My Offer Was in First, Why Don't I Get the House

Ed, thanks for a post that  many of us are seeing played out in our area.

It is frustrating for Buyers in my area where the inventory is low and multiple offers are becoming more common. In addition, about 50% of our sales are cash.

It is very difficult for Buyers who have to have a mortgage to compete with a full price all cash offer.

Great post and reminder for all! I always suggest my buyers give their highest and best after having submitted the comps to them and due diligence unless they want to get into a bidding war and that like any other war can take some time.

Buying a house is not a sprint. Because you get to the finish line first doesn't always mean you win!

This is a tough situation. Unfortunately, some buyers may have to lose a few before they realize that the advice we give them is not to pressure them, but to educate them. The other situation that has come up is although a buyer's offer is the highest it may not be the best for the sellers.

often times clients that miss out on these things did not listen to what I told them.  Get the offer in fast, pay a little more, and put your best foot forward. 

This is why it's a good idea for buyers to make their highest and best offer in tight markets.

That's a tough lesson for buyers.  Sometimes it's not the offer price could be the terms.  Our current market demands highest and best offer.  

It's so hard to explain this to buyers when they think they've beaten the crowd and have an edge. 

Ed, it's really hard to prepare buyers for how awful they will feel if they lose "their" perfect house.  

Most listing Realtors if they are truly working for their Sellers will try and get the best offer being terms and price.  In your scenario at least everyone was provided notice of multiple offers.  Being a low inventory market, Buyers are finding that if they want a property they better submit reasonable/fair offers.  In multipe offer situations many times the sale price goes higher than list price.  Several weeks ago one of my customers had submitted a reasonable offer and was waiting on a seller response.  The next day the listing agent called to say the Seller had accepted another offer!  I know it can happen, but there was no notice given to me that there was a multiple offer situation.  Our office provides the courtesy of notifying all parties of multiple offer situations and have a specific form for all parties to sign

This is certainly happening more and more here.

Many buyers not emotionally prepared for a competitive market, but by the time they lose a house or two, they realize they need to take our advice if they want to prevail.

Sometimes buyers have to lose one in order to get serious with their offers.  Once they realize that they aren't the only fish in the pond, offers tighten up a bit!   

Sometimes buyers have to learn the hard way. If the buyers agent let them know up front that this might be a hot property and they might need to offer a little more to secure their offer and maybe terms  could be a little better.

Good morning Ed Silva ,

In a market with tight inventory it is hard for buyers to secure the home of their dreams with structuring a truly aggressive offer. Sometimes it means loosing a few before obtaining one. Good topic and well written.

When we bought our current home, we were not the first offer and we got it. So glad it worked out that way. 

Congrats on the Feature!

Ed Silva - saw this on a reblog from Winston Heverly - Sometimes our buyer can't or won't be able to make a better offer. But the highs and lows we have to deal with should make us be able to add a therapists shingle to our office door! 

I was telling Praful what a great re-blog.

I think we have all been asked that question once. Okay over 10x. LOL 

Lauren Selinsky

Some buyer have to lose out on a house before they understand that  in a seller's market "highest and best" is where they need to offer, even if there's no other offer on the table right then.  If the house is a good one, other offers are on their way.

The seller's agent demonstrated why waiting for a little while can benefit the seller.  It's unfortunate that your buyer's highest and best wasn't the seller's highest and best offer.