Special offer

Yes, Virginia, You Can Insult The Seller!

By
Real Estate Agent with RE/MAX Trinity Northeast Ohio Real Estate Specialist 2003008108

Yes Virginia, you can insult the seller.

Tonight we shall hear the tale of Ms. Virginia Buyer, a lassie who found a wonderful home that had been for sale for a long time. Virginia ASSUMED that the home's owner, Mr. D. Seller, only used his initial D because his first name was DESPERATE.

Although Virginia liked the house and knew it was a great value, she decided to see if she could get the house for a steal since she was positive she knew Mr. Seller's real first name. What else could his name be after all this time? He would be grateful for her offer and accept it immediately, with humility.

 Oh, I guess you can insult the seller!After all, she reasoned, this is just business. It isn't personal, she told herself...I know the offer is 20% under asking price, but great buyers like me are hard to come by.

All the while, she really was falling in love with the house, but refused to accept that her low offer (that asked for the potted plants and all the antique furniture that had taken years to collect) might be completely rejected...

She wrapped her offer in a shiny gold box with a silver bow and boldly presented it to Mr. D Seller.

When Mr. D Seller opened the box, he was shocked but, since he thought Virginia might be a little naive, he suggested something a little more doable. It was a generous gesture.

However, Virginia mistook Mr. D Seller's generosity for a last desperate act...and didn't even come close with her counter. It is a buyers' market, she told herself.

Imagine her surprise when she learned that Mr. D Seller's first name was by no means Desperate. Actually, she will never know his first name because the negotiations ended, and Mr. D Seller asked her to leave and never come back. Mr. D Seller knows what his house is worth, and in fact got another offer the next week for a fair price, and Virginia didn't get the house she loved - at any price.

Now it belongs to someone else.

Yes Virginia, you can insult the seller!

Posted by

Dawn Maloney, REALTOR®,  Luxury Home Marketing  RE/MAX Haven Realty

Direct:  (330) 990-4236         Email: dawn@dawnsold.com

Helping home buyers and sellers in Summit, Portage, Stark, Medina, Wayne, Lake, Geauga and Cuyahoga Counties since 2003.

All content ©2006-2014 by Dawn Maloney, REALTOR® unless otherwise noted.

 

 

Steve Queen
Bennett Realty Solutions - Bowie, MD
Chosen Realtor for Bowie And Laurel

Dawn I explain this to buyers all the time. Everyone wants a deal but sometimes list price is a deal. Great post!

Jan 19, 2012 01:35 PM
Frank Iglesias
Working With Houses, LLC - Atlanta Real Estate Investments - Lawrenceville, GA
Atlanta, GA Real Estate Investor

This happens all the time.  But to be fair, sometimes that low offer does get accepted.  I have found that if you offer low but the deal works a decent bit higher, then don't be afraid to come up quite a bit.  On the sales side, sometimes people just need the house to go away and those can turn out to be great deals.  It all just depends.  Never assume anything is what I have learned.  

Jan 19, 2012 02:50 PM
Bill Cullen
REMAX Absolute Realty Inc. - Ottawa, ON

Nice post. Some people seem to forget that even when they are negotiating they should still be "fair" and "reasonable". They may think they need to play hard-ball, but when two parties negotiate in good faith, the best results are usually achieved.

Jan 19, 2012 03:09 PM
J. Philip Faranda
Howard Hanna Rand Realty - Yorktown Heights, NY
Associate Broker / Office Manager

Few things are as satisfying as seeing the look on a lowballer's face when they find out the seller went with a better offer. 

Jan 19, 2012 03:19 PM
Wayne Johnson
Coldwell Banker D'Ann Harper REALTORS® - San Antonio, TX
San Antonio REALTOR, San Antonio Homes For Sale

Considering our market, there are a lot more houses available for sale than there are ready,willing, and able buyers. I tend to think of a low offer as an opening to discussions, not an insult.

As long as we can talk, we may get to a deal. But if we break contact there is no chance of a deal. At some point, a final decision will be made and either an agreement can be reached or not, but I try to get Sellers to understand the biggest mistake a buyer can make, and this mistake can never be over come, is to over pay.

Buyers and Sellers will get emotional about this, I think agents should be able to step back and reason with the principals.

Jan 19, 2012 03:33 PM
Cheryl Ritchie
RE/MAX Leading Edge www.GoldenResults.com - Huntingtown, MD
Southern Maryland 301-980-7566

Wonder whether a well prepared CMA would have made a difference here or if the client is simply too unrealistic to be helped successfully ?

Jan 19, 2012 10:26 PM
Mike Yeo
3:16 team REALTY - Frisco, TX

Some clients are just purely unrealistic. Had a client that said he wanted to put in an offer of $300k on a listing of $395k. umm.... I think I might just go hang out with my big screen tv watching the Swamp People. Really? What do you think the seller would say? 

Jan 19, 2012 10:39 PM
Keith Lawrence
Christie's International - Mahwah, NJ
ABR, SFR

good blog.  I had a similar situation.  It just goes to show you that if the house is priced correctly it will get offers.

