Heavy rains are good for investors but not because of growing landscaping. Landscaping is the first thing that potential buyers see of a property so it is important. However, landscaping can be made greener by simply adding water from a hose.

More importantly heavy rains are excellent in uncovering leaks that weren't discovered on an earlier inspection. Following are three examples where unexpected heavy rains worked in the favor of Students or me.

I was buying a property with a flat roof and I went inside to check it out. What I saw was a hole through the roof about three feet in diameter. The seller had a roof leak and instead of fixing it he just let it get progressively worse until it rotted the roof away.

Interestingly it started to rain and in a couple of minutes the hole turned into a waterfall of serious proportions. I explained he would have to fix it for me to close and while he protested, he did get it fixed. Normally in this situation I would go back and run a water hose on the roof until it flooded and then check it for leaks.

However, in this case I went back out to the property in a heavy rain and went into the area below the roof repair. It wasn't a waterfall any more but it still was severely leaking water. Had I not checked the roof myself while it was raining I would have been stuck with paying for another roof repair after closing!

In another instance I got a call from a Student in Illinois who was getting ready to do a closing using an Assignment of Contract. She happened to go by the property after a heavy rain and found out the basement had a serious leak. She started out by saying that she was buying it "As Is" and that she guessed she had to accept the leak.

WRONG! The seller had not disclosed this "Material Defect" to my Student which violates the terms of every real estate contract. I explained she would have to disclose it to her buyer but to first have a contractor give an estimate of repairs and then get a price reduction from the seller.

She should then disclose the condition to the buyer with the repair estimate and give him the price reduction that the seller was giving her (the Student). The end-buyer may well simply waterproof the basement walls with a sealer and leave it at that but full disclosure is important so you don't get sued for fraud. Just because your contract says "As Is" doesn't mean a court will forgive your hiding the defect from an unsuspecting buyer!

change your life mentoring click button j 300x236 1In another property I had I found water on the floor of a bedroom after a heavy rain. I patched the exterior of the building around the base of the home because the water appeared to be coming in onto the slab (floor). It worked for a couple of light rains but after the next hard rain, the floor was soaked again. I tried patching every external crack and even checked the roof over the wet area with no obvious problem.

After another heavy rain and more water on the floor another thing happened. About 10 feet away in a bathroom the ceiling caved into the adjacent bathtub! As I looked up into the attic through the gaping hole, I could see that a roof leak allowed water to drain onto a beam which run toward the bedroom area and then inside a wall and out the bottom onto the floor.

We fixed the roof and even after the next very heavy rain, the water on the floor problem stopped. Then we replaced the ceiling and moved on. This house was built when plaster was used instead of drywall for ceilings and walls. The plaster ceiling absorbed most of the lighter rains and didn't even stain – just formed a tiny 1/16" crack before it collapsed. If you have a water leak, don't assume you know where it's coming from as it can be many feet away especially if it is where an icemaker hose is involved.

To your limitless success,
Dave Dinkel

Real Estate Mentor Program Founder

Visit davedinkel.com for full privacy policy, terms of use, etc.  Be sure to contact us through the website at davedinkel.com if you have questions or concerns ([email protected]).  Results mentioned in this presentation and any video, article, and/or material related to Dave Dinkel and his associated businesses are not typical nor are a guarantee of any earning potential.  No advice is to be construed as legal, accounting, or professional advice EVER.  Please consult related licensed and qualified professionals before taking any action.  No person(s) mentioned in the articles and /or shown on videos received compensation in any form for their opinions.

Heavy rains are good for investors but not because of growing landscaping. Landscaping is the first thing that potential buyers see of a property so it is important. However, landscaping can be made greener by simply adding water from a hose.

More importantly heavy rains are excellent in uncovering leaks that weren't discovered on an earlier inspection. Following are three examples where unexpected heavy rains worked in the favor of Students or me.

I was buying a property with a flat roof and I went inside to check it out. What I saw was a hole through the roof about three feet in diameter. The seller had a roof leak and instead of fixing it he just let it get progressively worse until it rotted the roof away.

Interestingly it started to rain and in a couple of minutes the hole turned into a waterfall of serious proportions. I explained he would have to fix it for me to close and while he protested, he did get it fixed. Normally in this situation I would go back and run a water hose on the roof until it flooded and then check it for leaks.

However, in this case I went back out to the property in a heavy rain and went into the area below the roof repair. It wasn't a waterfall any more but it still was severely leaking water. Had I not checked the roof myself while it was raining I would have been stuck with paying for another roof repair after closing!

In another instance I got a call from a Student in Illinois who was getting ready to do a closing using an Assignment of Contract. She happened to go by the property after a heavy rain and found out the basement had a serious leak. She started out by saying that she was buying it "As Is" and that she guessed she had to accept the leak.

