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Do you want to get your offer accepted?

I was reading Jana Cole's post Technology, Yes, but always Verify and it occurred to me how many agents still continue to fax over offers when representing their buyers.

When I started my career in real estate, I was taught to always present my buyer's offer in person to the Listing Agent. Unfortunately, over the last several years, with the market in Pasadena, CA going through the roof, many Listing Agents would not allow presentation of the offer in person. Especially, with multiple offers, where we sometimes get 15 to 20 offers at a time, it would make going through the presentations very time consuming.

Since I represent many sellers in Pasadena and surrounding cities, I have always been amazed by the lack of care that Buyer's Agents show to their clients.

Half the time, an offer would arrive without even a phone call from the agent.

The other half, the agent would call me, ask most, if not all of the right questions, and then knowing that it is a mutliple offer situation, still submit a very badly and sloppily written offer.

In any case, this post is not about how to write an offer. It's about how to SUBMIT an offer.

Now, to me, this is common sensical. When I represent buyers, I have to ensure that I not only sell my buyers to the seller, but I sell myself to the other agent.

At a minimum, this is what I would do:

Prior to writing the Offer:

Call the Listing Agent to introduce myself and ask about the property: Is the home still available? Did any offers come in? When will the offers be reviewed? What is the seller looking for in terms of escrow length? Where is the seller going to? Do they have a new home lined up? Are there certain providers that the seller and the agent are more comfortable working with or already have a relationship with? I always ask for any additional information that the Listing Agent thinks I should have.
Get together with my buyer to strategize on the best way to structure the offer. Agents, please listen carefully, the offer is NOT ONLY ABOUT THE PRICE! Terms are very, very important! How long should the contingency period be? Escrow period? Do we need a loan or appraisal contingency? How do we come up with the price? How much does my buyer want the property? THERE ARE SO MANY DIFFERENT WAYS TO MAKE MY BUYER'S OFFER STAND OUT FROM THE REST OF THE PACK!

Okay the offer is written, now what?

I always recommend for the buyer to write an introduction letter to the seller. In this letter, the buyer has an opportunity to talk about themselves and why they like and want to live in the house. REMEMBER, A LOT OF SELLERS ARE ATTACHED TO THEIR HOME. They have many, many memories there. They want to have someone buy the home who will continue to love it as they did. And, if you get a seller that doesn't really care about who the buyer is, the letter will not hurt our position.
I write a cover letter to the agent summarizing all the critical terms of the contract: price, down payment, earnest money deposit, escrow term, contingency periods, providers (escrow, title, home warranty)
Attach a well written, PRE-APPROVAL letter from a respected lender. Make sure that the lender is aware that an offer is being presented. All good listing agents WILL CALL the lender to ensure the information is accurate and to ask additional questions.
I make THREE copies of the contract. 1 copy for the Listing Agent, 1 copy for the Seller and an extra copy for the Transaction Coordinator or assistant. I usually put a post it note on each copy identifying who it's for.
I package the offer in a company folder with my business card. I put my cover letter on top, followed by the buyer's letter to the home owner and the preapproval letter.
The folder is then placed in an envelope and personally delivered to the listing agent. Call the agent first
If the agent is not available and I had to drop the offer off at the listing agent's office, I would call to ensure that the listing agent knows the offer is there waiting for them.

I can't tell you how many times, this simple presentation was able to separate me and my clients from the rest. I can attribute at least three offers that were accepted over the last four months specifically due to the way they were presented.

Remember our actions speak for themselves. Take the time to professionally package an offer the way you would want to receive one and GOOD LUCK!

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If you're thinking of buying or selling your home in Pasadena, CA and surrounding cities, please visit me at http://www.irina4realestate.com/ or email me at Irina@Irina4RealEstate.com.

For information about Pasadena, please visit the following links:

Pasadena Real Estate Guide and FREE Multiple Listing Search (Everything you need to know to buy or sell a home in Pasadena)
Everything you ever wanted to know about Pasadena and more! (Important Information)
Looking for condos near Pasadena? How about Monterey Hills?(Great little gem of an area where you can still get great deals on condos and townhomes)
Pasadena's Old Town - Restaurant Row

Other interesting information:

My Recent Listings:

Upcoming Listing:

Highland Park Architectural - stay tuned for more information

Posted by Pasadena CA Real Estate - Irina Netchaev on 06/02/2007 09:48 PM

Comments (65)

representing buyers, buying a home, selling a home

Originally posted at: Monterey Hills Real Estate: Do you want to get your offer accepted?

