Home > Blogs > Andrea Bedard > Realtor on the Run in Silver Spring & beyond.

You can't get the house when you don't make the offer

By Andrea Bedard

Real Estate Agent with Thompson Company, REALTORS® 240.593.2860 MD594797

March 05, 2021 07:11 AM

Should_we_even_bother_making_an_offer_on_this_Silver_Spring_home.jpg

Dear Maryland Home Buyer, please make the offer! Sincerely, this listing agent.

For a split second I was contemplating publishing just these words today because it is the very advice I'd like to shout from my virtual rooftop.

The busier the Real Estate market in Silver Spring and beyond has gotten, the more phone calls I have received on my listings from buyers' agents asking me if they should even bother because they didn't want "to waste time".

Whose time, you ask?! I'll let you answer that one.

Dear Maryland Home Buyer, that is not how you get the house!

When I represent buyers, I, too, call the listing agent to ask very specific questions in the hopes of getting very specific answers. Sometimes I receive information I did not even ask for, other times I only get vague responses, and occasionally I get exactly what we were hoping for. At the end of the day, any information is valuable in moving forward.

But that is the key: moving forward! You and/or your agent should always bother writing the offer, provided you have your preapproval squared away and assuming you are not trying to offer 50 cents on the dollar (or even 98 cents) in the hottest seller's market we've ever seen.

You cannot ratify a contract when you don't submit an offer! You cannot buy the house without making an offer.

Please make the offer! Make the kind of offer that won't leave you with any regrets if you don't win the bidding war. You may not, but you won't know if you don't try.

While the purchase price IS the biggest factor, much, much more goes into a great offer, upping your chances of getting the house: from a clean write-up and a complete offer, a solid preapproval, proof of earnest money, seller subsidy, number of contingencies, a closing date that suits the sellers' needs, a lender who answers the phone, a buyer's agent who answers the phone.. but it all starts with bothering to write the (very competitive). It's never a waste of time.

SOLD in 20905 Silver Spring, MD

P.S. If you'd like to work with an agent who bothers and gets you the house, please give me a call. My name is Andrea, I am an Accredited Buyer's Agent and would be delighted to help you write your very own Real Estate story!

Re-Blog

Comments(17)

Comment

Show All Comments

Sort:

Doris Freeman

Zach Taylor Real Estate - Gallatin, TN

Broker/Agent, 615-961-7799

I can see where potential buyers feel that it may not be worth it, but like you said no offer you'll never get the home.

Just keep trying eventually you'll win the home lottery in this current market.

Mar 05, 2021 07:16 AM

Will Hamm

Aurora, CO
Andrea Bedard

Silver Spring, MD

Barbara Todaro

RE/MAX Executive Realty - Happily Retired - Franklin, MA

Previously Affiliated with The Todaro Team

Good morning, Andrea Bedard if the buyer doesn't make an offer, he/she will never know if the could have had an accepted one....

Mar 05, 2021 07:35 AM

Will Hamm

Aurora, CO
Andrea Bedard

Silver Spring, MD

Andrea Bedard

Thompson Company, REALTORS® 240.593.2860 - Silver Spring, MD

Fluent in Real Estate & German, M.A. ABR ASP CIPS

Thank you for your comment Doris Freeman! It can get very challenging and disheartening, too, in this inventory-starved market but not trying won't lead to success.

Exactly Barbara Todaro .. just think if 8 out of 10 buyers quit before even trying, there won't be much competition after all! I actually have seen this happen once or twice.

Mar 05, 2021 07:49 AM

Michael Jacobs

Pasadena, CA

Pasadena And Southern California 818.516.4393

Hello Andrea - so true. I am sure some of the buyers "waiting" for the perfect time have been waiting and waiting. For a long time. Real buyers BUY - the others seem to look and look and look and . . .

Of course, markets can be difficult but perfection or a perfect deal is impossible.

Mar 05, 2021 08:14 AM

Andrea Bedard

Silver Spring, MD

Will Hamm

Hamm Homes - Aurora, CO

"Where There's a Will, There's a Way!"

Hello Andrea, with are low inventory, the old way I want to sleep on it but that does not work in a hot market.

Mar 05, 2021 09:24 AM

Andrea Bedard

Silver Spring, MD

Andrea Bedard

Thompson Company, REALTORS® 240.593.2860 - Silver Spring, MD

Fluent in Real Estate & German, M.A. ABR ASP CIPS

Thank you Michael Jacobs, always waiting for something better to come along may play a role as well. Based on some of these calls & questions, however, it's more a matter of if we have to compete, we won't even bother. Sadly, my impression is that it may be the agent - not the buyer - who doesn't want to put in the effort of writing another offer and not "waste time".

