Believe it or not, but there are real estate agents in this business who unintentionally blow their buyers' purchase offers out of the water. If you're a buyer whose offer was not accepted by a seller, you might look more closely at your agent. You probably do anyway because it's human nature to blame your agent when your offer doesn't come back signed. It's not always your agent's fault, though. Sometimes, it's your fault for not listening to your agent. And, honestly, sometimes it is your agent's fault.
I hear agents tell me that their buyer won't do this, and their buyer won't do that, and I want to say: did you ask? Did you ask your buyer? Because I know they probably did not. They might be a white knight agent. They might be a control freak. They might be clueless.
They might be all of those things, I dunno, but I do know that you get further with honey than with vinegar. You can't push a listing agent, no matter how hard you try. And if you do try, you can alienate yourself and your buyer. Nobody cares about your interpretation of law or real estate practice or anything else you read on the back of a Bazooka gum wrapper. I swear, this is such a simple concept but so few seem to get it.
Once you get past the listing agent, you still need to deal with the home seller. All sellers are different. They bring backgrounds and experiences that may be foreign to you to the table. Get over it. Just when you think you can second guess, you will be wrong. You never know how they might look at something, which is why I like to ask for feedback and input from my sellers.
See, the thing is even short sale sellers are in control. They're in control from the beginning to the end, much more so than if they opted for, say, foreclosure, instead of a short sale. It's their home, they own it, and they make the decisions. The bank only approves what they decide. Some agents think the seller should be eliminated from the process so the agents can negotiate directly with the bank. Not gonna happen. Not with this Sacramento short sale agent.
We just went into contract on a short sale home that a few weeks ago we couldn't give away. This week, multiple offers from a bunch of buyers clamoring for the home. When we have an even-playing field, I lay out the offers and let the sellers choose with no input from me. Hey, it's their home. Their right to choose. I do ask why they might prefer one offer over another, and it's always a different reason.
Yesterday's reason was the buyer had come over to the house too many times. In the buyers' minds, they were excited and wanted to show their new home to all of their friends and family. Plus, they wanted to take measurements so they could layout their furniture on a diagram before moving in. But in their excitement, the buyers treated the sellers' home like a Macy's display floor. Their offer wasn't even presented yet.
The sellers felt they were indecisive and rejected their offer. Yet, another example of when you see a home you want to buy, you need to stop what you are doing and buy it.
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Certified HAFA Specialist
Sacramento Real Estate Listings
Elizabeth Weintraub is an author, home buying columnist for About.com, a Land Park resident, and a Land Park real estate agent who specializes in older, classic homes in Land Park, Curtis Park, Midtown and East Sacramento. Weintraub is also a Sacramento Short Sale agent who lists and successfully sells short sales throughout the four-county Sacramento area. Call Elizabeth Weintraub at 916.233.6759. Put 35 years of real estate experience to work for you. Broker-Associate at Lyon Real Estate. DRE License # 00697006.
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Lyon Real Estate is not associated with the government, and our service is not approved by the government or your lender. Even if you accept this offer and use our service, your lender may not agree to change your loan. Photo: Unless otherwise noted in this blog, the photo is copyrighted by Big Stock Photo and used with permission.The views expressed herein are Weintraub's personal views and do not reflect the views of Lyon Real Estate. Disclaimer: If this post contains a listing, information is deemed reliable as of the date it was written. After that date, the listing may be sold, listed by another brokerage, canceled, pending or taken temporarily off the market, and the price could change without notice. It could blow up, explode or vanish. To find out the present status of any listing, please go to elizabethweintraub.com.