65 Comments on Do you want to get your offer accepted?

JUN

2007

Nicely done, and I hope some brokers will make note of these steps for new agents. I have found that communication from the second my buyer wants to put together an offer to the other agent is key. I don't know if the seller is on a lake for 4 days and unable to respond if I don't ask! I will say, that I have found myself often having to fax offers as my territory covers a large county and it is not always logistically possible to deliver in person to surrounding towns. However, I ALWAYS determine the questions you have above - it shows the other agent that you are diligent and professional. I have only once had a buyer write a letter, but it does help, especially in a multi-offer area. Thanks again. Liz

Liz, thanks for visiting. Yes... sometimes logistics get in the way. In these instances, I've utilized a messenger service to deliver the package. Not sure if you have that available in your office, but that may help.

Thanks again and keep on selling away in Maine!

Irina

Great tips, you are correct that it helps to show this kind of professionalism when presenting offers.

So many agents forget that the first negotiation is with the listing agent! You're approaching it properly to create an alignment rather than a confrontation. Good for you.

If you aren't going to hand deliver an offer, e-mail is always better than a fax - it's clearer and doesn't deteriorate with each sending. If it would be too large an attachment, post it on one of your web sites and send the listing agent a link rather than an attachment.

Kevin, thanks for visiting!

Sharon, what a great idea... using email. THANKS!

Truthfully, I almost always send the email, BUT, I definately call and tell them it is on the way.

Nice, put that's a lot of paper!

I always call the listing agent and then email it over. Many time the seller is out of state and it will need to be forwarded to the client...once all the terms are nailed down, I will make copies for everyone.

Very nice. I have my buyers write a letter explaining why they love the house. And sometimes I write a summary page. I like the crispness of your package. I'm going to have to adopt that because I know if I received one, I would be very impressed and I would be sure the other agent was a professional.

Now that's a job done right! It's not difficult to follow up with clients or with other professionals. Sure it takes time but proper planning and presentation always pays off! And I bet your clients love you for the hard work that you do for them.

good tips, thanks.

Irina,

I am amazed at how few agents understand the value of communication.

When working with a buyer, contact with the listing agent prior to writing an offer will almost always help in the writing of the offer as well as establishing a working relationship with them. Often a lot of the negotiating of an offer can be removed in this conversation alone.

As a listing agent, it gives you a chance to set parameters for the offer, to assist and guide the buyers agent into writing an offer that may actually be accepted, a chance to communicate the sellers wishes and to make them come true.

Great post.

Laurie

I always call the agent, but I ALWAYS fax it over

If the market's as hot as it was a couple of years back, by the time you had finished putting the bow on the offer the property would have been long gone. Call the agent, fax the offer. If requested by the buyer, and not objected to in writing by the seller, present the offer in person. Seems to get the job done as often as not. Few of my sellers have any interest in the buyers' life story, and my buyers often don't want to tell their life story to the seller. It's a business transaction. An emotional one, granted. But a business transaction.

This post is fabulous! Thank you. I love checklists and have one for just about everything I do. I'm looking forward to incorporating your list into my business. Prior to submitting offers I always call the listing agent, then fax and email the offer, and make another follow-up call to make sure the agent received the offer. You never want to assume the agent received the offer or you know the saying.

Your checklist of questions to ask is right on. Sending/delivering an original for clarification purposes is a good idea and it can show that you are conscientious. I would emil it or fax the offer for a couple of reasons.

1) You want to get that offer to them as quickly as possible

2) The agent may not be in the office and it may not be convenient for the agent to have to go to the office to pick up what you have delivered. They should, however, be able to check their email quickly and easily and if their fax number is an e-fax, they would be able to get that quickly and conveniently, too.

JUN

2007

Nice post.

Carolin Benjamin
Bob and Carolin Benjamin - The Benjamin Team
Keller Williams Integrity First Realty
Gold Canyon Arizona

Missy, yes... as long as they know it's coming. Email keeps it nice and clean! Agents in my area, for whatever reason, do not utilize email as much.

Ann, lots of paper, but worth it! I go into it with the idea that the offer has already been accepted. All the paper will be put to good use. :-)

Lori, that's a great approach!

Debi, thank you for the kind words!

Ricardo, it was great meeting you last week. The condo I held open is now officially SOLD!!! Yeah!

Andrei, thank you.

Laurie, you are so right! I love it when buyer's agents call me in advance. The guidance that can be offered if the agents are open to it, can make a deal come together so much faster and easier!

Danny, you know what works for you!

Jonathan, in our area, it is standard practice for listing agents to set a time and date for submitting the offer. Many of them want the offers in sealed envelopes. There have been plenty of times when dealing with really hot properties where faxing would have given away the price that my buyers offered to the other agents in the office. Let's face it, most agents do NOT use private fax lines or computer faxes, and offers end up sitting on a common fax machine for anyone to see. As far as the buyer's letter to the seller, it just can't hurt. It's a business transaction for us, but an emotional one for both the buyer and most sellers. Thanks for the feedback!

