~ By Mike Galinac, Exact Match Properties ~
You finally get to the point where you have found the perfect home, toured it with your real estate agent, wrote an excellent offer (you hope) and your agent has submitted it to the seller for consideration. The time that you then have to spend waiting for the seller to respond seems like an eternity! And if there’s no answer today and we now have to wait until tomorrow, you’ll be tossing and turning all night as your brain just won’t stop thinking about that beautiful kitchen! We would all love to get an answer back on our offer quickly, but don’t be too surprised if the seller decides to wait until the home has been on the market for at least a couple days before making a decision. After all, if you put yourself in the seller’s shoes, you would want to shake every possible offer out of the bushes too. It’s human nature.
Tip #7 – Your offer should have an expiration date and time, but don’t make the mistake of making the time frame for seller consideration so short that it ends up irritating the seller or the seller’s agent. As an example, if there is a “highest and best” offer deadline established of noon tomorrow, don’t include an offer expiration date/time in your offer of any earlier than 2:00 tomorrow, to allow for review and discussion of all offers. You don’t want to come across as being pushy, which may cause the seller to want to push back. Some agents have started leaving out an offer expiration date/time, just to keep the offer valid, regardless of how long it takes for the seller to respond. I don’t necessarily agree with that strategy, although in certain circumstances, this may be your best move. Keep in mind that, should you have a change of heart before the seller signs your offer, you have the right to cancel your offer in writing, without any cost or obligation. Please discuss this in detail with your real estate agent before exercising this option, as the time line is very important. One interesting strategy being used today, is the ”deadline incentive”. This is where the buyer offers the seller a bonus dollar amount, over and above the offer price, for the seller’s signed acceptance by the offer expiration date/time. Again, you’ll want to use caution before playing this card, as it has the potential to cause the seller to get suspicious of feel pressured, but in the right scenario, this move could get your offer accepted before other competitors even get a chance to bid.
It’s important to note that every situation is different, with different homes, different people, different priorities and different challenges. Therefore, it’s extremely important that your real estate agent is highly skilled and very experienced, to give you the best possible chance to succeed. My team and I, here at Exact Match Properties, are ready to assist you, should you need effective representation when buying or selling Michigan Real Estate. Please don’t hesitate to contact us for a no-obligation consultation. Thank you for reading! Mike Galinac
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