WRONG! The seller had not disclosed this "Material Defect" to my Student which violates the terms of every real estate contract. I explained she would have to disclose it to her buyer but to first have a contractor give an estimate of repairs and then get a price reduction from the seller.

She should then disclose the condition to the buyer with the repair estimate and give him the price reduction that the seller was giving her (the Student). The end-buyer may well simply waterproof the basement walls with a sealer and leave it at that but full disclosure is important so you don't get sued for fraud. Just because your contract says "As Is" doesn't mean a court will forgive your hiding the defect from an unsuspecting buyer!

change your life mentoring click button j 300x236 1In another property I had I found water on the floor of a bedroom after a heavy rain. I patched the exterior of the building around the base of the home because the water appeared to be coming in onto the slab (floor). It worked for a couple of light rains but after the next hard rain, the floor was soaked again. I tried patching every external crack and even checked the roof over the wet area with no obvious problem.

After another heavy rain and more water on the floor another thing happened. About 10 feet away in a bathroom the ceiling caved into the adjacent bathtub! As I looked up into the attic through the gaping hole, I could see that a roof leak allowed water to drain onto a beam which run toward the bedroom area and then inside a wall and out the bottom onto the floor.

We fixed the roof and even after the next very heavy rain, the water on the floor problem stopped. Then we replaced the ceiling and moved on. This house was built when plaster was used instead of drywall for ceilings and walls. The plaster ceiling absorbed most of the lighter rains and didn't even stain – just formed a tiny 1/16" crack before it collapsed. If you have a water leak, don't assume you know where it's coming from as it can be many feet away especially if it is where an icemaker hose is involved.

To your limitless success,
Dave Dinkel

Real Estate Mentor Program Founder

Frequently Asked Questions

If you feel you have been ghosted, act decisively and quickly. If you have tried texting and calling, it's time to drive by the seller's location. I always take the recorded Notice of Interest or Memorandum of Contract to leave, so the seller knows it exists. Go by at a time when you know they will be there and don't be confrontational, just get the facts.

In our experience with new investors, the chances of losing a deal with no contract is likely over 85%. Verbal commitments do not apply in contract law; get everything in writing, especially contract changes.

Different 'gurus' have different opinions, but our experience is finding motivated sellers and then a buyer for your deal. Ideally, you should be finding motivated buyers from day one, so you are ready when you find a seller. Buyers are easier to find as you can see at https://davedinkel.com/products/
Prevention only comes about by thinking a Black Hat wholesaler will be coming after your deal. First, educate the seller that an unscrupulous investor may come by and illegally offer more money, have the seller sign your "Notice to Homeowner," stating that he understands he cannot accept another offer.
There is nothing illegal about changing their mind, it is called seller remorse and occurs about 25% of the time. However, if they have signed your contract, it can't be cancelled for any reason unless acceptable to the investor/buyer.
If price is an objection, you need to find out how important it is to sell fast and for cash. If the seller isn't under a time constraint, has a money issue, or has a personal dilemma, he may not agree to the price you need. Offer to help move and build it into your price before you make your offer. However, never give the seller money; only pay the moving company, and only after closing (escrow with a closing agent). If fear is the seller's issue, break it down into what the real problem is and answer their objections one at a time.
You can get to the root of motivation for a seller by asking a few questions. First, "Why are you selling?", "How soon can you close?", and Are you ready to sign an AGREEMENT today, if not, what do I have to do to make you comfortable?'. The answers to these questions will determine the truth about your seller's motivations.
The best times to involve your attorney in your deals are to have him review your contracting, review the signed contracts from the seller and end buyer, have him open escrow and start the title work, negotiate with city or counties for lien reductions or mortgage payoffs with lenders, and to close the transactions." Your attorney is not the adversary; it's the opposing party's attorney who is a deal killer, and having your attorney allows him to help overcome this obstacle.
The key to successful prospecting and bringing back deals that didn't close is to follow up until the property is transferred in the public record. Some of our deals have been where the seller came back to us months and years later because they felt comfortable with us and not the other "pushy" investors who contacted them.
Your contract's most important clauses are inspection period (as long as possible), when the EMD must be deposited if at all, your ability to access the property, any added clauses specific to the property that will protect you against seller claims later that were verbal only.

Visit davedinkel.com for full privacy policy, terms of use, etc.  Be sure to contact us through the website at davedinkel.com if you have questions or concerns ([email protected]).  Results mentioned in this presentation and any video, article, and/or material related to Dave Dinkel and his associated businesses are not typical nor are a guarantee of any earning potential.  No advice is to be construed as legal, accounting, or professional advice EVER.  Please consult related licensed and qualified professionals before taking any action.  No person(s) mentioned in the articles and /or shown on videos received compensation in any form for their opinions.