Rick Otton
“I understand how to structure deals — and, crucially, how to get the people involved to want to make them happen.”
For more the 40 years he’s been solving difficult property transactions by looking beyond the conventional structure
You need the right thinking — and the right words to make the deal happen. He’s the founder of We Buy Houses, a property business he built from a single deal in Dallas, Texas into a brand operating across the USA, Australia, New Zealand, the UK, Spain, Greece, and Asia.
Meet Rick Otton
40+ years of deals, people, mistakes, breakthroughs — and learning what actually makes a transaction work.
Rick Otton isn’t interested in simply teaching you another property strategy. His focus is on something far more fundamental:
What makes another person want to do the deal with you? Because a deal can look brilliant on paper. The numbers can work. The structure can work. The opportunity can be real.
But if the people involved don’t want to move forward, none of it matters. “Rick’s approach brings together structured deal thinking, human behaviour, communication and practical transaction experience…”— helping people understand not just what to do, but also how to create the conditions that make the outcome possible.
The foundation started long before property.
In 1980, Rick became an acknowledged contributor to the original Body Language book, followed by Talk Language. That early immersion in kinesics, communication and human behaviour became a foundation for the way he would approach business and property for decades to come. In 1989, he founded We Buy Houses in Dallas, Texas, during the U.S. Savings & Loan Crisis — a period that taught him an important lesson:
When conventional structures stop working, you need to think differently about the deal.
Over the following decades, Rick took his property concepts into markets including Australia, the UK, New Zealand, Spain, Greece and Asia, while writing books including How to Buy a House for a Dollar, How to Get People to Give You Money, How to Sell Without Ever Saying a Word and Structured Real Estate Made Simple.
Rick will change the way you see Deals —
Rick doesn’t just show people the door — anyone can point to an opportunity. He teaches the skills that make people want to step through it.
With Rick, you learn how to
- Ask the one queston that changes the conversation (“Can I pay your mortgage?” opens a very different conversation than “Can I buy your house?”)
- Know what’s happening before you make your move — read the room, understand the signals, control your timing and communicate in a way that makes saying yes feel like their idea.
- Apply it beyond property — the same communication mastery works in business and everyday life.
- The Real Benefit?
The confidence to walk into almost any deal — in property or beyond — see what others miss, structure the opportunity, and create an outcome that works for everyone at the table
Why Rick is Different
Anyone can teach you the mechanics of a structured deal. Rick teaches the human factors that makes the transaction possible.
Because knowing how a deal works is only half the equation. The other half is understanding the people involved — what motivates them, what makes them hesitate, what creates trust, and what makes them genuinely want to move forward.
Why learn from Rick?
- Real deals. Real money. Real risk. Rick didn’t learn this from a textbook or behind a lectern. He learned by doing deals, making mistakes, taking risks and discovering what actually works when real money and real people are involved.
- Deal Thinking. Rick built and applied structured property strategies during the U.S. Savings & Loan Crisis and beyond — learning how to find opportunities, structure transactions and solve problems when conventional approaches weren’t enough.
- You’ll get the stories behind the strategies. No dry PowerPoint. No theory for theory’s sake. Rick shares the real situations, lessons, mistakes and breakthroughs that shaped the way he thinks about deals today.
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A philosophy, not just a checklist. Rick doesn’t teach you to push people toward a decision. He teaches you how to create an environment where people can see the value for themselves — so they want to move the deal forward.
You’re not just learning a deal structure.
You’re learning how to make the deal possible.
The Experience behind the Thinking
1989 — Dallas, Texas
Founded We Buy Houses during the U.S. Savings & Loan Crisis — learning first hand how to structure property transactions when conventional approaches stopped working.2000s — Going Global
Took the We Buy Houses concepts into Australia, the UK, New Zealand, Spain, Greece and Asia, adapting the approach to different markets, cultures and legislation.Author & Educator
Author of How to Buy a House for a Dollar, How to Get People to Give You Money, How to Sell Without Ever Saying a Word and Structured Real Estate Made Simple, alongside contributions to the original Body Language and Talk Language books.40+ Years Later
Still studying people, deals and outcomes — and sharing the thinking that sits behind them.And the journey hasn’t always been perfect Like anyone who has spent more than four decades in business, Rick’s journey has included setbacks. Some years ago, claims and representations made in connection with his property programs were challenged in court.
He learned from the experience. It reinforced something Rick now considers fundamental: how an opportunity is communicated matters just as much as how the deal itself is structured.
Today, Rick doesn’t teach shortcuts or promise that property success is quick or easy. He focuses on structured deals, understanding the people involved, designing transactions properly and creating outcomes that make commercial sense