So if this is a series that you like, please share us, love us, comment, whatever’s necessary. And we’re very pleased that you’re here listening to us on your time. So, Brett, welcome. 

Brett:
Hello. 

Marco:
Hello. So, Brett, as you’ve ascended, you’ve really understood, I think, from the beginning of your journey that we really have to focus on those that need help, not want help. So I don’t know if you want to explore that a little bit with me with the experience that you have as a wholesaler and as you’ve transitioned into hospitality, a hotel sold it did very well. Now really heavy into mobile home parks and also doing single families as well, because the cycle’s back on that. So, yeah, let’s talk about that. 

Brett:
Yeah, and I’ll skip my past if anybody wants to know kind of what I’ve done and how you and I met. That’s in numerous podcasts of the past. So I’ll skip. Because that’s like a 16 hour story. So we’ll skip that part. I think you’re touching on something that I felt like, you know, I learned the really hard way because nobody really helped me with this part in the beginning. And it really boils down to. And you’ve heard me say this over and over, but nothing that you do is going to. No words that you would say or no cute phrases or salesy stuff is going to change someone from being unmotivated to motivated. It doesn’t really work that way. The best that you can do is to get really good at efficiently sifting and sorting non motivated and motivated people. 

Brett:
And that’s done through a communication process that actually has nothing to do with your ability to sell or buy or it’s just your ability to communicate. And the better you become as a communicator, the more efficient you get at sifting and sorting. Motivated versus unmotivated. And the reason that is so critically important is because the majority of the world, at one point in time, the majority of the world, they’re unmotivated sellers. And I’ll give you an example. Somebody’s home can be going to auction in 60 days and it is going to be a horrible, life changing, life altering experience. But they’re probably less motivated on Day 60 than they’re going to be on Day 0 or Day 5 before the auction. You can’t really do much to change that. 

Brett:
You can have a little bit of influence on it, but boy, that’s a lot of heavy lifting influence. And so your ability to sift and sort, your ability to, to not just ask good questions. So that’s a skill and that’s, I give that skill. Like that’s a pretty high skill. Your ability to ask good, effective questions is, is a, a life skill that will serve you forever. But here’s the skill that’s like better. 

Marco:
Or I wanna, Sorry to interrupt you, Brett, but I, I want to play around with this asking skill. Many will tell, hey, you’re going into foreclosure, you’re losing your house in 60 days. You’re losing your property in 60 days. So you need to do this, you need to pay attention to me. Here are the things you need to do. How’s that Going to work out. I just want touch on that very quickly. We can have a whole podcast on this later. But I think this is a very important underline as we’re discussing this for the future. 

Brett:
So if you just work on taking the things that you want to say as a statement and recraft them into a question, your whole, like, your whole life will change. 

Marco:
Why is that? 

Brett:
Because when you make the statement, it’s yours and you own it. When you ask it as a question and they answer it, they own it. And it’s, like, real important for them to own it in most cases in real estate, you’re a stranger, and so, you know, you’re not exactly the trusted advisor. We’re working on becoming a trusted advisor through that process, but you’re not there in the beginning. You will get there, and we can talk about that, too, because once you’re there, then you can really help someone. But framing things in questions rather than statements allows them to answer. They own the answer. It’s theirs. And a lot of times, they provide the solution. I’m always trying to get my counterpart to give me the solution. 

Brett:
For example, rather than a statement, we can say, you know, rather than saying, you know, the auction is. Is happening on this date and this is going to happen. I can frame that as a question. I can even ask, I’m sorry, when. We’re helping a lot of people right now. When is the. When is your auction date? They tell me the auction date. Gotcha. Has anyone shared with you what happens on that date? H. Would you like to know kind of what that process looks like? See, I’m just getting that. Yes, please tell me. I don’t know what happens. Please. Now, I’m. I’m. And this is. This takes, like, high integrity because you can manipulate people that are in bad situations and you can really hurt someone. So we’re never making promises we can’t keep. We’re never doing this to manipulate to. 

