Five tips to getting your buyer's offer accepted

Five tips to getting your buyer’s offer accepted
Brought to you by Real Estate Insight

1.  Make sure the the buyer is solidly prequalified in advance (with your preferred lender is best).  (This should be done before showing a prospective buyer even ONE property.)  Make sure your client understands what loan options are available.  Make sure the buyer knows the tax rate, Mello-Roos and HOA fees for the properties so there are no surprises after the contract is accepted.  These factors affect payment and monthly cost of homeownership; don't surprise the buyer financially!

2.  Call the listing agent before the showing to find out the status of the property, offers in hand, etc.  A big mistake many agents make is setting appointments in advance of a showing and not following up with the listing agent to be sure the property is still truly available.

3.  Call the listing agent again ONLY when the buyer has indicated that they want to write an offer.  (NOTE:  Write ONE offer at a time and wait until the time period has expired before writing an offer on another property.  If more than one seller accepts the offer, you will find yourself in a jam.)  Find out the hot buttons of the Seller and discuss these things upfront with your buyer client.  Does the seller want the highest offer without any closing cost credit requests?  Do they need a quick escrow or a longer escrow?  Find out if the seller will pay Section 1 termite clearance and home warranty.  These are customary for the seller to pay, but as we are trending away from distressed properties, it is not a “given”.

4. “Mean what you say” and “say what you mean”!  When you say you will be writing an offer, the listing agent is probably going to tell the seller that they have done their job and an offer is on the way!  DO NOT, I repeat DO NOT tell the listing agent you are sending an offer and then disappear.  If the buyer changes their mind, has a family emergency or you are not able to deliver the offer as promised, call the listing agent right away and apologize with an explanation.

5.  Write a cover letter and a professional offer submission letter.  Unless you are in a rare market where offers are still presented in person, a cover letter can make you shine in a digital world.  I always send one .pdf file containing the cover letter from the buyers (even with a family photo on the letter), purchase contract, supporting offer documents (in California, this is Buyer Inspection Advisory, Agency Disclosure, Disclosure and Consent of More Than One, Carbon Monoxide Detector disclosure, Market Conditions Advisory) and prequal.  (It is okay if the prequal is slightly over the offer price, but do not send a prequal that is insufficient to cover the offer price.)  Tell the agent in your email how excited your clients are to be purchasing their lovely listing at [property address].  Explain a bit about your clients (John & Suzie have been looking for a home to raise their family …), highlight the strengths of your offer (30 day close or sooner, strong price based on comps, no closing cost credits, etc.) and close with how you are hoping open escrow by (insert day of the week to allow time for the seller to sign the offer). 

Follow up!  Be honest!  Advocate for your buyers!  Be professional!  Find the hot buttons of the seller and use them to write a strong offer that benefits your buyer, too!

www.reiteam.net

Tiffany Ayres
BRE: 01840433
951.226.5447

Troy Huerta
BRE: 01028204
760.420.5498