Something I’ve learned early on in the Real Estate business is that it isn’t easy to get a buying client’s offer accepted.  Sure, if the client wants to put in a ridiculously high above asking offer it will most likely get accepted, but most buyers don’t want to do that, and they certainly don’t want to be pressured by their agent to do it. Fortunately for the keen agent, there are other ways to get offers presented to and accepted by sellers. The trouble for many agents is that they don’t have the proper skills or they don’t have the expertise to negotiate a transaction before submitting their client’s offer. This is one principle that I’ve put into practice with my clients and their purchasing prospects. In fact, it has become a distinguishing and useful tool that has received the reward of an accepted offer for my buyers many times.

The real concern for sellers is not exclusively about price. Of course, price is one of the most important aspects that a seller is considering, but it is not the end all. What I’ve learned is that almost equal to price is the idea in the sellers mind that the transaction will go through without a hitch. And this is where a savvy buyer’s agent can rise above their competition and secure a winning bid. By getting to know the details about the seller’s motives for moving and their fears for what lay ahead in the journey that is escrow, an agent can obtain unique and important clues on how to write up the offer. And let me sidebar for just a moment; I never write two offers the same way, each offer is specifically crafted to meet the unique needs and desires of the seller. So as a fiduciary agent, I always want to try and extract an extra piece of information from the seller besides what price they’re looking to get.

Like I said, I’ve done this many times successfully, but I wanted to share one particular time that stands out to me. I had a client many years ago who was looking for an affordable house to buy and live in. Him and his wife were planning to have a family and wanted to secure a home close to their church and close to their parents and siblings. As it happens, the perfect house hit the market with enough room to bring in little ones and with enough projects to keep my client satisfied for years and at a very attractive price. So I went to work. We looked at the house as soon as it was available and afterward they told me they loved it. I immediately jumped on the phone with the listing agent. We had several long conversations, but here’s a snippet of one of the conversations:

Me: Hi Mike, I’m calling about your property on flower street.

Agent: Oh yes, how can I help?

Me: Well, I showed my clients and they absolutely loved the property. I’m preparing an offer and wanted get some more info and let you know about my clients.

Agent: Great, what would you like to know?

Me: I’m wondering about your sellers and where they’re moving to?

Agent: Ah, they’re actually getting a divorce and it’s not pretty. They’re moving to separate areas and will be splitting the proceeds of the sale. They’re looking to sell quickly, that’s why it’s priced so well.

Me: I’m sorry to hear that. We can definitely give them a quick and smooth transaction. My buyers are all qualified and are eager to own. As for an easy transaction, I noticed one area that might be a hang up in escrow, the rear fence was in pretty bad shape. I saw that the tree is growing through it and the fence is ready to be replaced. Does the seller have a plan for the fence.

Agent: They don’t have a plan but they were worried that it would cause a problem during escrow.

Me: Well, what if we write in the contract that the buyer will request no repairs or credits needed for the fence?

Agent: I think that’s what they would be looking for.

Me: OK great. I’ll get to work on the offer and you’ll have it today.

I’m sure you can guess, but my client’s offer was indeed accepted and they have since grown their family and have loved the house very much to this day.

So the moral of my little story is that it’s very important that your agent knows how to communicate and start a negotiation with the seller’s agent BEFORE submitting an offer. By the time the seller has received many offers and may be thinking about submitting counter-offers, it may be too late to change your terms, even if it would have taken only a small adjustment to get that prized accepted offer.

Jim Post Real Estate Broker is a SoCal
Realtor specializing in making the buying and
selling process simple, smooth, and inexpensive. Working in
SoCal Real Estate for over 15 years, he can provide
valuable representation for any transaction. Learn More @
www.lbrealtor.com
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