URGENT: Help needed - Posted by Steven

Posted by Evan on December 02, 2004 at 17:45:25:

Ed Copp,

Thanks for the ABSOLUTE EXCELLENT ADVISE.

Your approach to negoitating is as good as any I’ve studied.

Key point: You’re now the “seller”, selling your offer. Close the deal or move on to the next deal and offer. Great approach.

URGENT: Help needed - Posted by Steven

Posted by Steven on December 01, 2004 at 17:23:18:

I submitted an offer to a FSBO for the full asking price. Gave the owner 48 hours to decide and that was 2 days ago. Today the owner called back to ask for a 1-day extension because he told me he promised someone that he’d give that person a chance to submit an offer. His asking price is low so I made the full offer right away. However, I don’t want him to shop around for better offers.

What should I say to him to increase the likelihood of him signing by the deadline?

How can a seller turn down full price offer? - Posted by SteveA

Posted by SteveA on December 02, 2004 at 07:23:10:

I had an agent threaten a realtive with a lawsuit once because a buyer offered full asking price. She said you can’t turn down full price offers if you’ve listed it for sale. I don’t know how true that is but it makes sense to me. In our case, the original listing agreement was signed by my late sisters son who was not the legal executor of her estate, so it was null and void.

Re: URGENT: Help needed - Posted by Ben (NJ)

Posted by Ben (NJ) on December 01, 2004 at 19:45:07:

It’s a bummer but even during attorney review the seller can still shop the offer around. The only deterrent I’ve tried is telling the seller. “look my offer is full asking price, cash (if it is,hopefully) and is on the table. If you come back and tell me there’s a competing offer and I have to increase mine, then mine will be immediately withdrawn.” Let him think that he will lose a solid buyer by being greedy and may ultimately end up with nothing.

Re: You can’t have it both ways. - Posted by Ed Copp (OH)

Posted by Ed Copp (OH) on December 01, 2004 at 18:42:18:

You did not want him to shop your offer around so you gave him 48 hours to shop. Won’t work. Now he needs another 24 hours to convince his other buyer to outbid you. What is in this for you? Nothing.

When you make an offer the offer needs to be accepted right then. This is especially true if the property is priced low. Suggested time for acceptance one minute (60 seconds), then pick up the contract and leave. If it is accepted great, if not tomorrow is another day. If you leave the contract with the seller the “why I’d pay more than that” crowd will eliminate you almost every time.

Whatever your profit would have been this time is the cost of your siminar. Learn from it, and do the deal differntly next time.

Re: How can a seller turn down full price offer? - Posted by Ben (NJ)

Posted by Ben (NJ) on December 02, 2004 at 10:41:55:

Depending on the listing agreement, the agent may be entitled to their commission if they procured a ready, willing and able buyer. Obviously they can’t force the seller to sell their property though. Often if the seller gets an immediate flood of full-price offers they think they priced it too low. They then may relist it at a higher price.

Re: How can a seller turn down full price offer? - Posted by Tony Colella

Posted by Tony Colella on December 02, 2004 at 09:36:05:

State Law will dictate but in many states, even the listed asking price is NOT considered an offer, therefor your acceptance is not legally binding.

That is the reason it is necessary to get the deal under a signed contract. Until then the game has yet to begin.

I can’t help but be concerned about this deal on two points. One, you offered full asking price? Sure, maybe it is listed well below market and you know it is a steal. In that case, 48 hours was way too long. Negotiating and not leaving until the contract was signed was important to protect the deal.

Second, it sounds as if you are the motivated buyer instead of the seller being the motivated party. By forfeiting your ability to walk away from the deal, you lose much of your negotiating strength.

We all get excited when we see a deal that leaves money on the table but this is a business and we need to conduct it as such. Get it under contract or we loose it. Get it under the terms we need to make the profit we want, or we walk away.

Tony

Re: ED COPP (OH) - Posted by Steve_Philly

Posted by Steve_Philly on December 02, 2004 at 08:54:03:

Ed,

I totally agree with you and the 60 second rule. But in my experience I find this to sometimes be a very hard ball to hit. For one reason or another you know. Well my wife has to sign… I need to review the contract with my lawyer… I want to go through with this but can you give me a tonight to sleep on it…

I’m not at all saying the methodology of 60 seconds doesnt work, you probably are a top performer. And heck, I dont want a contract shopped around either ( I had this happen to me) But what I am asking is for you is this 60 second rule absolute? Or how do you pick and choose? Just curious of your feedback.

Thanks

You’re correct - Posted by SteveA

Posted by SteveA on December 02, 2004 at 10:45:56:

That’s exactley what she said now that you said that. That she could “sue” for her commission.

Re: no absolutes - Posted by Ed Copp (OH)

Posted by Ed Copp (OH) on December 02, 2004 at 14:32:14:

But the thing that we fail to think of is that at any time we let someone “sleep on it” or on of the seven or eight hundred other delay tactics that they have, we have just loaned them the amount of our offer, interest free until they decide what to do.

Most of us do not operate on a strictly cash basis, but I think that it is prudent business to look at things on a cash basis.

For instance lets say you are looking at a $100,000 property (asking price) and you have the cash in your pocket. The seller then wants to run your offer of lets say $85,000 past his uncle Willie for a couple of days. At that point if you have agreed to wait for two days, you have loaned him $85,000 interest free, to use as a guarantee while he shops the market. So if he gets an offer of say $88,000 he has kept you committed for a couple of days while he will sell to the other buyer. You did not have full right to use your own cash, he had you committed while he worked against you.

Cash as a commodity is king. Just explain the 60 second rule that way. You have cash to invest, that’s your job. If a better use comes along for your cash in 20 minutes or so then you do not need to be commited to him. If he is really motivated then he will make a decision, but he must understand that your cash needs to make a profit now, today. If not here then elswhere.

It is easier to explain this matter in slow easy conversation. No hard close necessary if you can make your point. The 60 seconds might turn into 60 minutes, that’s O.K. if a deal is made. If not there are other properties available.

Re: You’re correct - Posted by JOE

Posted by JOE on December 03, 2004 at 10:48:41:

Interesting.
We have our house on the market now.
But no one has offered full price yet!
Real estate agent had our price upped to match two other
houses in our neighborhood.
So we do have some room to play with.
And yes, real estate agent’s contract does say for ours, if we do not sell if for the listed price, and we do take it off the market before the contract period is up, she gets the full commission from us.