Multiple Offers And What Gets It Done
My wife loves real estate reality shows, and she will be the first to tell you that I HATE them. Not because they are so obviously fabricated and manufactured for television consumption, but because they leave SO much out of the process. And the illustration of bidding wars is the worst!
We watched one (as in, I was forced to watch one) where the sellers were in a bidding war. The listing agent had multiple drinks at multiple restaurants with multiple buyer agents dealing with multiple offers and it looked SUPER easy.
It is NOT easy, folks.
Get a bank draft BEFORE you make an offer, and present it with your offer. Offers without a deposit accompanying them aren’t offers – they are proposals of offers. If a seller accepts an offer without a deposit, that buyer could get spooked and take off – and sellers know this. A deposit that is present reminds the seller that you are there to play ball, and if you win, you won’t get scared and take off.
Get professional pictures and staging done. There is nothing more frustrating than the arrogance of sellers in a heated market who believe they can put a for sale sign on a piece of dog poop and it will sell for a million dollars over the asking price. Here’s a theory for you to disregard: walk into any showroom – cars, furniture or clothes. The ceilings are high, the lighting is directed and the smells are enticing. These businesses take time to make you feel comfortable, at ease and ready to picture yourselves sitting in the cars, on the furniture and in the clothes. What makes you think you SHOUDN’T do the same with your home?
Price it properly. Pricing is a strategy, and a good strategy takes into account current value, market conditions, interest rate activity and buyer psychology. Listing for $1 is just lazy.
Either hold offers, or do not hold offers. Setting an offer date but also considering pre-emptive (bully) offers is stupid for everyone. You are also doing your bank account a dis-service by contemplating an offer strategy that has as its sole purpose to save money for the buyer.
If your real estate agent (the one listing your home) brings his or her own bully offer to your home, take a minute and think – I mean REALLY think about what is happening.