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Do I Have to Accept the Highest Offer?

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Do I Have to Accept the Highest Offer?

We know that this may seem like a silly question, however, there are a few reasons as to why a seller may wonder if they have to accept the highest offer that is placed. Ultimately, most sellers want to make as much off of their sale as possible, however, there are a few reasons as to why even the highest offers may not always be the best offers.

Related: Why Was my Offer Rejected?

A common misconception with selling a home is that you have to accept the highest offer that is placed; however, this isn’t true. As the seller, you have a right to accept whichever offer you want to, regardless of if it is the highest or the lowest as this is your right as the property owner. There are quite a few reasons why you may want to accept an offer that isn’t the highest that is placed, however here are a few of the most common examples.

Selling to a Friend or Family

Even if you plan to sell your home to a friend or family member, oftentimes you will still receive additional offers, especially if your home has been listed through the MLS. This could result in receiving higher offers than that of the price your friend or family was going to pay. This does not mean you have to accept the higher offer and can move forward with the sale as planned.

The Highest Offer Contains Contingencies

In some instances, the highest offer may be scattered with multiple different contingencies. These contingencies are set to protect the buyer, but often the seller will decide to accept a lower offer solely because it has fewer or no contingencies as this is a “safer” offer to accept.

Related: 5 Ways to Get Your Real Estate Offer Accepted

An All-Cash Offer Has Been Placed

If an all-cash offer has been placed, even if it is lower than other offers, oftentimes the seller will choose to accept the cash offer. All-cash offers can not only move along the closing process faster but without the need of approved financing, all-cash offers are generally safer and don’t fall through as often as regular financed offers.

Whether it be friends and family, contingencies, or an all-cash offer, ultimately it is up to you as the seller to decide which offer would suit you and your wants the best. In some cases that may be the highest placed offer, however, when it comes to accepting an offer, you have the final say.

If you’re currently searching for a qualified seller’s agent to assist you with the sale of your property, are searching for a new home, or have general questions regarding North Carolina real estate, please feel free to contact our office at any time. 

Additional Tips for Sellers:

5 Ways to Get Your Real Estate Offer Accepted

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You want your offer to be accepted but what if there are multiple offers on the table? How do your offers stack up to the others and how can you make it stand out. Because we worked with buyers for decades we know key negotiating strategies that will help our buyer’s offer get accepted, but there are some tricks of the trade. Here are five ways you can get your real estate offer accepted.5 Ways to Get Your Real Estate Offer Accepted

Work with a real estate agent.

Anyone can technically make an offer on a property but if you don’t know all of the legal jargon and real estate terms, you could be missing out on how to write up a solid and tight offer. Always have your own agent representing you, the buyer, when submitting an offer.

Make sure your offer is first.

Some sellers will hold off accepting offers just in case they might get more offers. However, being the earlybird can have benefits. Try to ask your agent to get in an offer early and always be the first one.

Be careful about contingencies.

Sellers technically have the upper hand in a multiple offer situation so the price isn’t the only thing that will get your offer accepted. Minimal contingencies can also be very attractive. While we don’t highly recommend waving home inspection, it can entice sellers to accept your offer knowing that there are minimal things standing in the way from you buying the home.

Consider a higher price.

Sellers are more likely to review your offer if it is over the asking price. You have to be careful, though, because you want the home to appraise for the inflated asking price. If you are in a hot market, writing an offer over the asking price you feel the deal for the seller.

Write a letter.

Agents have long since touted the benefit of writing a letter to the seller but this isn’t always a good idea. We had a seller who received seven offers in two weeks, five of them had letters and they ended up going with the offer that didn’t provide a letter. So it depends on the seller. Having your buyer’s agent talk to the listing agent may make this tactic more clear.

Again, working with a seasoned and experienced real estate agent on how to write up a solid and tight offer is really the key to getting your offer noticed and accepted.

Schedule a Consultation

If you are currently searching for a new home, are in need of a qualified buyers agent or listing agent, or have any questions regarding today’s markets, please feel free to contact our office at any time. 

Additional Tips for Sellers:

We Submitted an Offer and Haven’t Heard a Thing? What Now?

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We Submitted an Offer and Haven't Heard a Thing? What Now?Every real estate transaction brings about a different scenario because every party involved in a real estate transaction differs. Even if you have different lenders, appraisers, and escrow officers, your buyer and seller and even the opposite agent will be different so this combination provides a different scenario for absolutely every real estate transaction. This is where I cannot stress enough the importance of an experienced agent or broker. Yes, we have to have continuing education and take tests on what we know, but nothing beats the experience of going through dozens if not hundreds of real estate transactions a year. That being said, this is a common issue we’ve had where we have submitted an offer and hear nothing back from the listing agent. What’s going on here?

When we submitted an offer to a listing agent we will usually contact that agent first to ask some questions about the listing and the sellers. This will help us draw up a solid and tight real estate offer catering to the seller. We want to know how motivated the seller is if there have been any other offers, along the properties been on the market, and why the owner is selling. All of this will lend information to create a better offer. However, this doesn’t necessarily mean we have an accepted offer just because the listing agent and the buying agent are talking. Once we have an idea of the offer to submit we will write up a solid offer for our buyer’s terms and price. This offer is typically submitted either through facts, in person, or through email. From there, the listing agent must submit the offer to the seller. There is a three day waiting period for the seller to review the offer.

