Here’s how to win a multiple-offer situation.
The market is red hot, and we’re seeing homes generate multiple offers and sell for tens of thousands of dollars over asking price. It’s absolutely insane! What can we agents do to optimize this market? Right now, you have to work crazy hours and be super responsive to buyer leads that aren’t referrals. They won’t wait around for you to get back to them. If you take an hour to get back to them, they’ll call another agent.
This leads me to today’s topic: How do you win multiple-offer situations?
As a listing agent, I can tell you that there are varying degrees of professionalism in our industry once an offer comes in. Just the other day, I sold a property that got eight offers within 48 hours of being on the market and sold for $30,000 over list price. Some agents called me ahead of time to find out what the seller really wanted (closing date, contract perks, etc.), while others just sent their offers over with escalation clauses buried in the back pages.
How do you choose between offers? There are different variables that factor into your decision. For me, it all boils down to which offer is most likely to close and will produce the best results for my client. As the buyer’s agent, it’s very important that you communicate with the listing agent.
For example, if you include an escalation clause in your offer, summarize that along with the rest of your offer in your email. Whenever I get an email offer with a JPEG or PDF file attached, that generally tells me it’s going to be difficult dealing with that agent. All things being equal, you have a better shot if you summarize your offer and make it easy for the listing agent to understand.
When it comes to escalation clauses, they’re a great addition to an offer, but you’re better off coming in with a solid, clean, straightforward offer first. The home I mentioned above that attracted all those offers had an offer with an escalation clause that topped the one we accepted by $500. However, the offer itself was initially $10,000 less than our top offer, and that upset my seller.
“As the buyer’s agent, it’s very important that you communicate with the listing agent.”
You can also include a pre-qualification letter (for which the state has their own guidelines) in your offer, but make sure it’s written by a solid local lender instead of a fly-by-night internet lender.
So make sure your buyer has a solid lender, communicate well with the listing agent, summarize your offer when you send it, and confirm that the listing agent got your offer. Also, don’t forget to ask questions about what the seller is looking for and what it will take to win the home.
As always, if you have questions about this or any real estate topic, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. Additionally, if you’re not seeing the results you want to in your brokerage, give me a call. We have more buyers than we can handle, and I’d love for you to join our team. I look forward to hearing from you.