Brett:
We’re never trying to force an outcome or as they would say in court, you know, your honor, he’s leading the witness. I never want to lead the witness. I don’t want to do any of that. We just had something today where were working on a deal, and the lady called and said, hey, we just found the cash buyer. We’re good. And we said, hooray for you. Like, that’s awesome. Really happy for you. If that doesn’t work out, please let us know, because we know that about eight times out of ten, that stuff never works out. So framing Things as a question requires some discipline and it’s a muscle that you have to build, but it’s really worth building that muscle because your result will increase by probably 10.20x of what you’re getting today. 

Brett:
So framing as questions with high intent, high integrity is like a superpower. 

Marco:
Yeah. I think the focus at first has to be intake versus solve. Tell me more what happens if collect information, don’t try to solve? That’s a big mistake that I think a lot of people make as well, which we can have a whole other podcast on. 

Brett:
Well, it’s really important and if you keep this visual in your head, you walk into the doctor’s office. So I have a cough right now, and I apologize for that. 

Marco:
We’re gonna, we’re basically going to remove everything that you’re saying, so don’t worry about it. Just kidding, buddy. 

Brett:
So I walk into the doctor’s office and say, you know, I have a cough. And the doctor says, hey, I know just what you need. You need a double lung replacement. Get rid of that cough lickety split. When would you like to be scheduled for your double lung replacement? And I look at him and I go, it’s like some cough syrup I can use to just, let’s just see if this other thing might work. Right? So we all find that to be like an obnoxious example, but then we go do that with a seller. Oh, well, this is the solution. And this is the solution. We’re solution oriented. And the truth is solutions have no inherent value. You don’t even know if what you’re saying is valuable to the person you’re talking to. 

Brett:
The only way you get to value understanding value is through communication and through a conversation to where you understand what’s important to your counterpart. You understand what matters most to them. You understand what sort of solve works for them, and then you work into solving it with them if you can. And if you can’t, you’re totally fine with that. But what I was going to say earlier was asking super power. Doing it well, very important. But here’s the next piece and man, I find that people really struggle with this. We have to listen to what our counterpart is saying. I call it big ears. I use that term with my three daughters or adults now. But big ears when they were little, hey, this is the time where you have big ears. Like, shut your mouth and just listen. Now here’s the thing. 

Brett:
A lot of people will stop talking, but they’re still not listening because what they’re doing is they’re thinking about the next thing they want to say. Well, are you really serving? Do you really think that’s how great communicators operate? They just never listen. They ask brilliant questions and while the other person’s talking, they’re just thinking of the next brilliant thing they want to say. Of course not. So you have to have the discipline to listen, and that is a muscle that you have to develop. If not, you know, you just won’t be as good at this as you could be. 

Marco:
So asking questions and really listening to your counterpart is vital. 

Brett:
Yes. 

Marco:
And even though they might be losing the farm in 60 days, 15 days, 10 days, eight days, tomorrow, it doesn’t necessarily mean as well that they’re going to be motivated based on how they’re communicating. 

Brett:
That’s right. 

Marco:
And we’ve said this multiple times, you can’t flip an unmotivated seller to be motivated. There’s nothing that you can say that makes them understand that there’s a significant problem. Many people refuse to go to the doctor even when they’re having a heart attack. You’re having a heart attack and you still refuse to go to the doctor because it’s just indigestion. It’s just something else. It’s just something else and everything’s going to be fine. And next thing you know, it’s over. 

Brett:
Right. 

Marco:
And denial is not just a river in Egypt. And we’ve had. We’ve had sellers lose their property, go from a net positive number that we put in front of them to save their situation, and still refuse it because they believe that there’s another option that’s better. And once it’s done. They regret it, but there’s nothing you can do about that. 

Brett:
Yeah. So here’s a little framework that I was taught a long time ago, and it served me really well about asking questions. And it goes like this. Issues. So think about issues. You would ask questions like, so what’s going on? Or where are you on this? Or tell me more about that. So those are the issues. What are the issues going on? And then evidence. So you pick an issue and you ask like, so how’s that showing up? What’s happening there? Then we have. So we have issues, evidence, impact. So sometimes people talk about things, but even if they got solved, it wouldn’t have much of an impact. Issues, evidence, impact, context and constraints. 

