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<a href="http://www.simplyyourarticles.com/article/Real-Estate-Investing-The-MARLA-Formula/" target="_blank">Get Paid to Submit Article like "Real Estate Investing The MARLA Formula"</a><br /><br />The ability to quickly separate the motivated sellers from the time-wasters is a valuable skill that will save you time and frustration. That's exactly what the MARLA formula is designed to do. M is for Motivation. A is for ARV (after repair value), R is for Repairs, L is for Loan balance, and A is for Asking price. The 5 magic questions are:<br /> <br /> 1. Why do you want to sell your house?<br /> <br /> 2. How much is the house worth?<br /> <br /> 3. Does the property need and fixing up?<br /> <br /> 4. What is/are the current loan balance(s)?<br /> <br /> 5. How much do you want for the house? Follow-up: Is that the least you'll accept?<br /> <br /> Let me explain why we're asking these questions.<br /> <br /> "Why are you selling the house?" reveals MOTIVATION. If the answer is indicative of a MOTIVATED SELLER, that's a good sign. If the seller shows no sign of motivation, then it's your call. I figure I've got them on the phone so I may as well get answers to my other four questions and make an offer, but that's me. Some sellers withhold information until you build rapport, then they'll spill the beans that they're MOTIVATED. Be patient. <br /> <br /> You'll get a ballpark idea of the home's market value from the answer to the second question. In most cases, sellers have a pretty good idea of what the house is worth. Do some due diligence to confirm the sellers word but initially you can just use it as a ballpark figure. When you find a seller how doesn't know the market value of their house, you might be about to get a good deal. Find out how much they want.<br /> <br /> You'll need to know what repairs the home needs to put it in good sellable condition. That's the point of the third question. Make a list of the repairs that need to be done, if any. Ask the seller for a repair estimate. It's common for seller to provide a high estimate which will work in your favor.<br /> <br /> You'll get information on the existing mortgage from the fourth question. Motivated sellers won't hesitate to tell you so don't be timid, just ask. This is an excellent question because unmotivated seller will not want to reveal this information. That's great. You've saved yourself time by quickly eliminating an unnmotivated seller which frees you up to move on to the next seller.<br /> <br /> You'll get the seller's asking price from the final question. Always ask a follow-up question to test the seller's asking price. More often than not, the seller will drop the price with a simple question that gets to the bottom line. <br /> <br /> After asking these 5 questions, you might even have enough information to make an offer, maybe not. But you'll know if you've found a motivated seller or not and you'll have done it quickly with 5 simple questions. Depending on what you've learned from the 5 magic questions, it could be time for some follow-up questions or time to make an offer but those are topics for other articles.<br>RealEstateInvesting123s is a website for people interested in making money <a href="http://www.realestateinvesting123s.com">investing in real estate</a>. For the latest ideas, tips, & tools visit today.