Counterpoint to Cindy Jones' blog titled, "Mr. Seller You Didn't Accept Our Offer On Your House-It's Okay We're Not Heartbroken"
Dear Ms. Buyer,
You made an offer on our property. The offer was nowhere near our asking price. We have a great listing agent and our list price is actually below the median sales price in the neighborhood. We understand that we have not done some of the upgrades that a few of the other sales have made and we factored that into our list price.
We were not sure how you arrived at your offer so we had our agent talk to your agent. While there are 12 comparable sales in the neighborhood, your agent pulled the two lowest sales (foreclosures) and averaged them to arrive at her estimate of market value. You then offered ten percent less and asked us to pay all your closing costs plus leave the media equipment.
Our agent talked to your agent but she held her ground that her estimate of market value was correct. We eventually decided that this was going to be a waste of time so we rejected your offer.
The nice thing is our home is paid for and while we would really like to sell; this is not a distressed sale situation. If you're bargain hunting, please move on down the line and find another property. There are some short sales and foreclosures from the down-line builder available in the neighborhood. We understand that you are relocating from an area where properties are selling for 50 percent of what they did a few years ago, but that's not the case here.
We wish you the best of luck in your home search and hope you find that bargain you're looking for.
PS - This is a true story. We sold the property a couple of weeks later very close to list price.
Tom Branch and Gina Branch, The Branch Team with RE/MAX Dallas Suburbs, service the greater North Dallas suburbs including Dallas, Plano, Allen, McKinney, Frisco, Lewisville, and Carrollton. While Gina concentrates on traditional listings and buyer/tenant representation, Tom specializes in assisting distressed homeowners to avoid foreclosure. Tom and Gina have published two books (Achieving Rock Star Status and The Field Guide to Short Sales) and are available for speaking engagements in the greater Dallas - Fort Worth Metroplex. Subscribe to The Branch Team Blog.
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Well written Tom. Because SOME are overpriced certainly doesn't mean ALL are overpriced. If priced correctly, the seller will be seeing another offer soon.
Bargain hunters don't set market value, sold comps do. Sounds like the buyers agent wouldn't even consider a counter!
That's got to be the nicest and kindest "Go take a flying leap" letter I have ever seen! ;) Great post! ;)
This is actually a true story that happened earlier this year. The agent had been licensed a couple of months and proceeded to tell me that I was not looking out for my clients' best interests, blah, blah, blah...I had to laugh. We sold it a couple of weeks later close to list price.
Tom
Tom-nice counterpoint to my post. It does work both ways. I did carefully look at the comps and factored in the difference of a walkout basement, full bath and all of the other upgrades. Our offer was $15K off of the net of the other house. Not a low ball offer. Based on those differences I think our offer was close to on the money for an apprasial.
Cindy,
Thanks for dropping by. I'm not knocking your post, just noting that pricing issues happen on both sides of the transaction. I also think that some buyers think that sellers should accept anything they're offered.
It's so critical that sellers and buyers work with real estate professionals who know what they're doing. It makes the transactions go so much smoother.
Tom
Nice rebuttle. Both you and Cindy have different views on buyer's offers. And it is critical that sellers and buyers work with real estate professionals that know their business.
Tom, I've been on both sides. Glad to hear you all stuck to your guns and the seller had a higher net as a result.
Kay,
We really don't have differing views--just different stories to tell.
I think the take-away is as you stated, "it is critical that sellers and buyers work with real estate professionals that know their business."
Tom
Bravo! San Antonio is NOT in recession, yet "buyers" come from who-knows-where and expect the very best house with the very best upgrades to be sold to THEM at well below what the market indicates! Frustrating! They seem to think that since they took a 'beating' - Somewhere Else- so should OUR sellers! Our answer- go back to "who-knows-where" and buy there! Seems GREED is in the air! -Steve
Tom - Great counterpoint. Three of the nation's strongest housing markets are in Texas. Raleigh is another of the top 10. We see a lot of the same things you mention here.
Not much you can do with a low ball offer, as long as you know your listing price is accurate compared to other homes. Overall is sounds like you made the right choice.
Well done. Your sellers were fortunate to have you as their representative.