Sellers truly are in a good spot when it comes to selling at this time. However, there are lots of things to consider when accepting an offer. Is it the highest price? Not always. Sometimes, it comes down to terms. One of the most clever offers came this weekend; allowing the seller to fill in dates and times of closing & possession within 3 days of acceptance. If you know anything about moving from one home to another, you know that is where things can get sticky. Avoiding a double move can save a home owner approximately $5-8,000 in rent, storage and moving expenses.
The "acceleration clause" is where you will beat any other offer by a dollar amount. Sometimes it works, other times it doesn't. Recently, an agent will submitted such an offer without any letter of pre-approval on a buyer. Why risk taking an offer when you do not have solid evidence that they have gone to a lender to sit down and be pre-qualified. Alway, always, always have your agent provide the letter of opinion that you are qualified. You would not believe how many agents will tell you "we have 2 days to get that to you". No joke. However, your competitor just aced it and sent one with his offer. Please tell your clients you lost because you didn't have one on file in your drop box and you didn't have time to "run back to the office to get it". All the energy expended to show the home on a dime, rushing to get an offer together, and then not having your paperwork in order lends itself to a frustrating experience for the buyers.
One of our clients wrote an offer $50,000 over the list price, only to lose to a cash offer. The sellers were worried about the appraisal clause stating that it had to appraise. My clients would not remove that clause which is understandable. But, they still lament losing this home. So, as you can see, there are no black and white answers. Cash is the one term that remains king in this business. Hard to overlook that there will be no appraisal issues when prices are rising.
There are lots of ways to improve your chance of securing your home. Each transaction is different. What I can tell you, is that in order to play in this arena, you need a professional to guide you ever step of the way. Happy House Hunting!
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