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Why did you not counter offer instead of telling the buyer to come back with a better offer? Seems a bit odd.
When they raised their offer $2k, we countered and told the agent that it was our final offer. Guess I should have mentioned that.
As for the 2-3 week offer, we countered with 45 days. Just heard from my realtor a little while ago and apparently their agent is putting together a written offer.
When they raised their offer $2k, we countered and told the agent that it was our final offer. Guess I should have mentioned that.
As for the 2-3 week offer, we countered with 45 days. Just heard from my realtor a little while ago and apparently their agent is putting together a written offer.
You said they came in 27k below your 254k asking price which puts them at 227k by math. They then raised their offer to 237k which is a 12k increase. Their agent also said they came up 12k which supports that instead of your 235k. Am I wrong? You may have ran off a good buyer. I suggest you get an agent that is better at negotiating and makes them put the offers in writing. It sounds like both you and your agent suck at negotiations.
You said they came in 27k below your 254k asking price which puts them at 227k by math. They then raised their offer to 237k which is a 12k increase. Their agent also said they came up 12k which supports that instead of your 235k. Am I wrong? You may have ran off a good buyer. I suggest you get an agent that is better at negotiating and makes them put the offers in writing. It sounds like both you and your agent suck at negotiations.
Thanks Brandon, how nice of you to say that I suck! It appears though, that maybe YOU are the one that sucks because yes, you ARE wrong.
Forget the "offer" of $225k. My agent never got that email so I think it's safe to say that was a lie.
We would have been willing to move before the Holiday, no problem. The problem was moving in 3 weeks, (actually 2-3 weeks). I have a job and just can't pack and move myself, husband and 3 kids that quickly.
Yeah, right after I got married, my parents got an offer on their house. It was not on the market at the time, so they hadn't packed a thing, but did want to sell, and it was a great offer. They wanted to close in 2 weeks. My mom negotiated it to 3. We finished on schedule. Oh, and my parents both work 60-80 hour weeks, and I was working 60 hour weeks at the time, and my only sibling was in high school. We all packed every spare minute we had, staying up until 11:00 PM some nights packing. I didn't live there, but went over every single day to help with the packing. Oh, and it was a 6000 square foot, 6 bedroom house that we had lived in for 12 years (and thus filled every space).
Unless your kids are all under 10, then I have a little more sympathy. Any kids over 10 are old enough to help with the packing, or at the very least, to watch the younger ones while you pack.
Oh, and moving around Christmas...the time before that when we moved, our house we were selling closed 2 weeks before Christmas, and we had to be out, but the house we were building wasn't done yet, so we stayed in a rental for the 2 weeks before and 1 week after Christmas. When the new house was ready, it was 25 below zero, the coldest day ever recorded in Boise. So we moved twice around Christmas, with 2 small children, in the coldest month our city has ever had.
My point here is just to say that it CAN be done, if you really want it.
Barli, you really need to know your local market, and that knowledge should come from your agent.
What is the average days on market?
What is the average days on market in your price range?
What is the absorption rate in your market, and your price range?
What is the average list/sold ratio?
How does your home condition and local location compare with your competition?
What is the bottom line "net" that you must have in order to sell? You should have a net sheet on a spread sheet which will show your net for you list price and then $10k increments down until you reach the absolute bottom line net, below which you will not sell. Your agent should prepare this for you.
What is your best alternative to a negotiated agreement? That is, what is your plan B in each negotiation?
The close of escrow date is a negotiable item which carries value, which means extended days to close, or quick close, can be compensated with money. If a buyer wants a 30 day close, and you want a 60 day close, then the buyer may be willing to extend to 60 days if he pays $5,000 less for the house (as an example).
All offers should be written, or you really don't have an offer. All you have is someone stating a price. When the offer is written, the terms may not be acceptable. After the written offer, then it's ok to negotiate verbally, confirming via email, until a final deal can be agreed on.
Once you have a written offer, never leave the table. Let the other person be the one to leave. Always counter. The counter could be for more money, less seller concession, trade some furniture, closing date, home warranty, or not, due diligence period, earnest money amount, etc. There are many things in the contract to negotiate and they all have a value. Consider it as a big pie to be sliced so that each person gets a fair share of the pie.
If your agent doesn't understand all of this, and doesn't know how to negotiate for you, then you "may" have the wrong agent.
30 days is sort of a standard closing. Some buyers who are pre-approved, or are paying cash will offer a 3 week close because many sellers will prefer a short close.
A 2 week close is very quick, and will probably be requested because it will save the buyer some carrying costs elsewhere. Therefore, an increase in price to offset the sellers extra expenses to move in 2 weeks is a good negotiating trade off.
Get yourself prepared to close as quickly as possible, but don't disclose that to a buyer. Use it as a negotiating item; a piece of the pie; and whether the requested close is earlier or later, you can trade it for money.
Today we received a second verbal offer on our house. We are currently listed at $254,900:
Just before Thanksgiving we got an offer of $235k with 3% closing help, so basically $27k off the listing price. Realtor told the agent to come back with a more realistic offer and they came back with $237k with 3% closing help. When my realtor asked the agent is they were seriously offering $2k more, the agent said, "Didn't you get the initial offer of $225k with 3%? They've actually gone up $12k." There was no such offer made. We told them to have a nice Thanksgiving.
Offer #2 - Don't know what they offered for a price, but they wanted a move out date of 3 weeks....1 week before Christmas. We told them we could do 45 days and have not heard back.
Is this what is meant by a buyers market? People can come in and make unrealistic offers like this and they are considered acceptable? UGH!
You know nothing about the 2nd offer yet you set s stipulation. What if it was cash and at list price?
You know nothing about the 2nd offer yet you set s stipulation. What if it was cash and at list price?
I do not think you are really motivated to sell.
As it turns out it was NOT a cash offer, so it's a moot point. It could have been at list price, that would not have made me able to move in 2-3 weeks. We are motivated, we just aren't willing to ask how high when a buyer says jump.
We told them we could do 45 days. I do not think that is unreasonable around the holidays.
Thanks Brandon, how nice of you to say that I suck! It appears though, that maybe YOU are the one that sucks because yes, you ARE wrong. ...............
.........Tell me again where that $12k is. This was not a good deal, nor do I feel it was a serious deal, but thanks again for your SUCK comment.
Gosh, I was going to try to offer some help, but now I won't because if you don't like the help offered you might get all snarky with me and call me names.
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