Mar 05, 2021 03:13 PM

Andrea Bedard

Thompson Company, REALTORS® 240.593.2860 - Silver Spring, MD

Fluent in Real Estate & German, M.A. ABR ASP CIPS

As inventory-starved as the market is, competition will remain the norm for sometime. Sure, we can wait, the market will ease up/normalize again at some point. By then (and who know when that will be), however, some buyers may have priced themselves out of their preferred area. Have a great weekend Will Hamm!

Mar 05, 2021 03:15 PM

Kathy Streib

Cypress, TX

Home Stager/Redesign

Hi Andrea- it's like the kid in high school who wants to ask someone out but keeps wondering if they will say yes.

Mar 05, 2021 05:58 PM

Andrea Bedard

Silver Spring, MD

Andrea Bedard

Thompson Company, REALTORS® 240.593.2860 - Silver Spring, MD

Fluent in Real Estate & German, M.A. ABR ASP CIPS

I LOVE it Kathy Streib, that's a great analogy, I may have to borrow it some time!

Mar 05, 2021 06:16 PM

Brian England

Ambrose Realty Management LLC - Gilbert, AZ

MBA, GRI, REALTOR® Real Estate in East Valley AZ

I just said this to a client last night, haha. They wanted to make an offer of $400K and I told them that the agent said they have offers over $410K. He said our offer won't be accepted and I told him we never know, but if he doesn't make his offer, we KNOW it will not be accepted, haha.

Mar 06, 2021 07:01 AM

Andrea Bedard

Silver Spring, MD

Rocky Dickerson

Realty One Group - Las Vegas, NV

Superior Service!

Good morning and great post Andrea Bedard you are right, buyers will never get a house if their agent never writes an offer.

Mar 06, 2021 08:08 AM

Andrea Bedard

Silver Spring, MD

Andrea Bedard

Thompson Company, REALTORS® 240.593.2860 - Silver Spring, MD

Fluent in Real Estate & German, M.A. ABR ASP CIPS

But did the agent also say that the higher offer comes with a string of contingencies that the sellers really don't like and a questionable preapproval? It's not always the highest offer that wins the race, is it?

I hope you wrote the offer Brian England! Best of luck!

Mar 06, 2021 12:31 PM

Brian England

Gilbert, AZ

Andrea Bedard

Thompson Company, REALTORS® 240.593.2860 - Silver Spring, MD

Fluent in Real Estate & German, M.A. ABR ASP CIPS

I truly have a hard time with these type of calls Rocky Dickerson, and there have been a few lately. Are you experiencing that in your market as well?

If a buyer is not ready to make a competitive bid, then perhaps it's time for a chat. If he is, write the offer, on proper forms, get it signed and delivered. That is the only sure way to find out if the seller will accept it or not. My sellers won't make a decision without seeing all terms in writing.

Mar 06, 2021 12:37 PM

Paul S. Henderson, REALTOR®, CRS

Fathom Realty Washington LLC - Tacoma, WA

South Puget Sound Washington Agent/Broker!

People do think they can tell the listing agent "Tell them I'll give them $$$ for the house!" And consider that a binding contract. (I've had this happen at Open Houses)

All you get when you sit on the fence is slivers and disappointed Andrea Bedard

Mar 06, 2021 02:01 PM

Andrea Bedard

Silver Spring, MD

Joan Cox

House to Home, Inc. - Denver Real Estate - 720-231-6373 - Denver, CO

Denver Real Estate - Selling One Home at a Time

Andrea, many first time buyers are very nervous about getting into a bidding war!

Mar 07, 2021 07:02 AM

Andrea Bedard

Silver Spring, MD

Andrea Bedard

Thompson Company, REALTORS® 240.593.2860 - Silver Spring, MD

Fluent in Real Estate & German, M.A. ABR ASP CIPS

Me, too, Paul S. Henderson, REALTOR®, CRS, or the "will your seller take [this little] for the house?

Understandably Joan Cox, I am hearing of some crazy bidding wars, homes selling 50 ... 100K cash over asking, with no appraisal contingency, in other parts of the country. That is just insanity and makes me pause as well.

Mar 08, 2021 06:12 PM

Joan Cox

Denver, CO
Paul S. Henderson, REA...

Tacoma, WA

Thomas J. Nelson, REALTOR ® e-Pro CRS RCS-D Vets

Big Block Realty 858.232.8722 - La Jolla, CA

CEO of Vision Drive Realty - Coastal San Diego

Great advice. I have always given similar advice since 18/22 of my years in real estate have been multiple offer markets. You lose ever house you don't offer on and you need to write an offer with no regrets: one that if you lose, you wouldn't have given more and one if you win, you don't regret what you paid.

Mar 10, 2021 06:56 AM