Brett:
So one of the things that I find interesting is I’ll be talking to a seller and we kind of get to a decent place and I start to think to myself, well, you know, I’m clearly not the smartest person on the planet. Maybe this isn’t the first time the seller has gotten to this place. Maybe I’m the third guy, fourth guy, fifth person, eighth person, but there’s some other reason it’s not working. So, so I’m going to literally say, hey, this sounds like an interesting solution. Have you not attempt, have you not tried to do this way in the past with another investor? Have like, is this the first time you thought of this or am I the first person that thought of this? Or and here’s what happens. 

Brett:
Often they will say, well there was this other guy and this happened and that happened. And I start to learn more about, oh, so you’ve been through bankruptcy three times or there’s this other thing stopping you from getting something done or this or that. Like I never come to the conversation thinking I have these like, brilliant, you know, like original solutions for things. I come to the party thinking I’m probably the eighth guy to arrive at this conclusion with you. Why in the hell haven’t you done this already? Right. So it requires like zero ego and it requires this incredible amount of like being inquisitive, but it’s very revealing if you make no assumptions. 

Marco:
Can you give me an example of that? Because I understand completely what you’re talking about, but as a listener, I’m listening to what you just said. I’m very confused. 

Brett:
Yeah, so let’s see. 

Marco:
So. 

Brett:
Oh, you know what, on the deal that we did down in Charlotte county, so that thing was getting so tight on time because there was an auction coming. Our original play was we figured we would just get the auction date extended because you know, there’s certain situations where you can do that, right? 

Marco:
Yes. Let’s, let’s just paint a brushstroke of, of the situation. 

Brett:
So, single family house, Charlotte County, Florida. Nice, nice area. $300,000 house, ladies. Losing her home to a foreclosure auction. And it’s a private mortgage, meaning it’s just like a private individual who took out a mortgage for her. She’s defaulted on it because of health issues and other things. And so the auction’s like 10 days away. So you know, I hate being under the gun. So, so my first thought is, hey, let’s just, you know, let’s get a motion filed and let’s buy some time. Because sometimes you can do that. In fact, quite often you can do that. We’ll get a little extra time, give her some time. We can work different things out. 

Brett:
So when we’re having this conversation, and I’m not saying that as a solution, but we’re just talking about buying her home, she starts telling me about this other investor, and I realize, oh, you want to do the I have other options move with me, which is not going to go so well with me because I don’t do the you got other options move. I just leave. So the moment I really left, she came rushing back in. So then we get into a real conversation, and in that real conversation, I say, hey, it sounds like you already have a fabulous solution. This other investor’s actually willing to pay you more. Yes. But he can’t do it that quick. Oh, well, what’s going on? Why do we have to stick with this auction date? Like, why don’t we just get this extended? Oh, well, I. 

Brett:
I filed bankruptcy three times, and the judge is fed up with me. Oh, okay. Well, that’s a new interesting piece of information that I didn’t know just 30 seconds ago that totally changes the landscape of now how I have to deal with this. Oh, so now I actually have to go find money to close that fast for me to go do that. The money’s going to be more expensive, ma’am, and therefore I can’t offer you as much. I’d love to, but I can’t. So the whole dynamic changed. Right. So it’s just an example of, hey, sounds like you have other options. Sounds like you’ve been down this road. Why didn’t that work out? Or why is it not working with this other option? And then the truth starts to. The truth starts to come out, and. 

Marco:
Your power actually didn’t start really happening until your counterpart realizes that you don’t need the deal. And there’s a lot of power to that. What most do is attack. Attack, like suck, suck. Right. You’re. You’re. This deal has to work because this person has to be motivated because this person is losing their property. So I’m going to save them. It’s all about me. If you’re. If you’re in that mind space, it’s never going to work out because there’s always going to be someone that’s going to want to pay more, which means you’re going to end up paying too much, and it’s not going to work out, and you’re not going to serve your counterpart by doing that. This is a pull game, right? Asking questions so you can get the information, oh, you have another buyer. We’re not going to Compete. Out we go. 

