Multiple Offers Situation? Here are the DO’s and DON’Ts
by Maxwell Alexander, REALTOR®, Experienced Real Estate Investor, Alexander Maxwell Realty
There is a shortage of inventory in many real estate markets in the United States. If you are shopping for a home in the Hudson Valley, chances are you’ve been there a few times – Multiple Offers Situation, Bidding War, tears, and disappointment… But does it have to be this way?
Here are quick DO’s and DON’Ts from a Realtor® who has been on both seller’s and buyer’s side quite a few times:
DOs:
- Do get and keep yourself ready mentally and financially for the Bidding War. This means you should have a fresh prequalification letter at your fingertips at all times.
- Even better, do get pre-approved. Many banks now offer a pre-approval process which means that your loan will go through underwriting and could be as efficient as cold, hard cash.
- Do write a very short and concise personal letter to the sellers, they do not have the time to read poems. Talk more about how determined you are to get the transaction to a successful closing and not about why this property is such a great fit for you.
- Do have your building inspector on stand by and specify in your offer that you’ll get the inspection done and approved in less than 24 hours after an accepted offer.
- Do use an escalation clause with your max bid amount. This will show the sellers you a pro in this and a viable and determined candidate.
- Do work on Plan B, C, and D at the same time. Chances are you’ll repeat it all over again!
DON’Ts:
- Do not take it personally! It’s not about you or your family! Understand that this is a business transaction in a tough and fast moving market. Your Realtor should prepare you emotionally and logically for any outcome. Trust them to do the job and if you don’t believe they’ve got the skills – find a new agent.
- Do not try to contact the seller yourself, no matter what the situation is. Your offer and the terms can influence the decision, so trust your agent to relay the information to the other side. If you think your harassment attempts will influence the transaction – you are correct – it will be influenced, but not in your favor. On top of that, you might get yourself and your agent in trouble.
- Do not give up and do not settle where you are! Keep looking for plan B, plan C, and plan D while waiting for the answer. In this market, you might go through a dozen of these, before you land an accepted offer, so do a lot of meditation and develop some patience.
