Originally published on Inman and REM – by Mary-Anne Gillespie
When the real estate market is hot, an attractive house is a coveted commodity. If buyers in an area are all eager to get into their next dream home, sellers can typically expect to receive multiple offers soon after their listing is advertised.
How can you win the bid on a property with multiple offers? Check out these seven tips.
1. Play to win, not to lose:
A big reason behind the insane soaring of housing prices is that sellers are playing the numbers game. The lower their listing prices are, the more offers they attract – with likely higher asking prices. At the end of the day, bidding wars usually raise the prices much more than their true market value. As an agent, you should know a good enough ballpark based on market statistics. If you see that the over-asking price is exceeding your client’s budget, it’s best to pull your offer. Otherwise, you’ll be just increasing the competitive drive. Let the market balance itself out.
2. Do your due diligence:
Get complete information on the sellers. Consider asking these questions:
- Who are they?
- Where do they work?
- Why are they selling?
- Where are they going?
The best way to know about the sellers is to talk to the neighbours. If you get in touch with at least five surrounding houses, you’ll find out a scoop about the house that’s going to help you in the offer situation.
3. Compliment the agent:
Call the agent on the other end and have that communication. Tell them you want to bring an offer and you have a few questions. But first, take five minutes to know something about the agent. You may look at their Facebook profile before calling them.
Remember to compliment the agent first when you call them and then go into the seller info. The key is to build rapport, emotions and relationships.
4. See what else you can include in the offer:
If there’s some furniture and belongings in the house, you may put in the offer that you’ll take care of it on behalf of the seller. This could make your offer stand out. Likewise, you can also offer to clean it all up for them.
If the sellers wish, you may add one or two walkthroughs for them to say goodbye to the house and anything they are leaving behind. Alternatively, if they live in another city, you may also offer to pay for a mover or have it put in storage for them.
5. Give the deposit cheque or approval letter along with your offer:
Sending a non-refundable deposit cheque along with your offer will make it stronger. Or you may include an approval letter with your offer. The key is to show your client’s financial freedom. Plus, it will show the seller (and their agent) how much you want the house.
6. Text them 15 minutes before the offer:
When talking to the seller’s agent, let them know that you’ll text them before the offer as a reminder. For instance, if the offer presentation is at 5:00 p.m., text them at 4:45 p.m., reminding them of how your clients are totally in love with the place, and ask them if you can improve your chances of getting a call at any capacity.
7. Send them a letter or video:
You need to represent your client’s best interest by giving sellers an idea of who is going to purchase the house. For instance, you may send a short video of your clients talking about how much they love the house or showing their little kids in front of the house or playing in the neighborhood park.
Key takeaway:
Remember, building a relationship with the agent can make a difference between your offer and 10 other offers. We think it’s all about prices, but it’s not. It’s about the emotional versus logical connection you have, which starts with the agent on the other end.
