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RSS FeedShould an Offer be Verbal or Written |
A real estate agent called me yesterday about one of my listings. He said that his buyer-client was interested in the property, but wanted to make an offer that was about $25,000 lower than the asking price. Any offer is better than no offer, but what followed puzzles me whenever it happens:
The agent asked me if the seller would be willing to accept such a low offer. He didn't want to "waste his time" writing an offer that wouldn't be accepted.
Waste his time??? Isn't this his job -- to write the offer according to his buyer's wishes and present it in its best light?
I told him that I didn't know if the seller would accept it or not -- write the offer and the seller would be happy to review it.
The problem is, it is way too easy for a seller to reject a verbal offer. There is a psychological advantage in a written offer that doesn't exist with a verbal offer. How is a seller to knowledgeably review a verbal offer without knowing all the terms: what kind of financing is the buyer getting (all cash? 100% financing?) Has the buyer been pre-approved? Does he want to have a home inspection? Before a seller can entertain an offer, he needs to know all the terms.
So, to all those real estate agents out there who want to take shortcuts -- write the offer! If you are a buyer, tell your agent to write the offer!
(C) 2006 Susan Pruden.
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1. RE: Should an Offer be Verbal or Written
Thank you for your comments. I recently made a written offer for my customers. The listing agent called the seller to give here the terms of the offer, but never carried the written offer to the seller. The agent called me with a verbal counter offer, but refused to take the written offer to have the seller make the counter offer in writing. Her excuse was that she would have to go to the Seller's house after the Seller got off work and that was inconvenient for her. The Seller's house is less than 5 miles from the agent's office. I called the manager of her office and he was no help. The office manager later called me to inform me that the Seller had decided to reject the offer and I would have to submit a new offer if my customers wanted to proceed. I have always carried the written offers, etc to my. Afterall, isn't that our job. My customers may have considered the counter offer, but they wanted it in writing. Am I expecting too much of the listing agent?