Marco:
Pull. They chase us. Well, what’s wrong with your other buyer? Now we’re getting again, more questions. Big ears listening. So we can get all the pieces that are necessary on the board. They call basically the pieces to the puzzle. The only person that has all those pieces so this can be solved correctly is the seller. And the only way to get those pieces on the board to solve the puzzle is the seller. There’s nothing that you bring to the table at all that can put a piece on the board. All you can do is put them together, but you cannot put a variable on the board that you. That you have no control over. Only the seller can do that. 

Marco:
And the seller will not give it to you, will not trust you, unless they believe that you don’t really need it, that they understand that you have the ability to help them, but you don’t have to help them. You can, but you will only do that under your terms. Basically. 

Brett:
Yeah. And even in the solution. The solution even stays in. In question mode, where it’s like, hey, if. If we could do this, and if this were to work out, and it. You know, it still stays in this. Where. Where we. We’re leaned back, not leaned forward on these things. You have to be a little bit behind your counterpart. You cannot be, like, constantly taking their hand and dragging them through the process, because it doesn’t work. No. In human nature, something happens in our brains that says, whoa, wait a minute. Like, why is this person going so fast? I have one right now where this lady’s move has to find a new place to live. So you’re familiar with this Del Marco, but it’s the. That condo, and she. 

Marco:
She can’t. She can’t stay. No. That’s too bad. 

Brett:
Yeah. So the moment that ownership changes, new owners have to own it for two years before rent. So I can’t write back to her. So it created this mess, and now I have to close on it, like, for the full number. Anyway. She’s got to find a place to live. Well, she’s out there being, like, picky. Like, she’s looking at this, and she’s looking at that. She’s looking at this, and she’s texting me like, oh, this one’s a problem. I connected her to, like, three of my buddies who all own properties around here who have, like, perfect little situations for. Oh, that one’s on the second floor. That one’s this. I was. I almost started to get a little, you know, wound up about it, and then I almost. Almost lost well, after my heart attack, almost phase and then backing away. 

Brett:
Yeah, I just laid back and this morning she calls me at a mobile home in a mobile home park. She’s negotiating a deal. And once, you know, just letting me like it all just is working itself out because she feels that pressure of that date that’s coming at the end of the month. I don’t, I didn’t have to do anything. It’s her life, and she’s doing that now. We’re doing a lot on that deal. We’re taking care of moving, we’re doing this, we’re doing that. There’s a lot going on. But point being, I can’t go create, manufacture some manipulated stress for her. I’m, you know, I’m not going to do that. So I really care about that lady. Like, I don’t. 

Brett:
I don’t know her, but I care that she comes out of this better off than she is and that she’s in a good situation for the rest of her life. And, you know, we’re going to do everything we can within reason to make sure that happens. 

Marco:
Another point there is we’re not just looking at the deal as the deal, and that’s it. It’s the person in the deal that we want to take care of, not just the property itself. This is a big component that most don’t realize when. When we’re talking to a human being. The property is not what we’re negotiating. It’s the person’s future. Right. And I want to rewind quickly to the Charlotte deal, the Port Charlotte deal, where she was living there for a very long time and she wanted to stay. And one of the reasons that deal worked out so well is we found a way for her to stay in that deal without having to move, which is a huge component. Every investor that’s going after her wants to give her money, but she doesn’t want to move. 

Brett:
That’s right. 

Marco:
And if she does move, which she was paying before, market rents are three times more than what she was used to paying. And it’s a. That’s a big problem for her because she doesn’t have the income to support that. So even if she got a whack of cash, she wouldn’t be able to live at all in the future. So once you understand how to solve that, which is exactly what Brett did, man, no one can compete. It’s not about the numbers anymore. It’s again, about the pieces on the board. And it’s rarely the price tag. Rarely. 

Brett:
Yeah, when it’s the price you’re losing. 

25:06
Marco:
So 100%. You’ll never win on price. Never, never, never. 

