Here’s a question new real estate agents struggle with, especially if they’ve gotten it wrong once or twice.
So… I’m giving my opinion, but since you’re still out there every day and I’m not, yours is more important.
My request is that you seasoned agents chime in with your opinions and experience and help those new agents decide how to handle the question:
Should you tell buyers that there's already an offer on a home they're viewing?
I believe this is a double edged sword. The answer lies in the personality of your buyers and the trust level you've created with them.
Unfortunately, real estate professionals rank high on the list of professionals that many people don't trust. That means until you've developed a relationship, many buyers will automatically be suspicious if you tell them there's a pending offer on a home you're showing them.
Some will see it as a pressure tactic to get them to hurry up and make an offer - and to make the offer high.
I believe you should mention the other offer before you ever view the house. For one thing, they'll be more likely to believe you if you're simply telling them about it and asking if they want to see it anyway. After all, there are other houses.
For another thing, some buyers want nothing to do with the ";bidding game"; and will not want to see a house that already has an offer on the table. My son is one of those. He just plain won’t bother to look if he knows someone else is already interested.
So, if you show it to them and tell them only after they've shown an interest, they might be very cranky with you. Your efforts to build trust could go down the drain.
At the same time, you do need to explain that just because there's an offer doesn't mean there's a sale. Explain to your buyers that you don't know and can't know what the other offer is. It might well not be accepted. And if accepted, it could fail to close.
If they're really interested in the house they should take a look anyway.
What do you think? How do you handle this situation?
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