Julie, I'm a checklist type of girl myself! :-)

Beth, you are so right... sometimes I fax first as well - as needed, but I always follow up with a package. It makes it easier to read and is much more professional.

Carolin, thanks for visiting!

I too use e-mail and prefer no faxes. You just can not read them most of the time.

All offers should be written after a fact finding phone call. I also write a cover letter and introduce my clients. The most important thing is to make the offers clean and executable. I too often get offers that even if we wanted to accept them we can't because of errors in the contract that must be addressed.

Yes, Irina, i agree that presentation can make a difference - especially in multiple offer situations. in fact, I generally try to hand-deliver a counter-offer with a note from me or the sellers, in order to maximize the likelihood it will be accepted. Of course, sometimes it is not possible due to time or distance constraints, but that should be the exception and not the rule.

One note - I had a fair housing class that warned about letters from clients (and even the content of our letters) because of the risk for creating a situation where the family description could lead to the seller choosing a contract based on race, religion, national origin, familial status, or other protected class - even though these factors may not be specifically stated, the content of the letter may imply "We're the nice married caucasian couple with the two little children who attend Catholic school on the next block" (or whatever). So just be aware of this risk to fair housing.

Beautiful post--and one we can all learn from, not just new agents. I'm sure other agents really enjoy your professionalism.

Good points. I'm going to think about these things and see how I can work it into my systems.

I think that if you can present your buyer as a nice person, that goes a long way. Otherwise, you leave the vision in the seller's head to the seller's imagination. They usually are thinking the buyer is just trying to cheat them out of the full value of their home.

Great ideas here. I haven't used a cover letter on my offers but will consider one now. I have had 3 buyers create a letter to the present to the sellers in the past. One was accepted because it had no contingency to sell a home. The other two didn't work out. I will think about the comment Margaret stated about the fair housing issue in regards to the buyers letter. Hhmmmm...always something to ponder in this business!

Careful, if people start following your advice - the public perception of Realtors could change.

The key is getting the offer and then presenting it properly as you have noted. Nice post.

Good Post - It reminds me that a good letter from a buyer to a seller can sometimes trump a higher offer without a letter.

In addition to this, I like to bring a photo of the Buyers. I feel that this helps to personalize the offer. We generally try to present the offer to the Sellers in person with the Listing Agent present.

If you can't present in person...and I always try very hard, why would you not follow these tips... you are REPRESENTING someone!

Randy, good morning my Hawaiian friend. Clean and executable - exactly!!!

Margaret, what a great idea for counter offer delivery! I love it!!!

Diane, thank you for your kind words!

Tim, how right you are... leave as little to the seller's imagination as possible. It's hard enough as it is for most of them to part with the house!

Margaret, sorry... forgot to mention... thanks for bringing up the fair housing issue. I didn't think about that before. Most letters that my buyers write generally talk about the home and how they see themselves in it. I'll be extra careful to scrutinize for fair housing issues. :-)

Lizette, the letters really can't hurt, so keep on trying... thanks for visiting!

The Harper Team, :-) made me smile... thank you! Perception is reality... so let's collectively decide to change it!

Gary, thank you!

Debbie, isn't that the truth!

Todd, how could I forget!!! It's interesting, earlier, I used to add or ask the buyer to add their photo into the letter. Somehow, I stopped doing that. Not sure why... Thanks for reminding me!

Perrin, yes... and we take that seriously, don't we? Thanks for visiting!

Hi Irina,

Nice post! I especially like how you have your buyers write a letter to the seller. I think that puts a face to the buyer. In a multiple offer situation the seller can only see figures but I can see how a letter can make offer stand out.

Alex

Alex, thank you! In my experience, it works very well. :-)

Good advice! Thanks for reminding us all how things should be done.

Please visit our website: WWW.REINNH.COM, browse, click and comment!

Very nice. I wish more agents spent a little more effort in making their presentations so professional.

On the contrary, I'm all for lazy agents! They help make we professionals look good! LOL

Eric, thanks for visiting. I am so fortunate to have found AR and to have an opportunity to learn and share with so many like minded professionals!

Tim & Pam, thanks for stopping by. :-)

Greg, thank you for your kind words!

Todd, the lazy ones sure do make it much easier for us... unfortunately, horrible for the opinion of our profession!

Irina, this is a well-written post. You'd think that much of what you recommend would be just common sense, but many agents don't seem to put much thought into either their offers or how they're submitted.

Brian, thank you!

Thanks for these tips, the problem sometimes when you are dealing with listing agents who think you are wasting their time by trying to present the offers in person and they try to make agents fax offer and sometimes if you do not follow up with phone calls you may find your self in the situation where the agent drove up to the listing agents office only to find-out her fax was in pile of papers that never made it to the listing agent, thanks for your great advise on offer presentation i hope all agents will read it so that they will learn some of the great points you have made, thanks for sharing.

