Sidney Torres bought his first investment property with a $40,000 loan co-signed by his grandmother.
“As soon as I finished that house, I ended up getting it appraised for $100,000 more than I actually had in it. I refinanced that house and I took that money and I bought another house next-door,” he tells CNBC.
Since then, the self-made millionaire has developed over $250 million in commercial and residential real estate.
On Wednesday’s episode of CNBC’s “The Deed,” in which Torres uses his money and expertise to help struggling property investors, he shares the key to selling any property quickly: an accurate listing price.
“Brochures and staging helps, but there’s nothing that sells a property quicker than listing it for the right price,” the real estate mogul says. The price-tag should “grab someone’s eye and make them want it.”
Choosing a sales price that’s too high can mean you’ll have to lower the price later, putting you in a vulnerable position, says Torres: “It makes people feel like you’re desperate or they’re going to be able to take advantage of the situation because you’re lowering the price.”
Plus, you simply may not be able to make the sale, which happened to one novice flipper on “The Deed” who chose to list his property for $30,000 more than Torres recommended.
Torres prefers to list his properties at an attractive price, “so people feel like, ‘We’ve got to jump on this or we lose it,'” he says.
Plus, if you sell quickly, there’s an added bonus beyond just collecting your money sooner: “If a developer turns a property quicker, it’s a good look and the banks love it.”