Brett:
Give that to the rookies and the retail buyers and God bless them, you’ll buy from them later when they’re going belly up. Here’s what’s interesting about that solution. That solution only came about because the focus was always on how do you help the seller solve their problem. Now it took me, I operated a long time without that solution because I just simply couldn’t figure it out. But because we focused on like, how do you solve for the seller? The seller, the seller I wasn’t worried about. I know that it has to work for the investor and I know that it has to work for me. But if it doesn’t work for the seller, we never even get to the investor and we never get to me and forget about it. It’s not even worth talking about. 

Brett:
So coming up with a solution that got her what she needed protects the investor through, you know, good quality docs that are going to stand up if things go sideways. Everything else takes care of itself. And so, you know, to have a solution where we can help someone, you know, that’s not elderly but aging, been living in a house forever and can’t imagine. And that’s what all the other sellers are focused on. The number, the number, the number. Ignoring that, this, the thought, this lady, just the thought of her having to exit this home quickly was just so beyond her capability, her physical capability wasn’t there to do it. So the moment you actually go, because there was listening involved, the moment you actually say, wait a minute, here’s a solution, it does this and this. It’s not that amount of money. 

Brett:
It’s this amount of money, but it solves this other problem. She didn’t even care about the money. She just wanted to make sure she had time to transition to whatever the next, you know, part of her life was going to be. 

Marco:
But you only get that through listening and asking questions. 

Brett:
Yes. 

Marco:
And your skill set will determine what you can do with those pieces. The pieces are on the board. 

Brett:
Right. You’re not born a great, you know, question asker or. Yeah, you, you have to decide that’s what’s important to you and then you become good at it. 

Brett:
Right. And the seller will always have all the pieces that are necessary to put visually on a board and then this. So you, the skill Sets are great questions with the right person that really needs to sell, needs a solution. Looking at those pieces and seeing how we can put those together to give the seller in the order of importance. In her case, it was not as much money as possible, which is not a motivated seller, in my opinion. If someone is driven by money, you’ll never win that game. That’s not motivation. If someone needs X amount of money in order to buy something else, that’s not a motivated seller. Motivated seller is something that’s affecting them personally in their lives. Big life change. Right. 

Marco:
And once those pieces are on the board, the next skill set is how do we put those pieces in a way together in a way that solves the puzzle. And I think on the next podcast. Go ahead. 

Brett:
I think what you’re saying is, and I’ve never. I think this is probably. I know you’ve said this before, but it’s maybe the first time I’m hearing it is the seller will give you everything you need. 

Marco:
Everything. 

Brett:
Yeah, you don’t have to. Like, this isn’t about being a genius. 

Marco:
Nope. 

Brett:
Just an ability to focus on the seller. No ego. Don’t be overly aggressive. Don’t be aggressive at all. And let, yeah. Let the seller bring you everything you need to put the. Put it together and that’s how you win. 

Marco: 

Ta da. And I think on the next podcast, let’s dissect that deal if you’re okay with it. Because from cradle to grave, the pieces that were on the board and what most would do or try to do and how you turn that into a big win, I think that would be very valuable. 

Brett:
Let’s definitely do that. And let’s let in the next one. Let’s catch. Let’s talk about what comes across as motivation, but it’s really not. And a lot of people get like, hooked on some of these little things that sound like motivation, and they’re so not motivation. Yeah, they’re in the, like the rule book of brokers. Like, hey, if your seller’s not motivated, tell the buyer this, because it sounds like motivation. There’s like a handful of those things, and if you learn like some kung fu around that, you’re going to save yourself a lot of time. So, yeah, let’s go over that deal and let’s talk about some pseudo motivations. 

Marco:
All right, let’s. Let’s do it. Let’s have some fun with that. All right, well, thanks for listening, guys. Thanks, Brett, for sharing that again. Big fat real estate checks like us love us, share us, do what you got to do. Appreciate you very much as a listener. And. And you gotta play the game to win the game. And success is giving up. You can drown two inches from the edge of the pool. Remember that. So if you’re swimming, keep swimming. Don’t give up. And I know you’re gonna be successful. Thanks, guys. Appreciate you. We’ll see you on the next podcast. Bye for now.