And the Winner Is…
There is a local Facebook group in my area where one can sell various home and children’s items via social media. It’s brilliant. Instead of dealing with shipping charges, you just go pick up the item on the seller’s front porch. Of course, there’s always those people who sit on Facebook, just waiting for an item to pop up, so they can beat you to it. Sold! Makes me mad, mostly because I’ve never been good at eBay type situations. Lose every time. On a bigger scale, there are similar situations in real estate, if a property is for sale. So you’ve found the perfect property! After a long, arduous search with your winner of a real estate agent from the Henry Group, it finally happened. Problem is, the property is also perfect for two other buyers. Bummer. There is a little known strategy that most agents and buyers are not aware of. Don’t worry, it’s not sketchy. Case in point: a property is listed for $350,000, and you are willing to pay at or above list price. Your agent is aware of two other offers that have or will be presented to the seller. In your written offer, you can state that you are willing to pay $1000 (or whatever amount is reasonable) above the highest offer, up to a certain amount. There are some things you need to be aware of, if you decide to use this strategy. First of all, you need to put a stop limit on the amount you are willing to pay. In other words, the offer needs to have a cap. You don’t want to pay $400,000 for a property that is only worth $360,000. However, you may be willing to pay $355,000. It is very important that your agent includes verbiage in the contract that the seller discloses the other offers. You don’t want to pay more than necessary. While this strategy does not guarantee you will get the property, the odds are stacked in your favor. There are variables that may be more important to the seller other than price, such as cash offers or contingencies. The key here is to make the offer as clean as possible. Good luck, and don’t forget to contact the Henry Group for any real estate needs you have. Now if only I could find a strategy to win items on my Facebook page.
Written by: Helen Henry