Multiple Offers.. For Sale in Superior CO
On a dark and stormy Friday night, I showed a house on Cobalt Way in Superior.
A nice house, a quiet cul-de-sac and priced right too. It was easy to set a showing and the occupants left the place spotless. We left knowing that it was going to sell soon and everything had been arranged well by the agent and there seller… It was not the right place for my folks though.
Fast forward to this week and I received a notification…
WOW!
Yes, multiple offers are a fact of life. Yes, one needs to compete if one would like to secure a contract in this market… But holy cow! I have never had it quite as blatant as this and it raises some interesting thoughts:
Is there any advantage to getting your offer in early if it will be used as leverage to generate better offers after you? I am assuming of course that the Realtors with offers already submitted also have the chance to compete again, to improve on existing offers and take advantage of the same info that everyone has been given. This strategy however, risks people withdrawing previously submitted offers or not submitting an offer until the last possible minute.
As a listing agent, I prefer to not receive offers at the last minute. It takes quite a bit of time to go over offers that have been received and if I’m meeting my seller at 3 pm, the last thing I need while driving to their house is to receive more offers! In saying that… I also know it’s my job to present all offers and will obviously explain the seller our appointment might have to be delayed. I NEED to be prepared. Presenting offers is a skill and art. It should be done in a way to carefully present the good and the bad from each offer and in a way that each one can be easily compared to another. It should not be rushed! Multiple offers are potentially overwhelming for a seller and my job is to deliver them using a process that is tried and tested. Alternatively, I can explain to the buyer’s agents that offers must be in by 1 pm that day to be presented by 3 pm.
I know what some of you have been thinking. Is this legal? Ethical? The truth is that the listing agent works for the seller. Under the sellers direction or with the seller’s blessing, the agent can disclose the existence of multiple offers and with that, as much information as deemed advantageous in order to secure the best contract for the seller. As a buyer you likely won’t like this… But as the seller (even though you might feel uneasy with the process sometimes) if your goal is getting best offer ever, this may be what it takes to meet your needs.
Are there going to be some highly annoyed buyer’s and agents out there? No doubt! And then there will be the agent’s who appreciate the curtain being pulled back and knowing exactly where their buyer stands. Whether that is to set appropriate expectations with the buyer or to save the agent and their client 2 hours of a Sunday night – there is (maybe) beauty in flat out honesty too.
One this is for sure; This agent’s high offer had better not be based on using an escalation clause to better one of the other offers. If my client had thrown his hat into the ring and won the contract to buy with an escalation clause, I would be asking for a copy of the next highest offer… And calling them to verify that they hadn’t withdrawn their offer during this public competition!
So what are your thoughts? Questions? Concerns?
From a fellow Realtor:
I wonder if that harms the seller, in the end? By giving too much info that would have a buyer otherwise exceed the price and other terms due to the psychology of not knowing but assuming “highest and best”…very interesting. For example, in this case, maybe a buyer would offer $439,500 or higher and close earlier or remove some other contingency but now they will just offer $435,500 and meet all the other contingencies.
From a Buyer I’m currently working with:
It seems unethical.
From a person not actively involved in real estate industry:
Very slutty behavior!