How Quickly Do We Need To Make An Offer?

A good read for sellers too.

Well, I think I’ve seen the fastest list to accepted offer scenario?(previous record is 8 hours) that doesn’t involve the agent having an inside deal with the buyer and seller prior to listing it.

The home came on the market at 4:10 pm yesterday (over $200,000 list). At 5:30 I wrote the offer and faxed it to the buyers who were out of state at the time. A couple fax machine errors later I have the offer back and submit it at 8:30 am, the next morning.

As agents, we normally call the listing side to make sure the offer was received and to check if they have any questions. During my call to confirm receipt the listing agent tells me that they said an offer was accepted last night and the property will be changed to pending this morning.

Stunned, I have nothing left do to but call my buyer and tell them we were too late.

So how long did it take for the house to get an accepted offer? 4 hours! The home was priced well but needed some work so I doubt it had a flood of first time home buyer offers but still. An accepted offer in 4 hours?

*I don’t think accepting an offer within 4 hours of market time serves the seller very well with getting the highest and best the market could produce but it’s their house and their right to sell that quickly.*

So what can a buyer do?

• Have a digital or hard copy of your pre-approval in your agent’s possession. With properties moving this quickly there may not be enough time to get a hold of your lender.

• Bring a checkbook to every showing or give your earnest money check to your agent when you first begin working with them. As agents, we have to sign page 7 of the offer and acceptance. By signing this page we are acknowledging that we have a copy of the proposed earnest money check and can submit it to the title company within 1 business day of the offer being accepted. Turning in an offer without holding earnest money and without signing page 7 won’t go very far with the seller.

• Get the paperwork done early. There are a lot of disclosures that need to be signed before writing an offer. A good agent will sit down and walk you through each one so you know what you’re signing before you sign. In some cases, this can take 1-2 hours. Set up a time with your agent to get these out of the way so when you do find the right home all you need to worry about is price and writing the offer. Also, make sure they teach you how each sale works. REOs, short sales, and regular sales differ greatly.

• Turn your listing email notifications to immediate. When the banks were flooding the market with REOs and low demand you could leave your listing notification to once daily and still have time to see a home before there were offers on it. With our new hyper market you need to see that home the day of, if not hours after, it being listed.

• Be prepared to buy without sleeping on it. In this market you need to have all your ducks in a row. Wishy washy buyers don’t stand a chance against hardened buyers who have lost numerous houses due to second guessing themselves. Create parameters that you feel safe buying in and won’t give you buyers remorse 4 months after closing. Examples are… We feel safe buying a home within X neighborhood, with X bedrooms, and priced under $X. If you have to write it down and stick it in your wallet or purse then do it. When you view that home or see it pop up on the listing notification you’ll be able to remember that the house is a safe buy even though everything around you feels hectic and pushed.

• Be ready to sign an offer at the house, Starbucks, etc. Most agents carry an extra set of contracts in their car or bag so while the handwriting may look sloppy (why I type everything) you did your best to get it in on time. You can even ask if your agent will pre-load an offer on their tablet. This will allow the agent to email directly from where they are without having to go back to the office and scan the documents.

If you’re a seller and read all the way to this point then congratulations. You’ve found that the tables have turned and we are now in a seller’s market.

For more information on selling or buying a home in Reno and Sparks contact Broker Kristopher Kent at (775) 750-1473 or Kris@Reno-Realty.com