Jan 19, 2012 11:42 PM
Richard and Jean Murphy
Harborview Properties - Portland, ME
(207) 712-4796

Interesting post. Many of us have dealt with this type of buyer. We have received counter-offers from an insulted seller that is higher than the list price if the offer is so low as to not appear serious. On the other side, any offer should be negotiated and price can usually be substantiated by recent sold comparables. Good to keep emotions out of the transaction.

Jan 20, 2012 12:08 AM
Scott Godzyk
Godzyk Real Estate Services - Manchester, NH
One of the Manchester NH's area Leading Agents

Dawn this is a very common problem when buyers are not aware of true local conditions. You have an excellent writing story, it captivates the reader all the way through. Like here in NH some buyers are unaware that listing inventory is down 30% while sales have increased 18%, my new listings go under contract in on average 7-14 days when priced at or just under market value. I hear all the time from buyers who waited or tried to low ball teh seller to lose out on the house. Nice job on your blog.

Jan 20, 2012 12:50 AM
Michael Setunsky
Woodbridge, VA
Your Commercial Real Estate Link to Northern VA

Dawn, low-ball offers often have this affect on sellers. Virginia's actions my very well have caused her to lose out on her dream home. Nice story with a good point.

Jan 20, 2012 12:55 AM
Dawn Maloney
RE/MAX Trinity Northeast Ohio Real Estate Specialist - Hudson, OH
330-990-4236 Hudson & Northeastern Ohio

Sara, I applaud you and your seller - it is not easy to work through!

Kim, I hope it helps!!

Kathy, Exactly! Determined like cement!!

Thanks John!

Alan, the seller realized it was just a bad offer from the start. We had this happen before, and he recognized it immediately. We went with his gut rather than be stuck with a less than cooperative buyer.

Hal, I didn't realize that happened in lending too!

Jan 20, 2012 01:01 AM
Dawn Maloney
RE/MAX Trinity Northeast Ohio Real Estate Specialist - Hudson, OH
330-990-4236 Hudson & Northeastern Ohio

Faye, it happens, and I know that is what buyers hope for. It just doesn't happen often in our market.

Mike, faulty logic :)

Kat, I agree.

Barbara, I know some sellers play games, but these sellers knew patience would yield $$$.

Lyn, LOL thanks!

Mitchell, Thank God for somebody getting serious.

Steve, Exactly! It is up to the agent to tell the whole story. If the buyer doesn't listen, well...

Jan 20, 2012 01:27 AM
Dawn Maloney
RE/MAX Trinity Northeast Ohio Real Estate Specialist - Hudson, OH
330-990-4236 Hudson & Northeastern Ohio

Frank, Yes, it can happen. But when a buyer is willing to take that much risk, they show that they don't care one way or another. It doesn't endear them to the seller or cause the seller to give them the benefit of the doubt that they might really want the house.

Bill, Good faith was definitely missing.

J Phil, Couldn't have said it better! Is that wrong? LOL

Wayne, we also took that approach, a beginning of discussion...but Virginia's approach of take no prisoners was a deal killer.

Jan 20, 2012 01:47 AM
Dawn Maloney
RE/MAX Trinity Northeast Ohio Real Estate Specialist - Hudson, OH
330-990-4236 Hudson & Northeastern Ohio

Cheryl, I wonder if they were presented to the buyer!

Mike, ouch! 25% is is face slap!

Keith, right! That is the only affirmation we need!

Richard & Jean, I've seen that too...sometimes it is just a bad offer from an under-serious buyer.

Scott, Thanks! Looks like you know your market and that is key!!

Michael, thank you, and yes it sure did cause it to fall apart!

Jan 20, 2012 01:59 AM
ERIC TRAUTMANN
Weichert Realtors HQ - Denville, NJ
I Know NJ, I Sell it Everyday!
i guess virginia found out ,in this case, that no there is no santa clause
Jan 20, 2012 04:42 AM
Steven Cook
No Longer Processing Mortgages. - Tacoma, WA

Dawn -- Virginia can either learn from this, or continue to play her games, and fail to ever get a house she likes.  For some, it seems the game is more important than the house, unfortunately.

Jan 20, 2012 06:49 AM
Dawn Maloney
RE/MAX Trinity Northeast Ohio Real Estate Specialist - Hudson, OH
330-990-4236 Hudson & Northeastern Ohio

Eric, ha! Maybe that is what she was expecting!

Steven, eventually the serious buyers catch on...but they lose many opportunities by being unrealistic.

Jan 20, 2012 07:15 AM
Karen Salmon
Royal LePage Benchmark - Okotoks, AB
Okotoks Real Estate Agent
Yep I've had buyers like that. And yep, they've lost their "dream home"
Jan 20, 2012 03:46 PM
Dawn Maloney
RE/MAX Trinity Northeast Ohio Real Estate Specialist - Hudson, OH
330-990-4236 Hudson & Northeastern Ohio

Karen, I think we all have! Fact of life...you don't lowball on your dream home. You do your best to make it happen. No dream home deserves a poor offer.

Jan 22, 2012 01:59 AM