Page 209 - Trump University Commercial Real Estate 101

I W ish Someone Had Told Me These Things

• “ Add fifty percent to any deadline this guy promises you, because

he will not be on time. ”
• “ Go ahead and do the deal, but remember that the deal that just
bombed on the South Side was also his. ”

I caution you elsewhere in this book to make sure that the person
you ’ re negotiating with also gets a good deal. If your ego insists
that you act like the Terminator in every transaction, your movie
career will soon be over.
When in doubt, think about what will most burnish your reputa-
tion for the long term, and take that option. When the next sweet, off -
market deal comes along, the other party will often choose the investor
with the best reputation.

Pay Them Fast

Years ago I started a contracting business. Sometimes I had 18 guys and
up to 30 sub - contractors doing business for me on multiple projects.
I was given a simple but great piece of advice by my mentor, Mark
Shavel: Always pay your subcontractors fast. When they call to get a check,
show up at the job site with checkbook in hand. If they complete the
job properly, cut the check on the spot.
Yes, the contract stipulates that I have three days to inspect and
another seven days to cut the check. Other, so - called clever , contrac-
tors would push this delay to the limit. Mark said that if I paid faster
than expected, I ’ d be the favorite contractor, and was he ever right.

Really good subcontractors are hard to find and harder to keep
because they are in such high demand. By being known as a good and
fast payer, these subs, as they were known, were eager to work for me.
In fact, they were willing to drop what they were doing when I had an
emergency or needed a particular job done really fast.
Here, too, word would get around that “ Lindahl ’ s a good guy to
work for. ” That seven - word testimonial was precious to me, and made
my projects go so much better.

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