Technically, after three days, if there is no mutual acceptance or counteroffer, the deal is terminated. However, this doesn’t necessarily mean that the buyer needs to resubmitted offer. Listing agents know that they have three days to respond to an offer and if they don’t that offer can become null and void. This means that the buyer could go present an offer to another seller and if that original seller comes back with an accepted offer, the buyer is not obligated to buy because the time limitation ran out.

Related Post: How to Beat Cash Offers

If the listing agent responds to the buyers within those three days, that time can get extended. For instance, if the listing agent cannot meet with the seller within those three days they may speak to the buyer’s agent and ask for a few more days. This communication will give the buyer some peace of mind that they are still reviewing the offer.

But what if there’s no communication and you don’t hear back from the listing agent or the seller within those three days?

We try to contact the listing agent to find out what’s going on. This is perfectly acceptable. We can contact the listing agent to make sure they receive the offer and if the seller is willing to entertain the offer or if they’re going to reject it. This communication will give everyone a good heads-up as to what’s going on and the timeframe. However, the listing agent isn’t required to respond. Those three days could come and go and in the meantime, the seller could receive a better offer, except it, and the first buyer has no idea.

Related: 5 Way to Get Your Offer Accepted

Again, we feel communication is really the key to getting everybody what they want and for a win-win for all. If we don’t hear from the listing agent within three days we contact them. We can certainly chat over the phone or in person about the details of the offer if things need to change, and what the seller is expecting. We can then alter our offer or ask for a counteroffer. If the seller has no other offers on the table and the buyer has no interest in another property, this verbal communication could go back and forth for some time, however, nothing is enforceable until it is in writing and signed by both parties.

For more answers to your real estate questions give us a call at any time.

Why You’re Losing Out on Every Home You Bid On

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You’ve presented several offers to different sellers yet everyone is coming back rejected or an outrageous counter offer. So you move on. Why is it that you can’t seem to get an offer accepted?

Well, for starters, depending on where you live it may or may not be a buyers market. Many markets across the US are now totally geared toward sellers. Sellers have the upper hand because of the amount of inventory in a particular area is just not meeting the demand for buyers. But, this may not be the only recent. Here in Sunset Beach and other Brunswick Islands communities were seeing a pretty balanced market. If you feel that you’re still getting outbid and losing out on the property there may be some underlying factors. Here are some ways you may be losing out on every home you bid on and how you can change it.Why You're Losing Out on Every Home You Bid On

You’re trying to go at it alone.

If you’re trying to make bids and offers on properties without using a buyers agent or you think that you can simply use the listing agent of the property in order to purchase the home, it could be preventing you from actually getting the home. The listing agent’s primary duty is to the seller. They want the most for the property and if you’re offering a lowball price, the listing agent is probably advising the seller to either counter offer or reject the offer altogether.

Using a buyers agent that is familiar with the market, the neighborhood and how to negotiate can really increase your chances of finding the right home and making a solid offer. With the advice and suggestions of an agent that’s been there, you can feel confident making a good offer that will be accepted.

Related: How to Choose the Best Agent?

You’re making too many lowball offers.

And those lowball offers don’t stand out, there just insulting. If you love the house chances are someone else will love it as well and is putting in an offer that is not insulting. It’s almost impossible to get a lowball offer accepted on a brand-new property. Lowball offers can be negotiated with a counter offer but usually only after they’ve been on the market for quite some time. Most people are offering full price offers, especially on new listings in your lowball offer will simply get tossed aside.

You don’t understand the market.

Real estate is not your life. You probably don’t work in the industry full time so your view and perspective on the market could be greatly skewed. This again is why you need a buyers agent that understands the local market and can help you make an informed decision on which area might accept a lower offer and which neighborhood is extremely hot right now. Most real estate markets are extremely local and these micromarkets can have different dynamics from one neighborhood to another. If you’re working with an agent that understands these, you can have a better grasp on the market in general and how to make a solid offer.

Read more: Does a personal letter really help?

Understand other bids.

“Analyze the recent sales that you’ve lost out on. How many days were those homes on the market? How high over asking price did they go for? Look at homes at a lower price range or be willing to offer more in your current range to be competitive in a multiple offer situation.” [Source]

You dragged your feet on timing.

If you dragged your feet on making an offer at the right time, giving back to listing agents and sellers in a timely manner or completely neglected communication, this could be a huge reason why you’ve lost out. Real estate is all about timing; proper times to get back to agents, sellers and buyers, timelines and statutes of limitations all factor in to making a solid offer and getting  the ball rolling. If you’ve dragged your feet and not been diligent on the timing, this could be a major reason why you’ve lost out.

Read more: 5 Things to Check Out Before Buying

There are many personal reasons why your offer may not have been accepted, not just the timing in the market or your own personal finances. However, you do need a guide to help you along the way making smart decisions, the bidding solid offers and negotiating with your terms and your price in mind. Don’t lose out on another house, contact us today for more tips and information on buying in Brunswick County and surrounding neighborhoods and towns.

 

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