~ By Mike Galinac, Exact Match Properties ~
Back in the day, before the internet took over, presenting real estate offers was much different. We real estate agents were required to meet with the sellers and their agent, usually at the seller’s kitchen table, where we provided copies of our client’s offer, and then explained the details of the contract, all the while doing our best to put a positive spin on everything, in the hopes that the seller would accept our offer. Even though this was a time consuming process, we benefitted by having the luxury of making sure that the seller understood everything and then being able to witness their reaction, in person. In many cases, we knew right then and there, whether we were going to get accepted or not. At the very least, we could provide first-hand feedback to our buyer clients, who were eagerly awaiting answers. Today, we no longer get that opportunity to sit with the sellers, and we end up having to email our complete offer to the seller’s agent and then patiently (impatiently) wait for answers and feedback.
Tip #8 – The way that your offer is presented to the seller’s agent is critical to your success. You put a lot of time, thought and emotion into your offer, so we need to make it count! Your real estate agent should always provide the seller’s agent with a detailed summary of all the pertinent items, so there’s no chance of missing important information. In addition I recommend including as much positive information about you and your financial strength as possible, all of which can be easily forwarded to the seller, with the offer package attached. Since the offer package often includes 15 – 20 pages of clauses and information, do your best to help the seller’s agent and the seller easily focus on the major details, without having to hunt for them. The seller’s agent should always be notified in advance that an offer is coming, and then I recommend following up the delivery with a call or an email, to confirm the agent’s receipt of everything. That follow up call can be a great opportunity to continue to build rapport and to gauge the initial response to your offer. It also shows the seller’s agent that your agent is going to be easy to communicate with, throughout the process of negotiating the deal and ultimately making sure that everybody ends up getting to the closing table!
As a side note, the subject of buyer “love letters” has been debated often over the last few years. Many buyers were writing their own letters to the seller, including photos and emotional messages, hoping to get the sellers to react in a positive way. Agents were including these letters with the offer packages, and in many cases they worked well, as intended. As you can well imagine, letters like these have the potential to sway sellers based on other things besides just the terms of the offer itself. As a result, our National Association of Realtors (NAR) and many others have recommended (and in some cases, mandated) that this practice be discontinued, so as to not invite the potential for any form of discrimination when it comes to accepting an offer.
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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