I am always amazed at the difference in jurisdictions. Here in BC, if you request it, the listing agent MUST allow you to present in person unless they have written instructions to the contrary from the Seller.

Although I haven't use a letter from the Buyer to Seller, I always discuss with my Buyers what they would like me to tell the sellers about themselves. I will start to use the letter when I fax the offer, usually for out of town sellers.

Your checklist is great, thanks for sharing.

Part of my listing agreement contains a form for the sellers to sign that indicates whether or not they will allow a buyer to present an offer in person (or for their agent to do so on their behalf). I have never had a seller willing to allow the buyer to be there (so far). The reason? Mainly it would make them uncomfortable. They want to remain unemotional and look at the offer on it's face value only. However, I'm sure there are some sellers that would prefer to meet the buyers so they know that their home will be loved the way that they love it. Thanks for a very interesting and thought-provoking post.

BTW, I've never had a buyer's agent request to present in person. In our area, the most common practice is to fax an offer (after calling first of course).

Thanks for this! I too use to always insist on presenting all offers..but things have changed over the years and it's not always possible. Your ideas of the cover letter, letter from buyers, pre appoval with the offer are all exceptional. I do agree with Sharon on e-mailing...I end up scanning everything to my computer, so to have it come e-mail makes for ease on my end. I keep all files for one year on a disk...from listing to closing...on each of my files. I date each disk and file them away...no more paper files! I also give my client at closing a disk with all their paperwork on it.

If delivering the offer is not an option and the file is to large to send via email as an attachment, consider one of the following options:

Use www.yousendit.com, www.dropload.com or www.sendthisfile.com,
If you are using an Online Transaction Management Program, upload it and send as an attachment,
Zip the file to reduce the size and send it as an email attachment,
Take advantage of an available courier service that has same-day delivery,

Thanks for the post. I will keep a copy on fileas a reminder to agents that need reminding every once in a while.

Paul, yes... some listing agents do make it difficult.

Jeff, it is fascinating how real estate differs from place to place!

Kelly, I don't think that I would want to have my buyers in front of a seller. It is too emotional on both sides, so a letter works great! I also do not get a lot of agents asking to present an offer in person. Very, very few.

Mary, I use Paperless Solutions, a company that for $50 puts my docs on CD for myself and my client. No more paper files - yeah!

Carolyn, thanks for the links... I'll check them out!

If I did not work in such a broad and large metro area, delivering in person would sound like a personable and professional way to go. Of course I work mostly with Listings and not buyers. Never have I had someone hand deliver an offer to me

Jennifer, love the cartoon... thanks for visiting!

JUN

2007

Great post Irina and congratulations on your condo sale!

Ana, thank you! It sold in a weekend!!!

JUN

2007

Irina, Excellent Post! Great advice! I know you are doing your Job and doing it right!! Guess who I'll call when I'm ready to buy a house? ;)

Hey Luisa, thanks for visiting... I hope you'll be calling me! :-)

JUL

2007

I always try to personally present my offers and lately I have seen more and more agents require the offers to come through the agent. I have actually made one prove that they had the document that I couldn't personally present. He was pretty upset when I made him at 7pm meet with his clients and myself so I could personally present.

JUL

2007

Todd, good for you! You are representing your clients. And, by getting in front of the seller, you know that you will do a much better job in presenting the offer than the listing agent. Way to go!!!

Irina,

I see you that you are active in both, AR and Trulia Voice. Where else do you blog? How much time do you spent on blogging daily?

Hi Artur, thanks for visiting me here on Active Rain. I am actually in the process of creating a personal blog that I will use along with Active Rain and Trulia. I don't think that I'd be able to keep up with any more platforms at this time. :-)

Irina, this is my problem as well. I have a personal blog I was using for a while, but almost abandoned it due to the lack of time. But I think I am going to reactivate is as I am getting a better idea how to focus each of them. Thanks for getting back to me.

Artur, don't abandon it... revive it! Use Active Rain to play off and point readers to your personal blog. Good luck!!!

Thank you very much for your advice. I really appreciate it.

Artur, anytime!

NOV

I'm presenting an offer to the sellers and the listing agent tomorrow evening. In this case, my buyers and the sellers have already met - the sellers didn't want a lockbox, and were there to show us the house. Everyone got along wonderfully! I'm hoping that will help us come to terms quickly. I also like the buyers to write an intro letter. That combined with presenting in person has done wonders!

NOV

Sue, best of luck onyour offer!!!!

This is a top notch process you have in place! True, some markets might not need to go thru ALL the steps. But taking all the steps that you provided to us certainly wouldnt' hurt anything.

Sherry, thanks!

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