will they respond to our real estate offer today?
Clients always ask when they will hear back after an offer is submitted.
It may be painful to hear but… it depends.
Recently, when an offer was presented to a client, there was a typical discussion of when he should respond to the buyer. The offer was close to what he was asking for his Vienna townhouse, closed quickly, and included typical contingencies. My recommendation was to respond that day, but he asked to take a couple of days.
Time, in my opinion, works against you in real estate negotiations. It can cause either of you to lose the deal.
I have been having this same discussion for years with clients. My strategy of responding quickly makes sense and sets an expectation that the other party respond in a similar time frame. Set the right tone to control the negotiation.
Snooze and you may lose
For example, if a buyer has submitted a decent offer and does not hear back within a reasonable period of time, she can withdraw the offer all together and then find another house to buy.
Or, look at it this way… if a seller gets a decent offer and sleeps on it for a couple of days, then he may be left high and dry when the buyer withdraws the offer and decides to buy the house down the street.
Same story?
Here is another example: A buyer gets a good counter-offer from the seller and decides to sleep on it. But, that night at 8:30, another buyer submits a full-price offer that the seller accepts on the spot.
Remember, until the counter-offer is signed you don’t have a binding agreement.
I could run down a long list of real estate stories when people did not respond quickly, offers were pulled or stronger offers snuck in at the last minute. It is tough being a buyer or seller… waiting for that last initial.
If you set the proper pace from the start then you will not have to wait long.
My recommendation when any client is responding to an offer is to be decisive, act quickly and professionally. And since I started having clients sign digitally using secure DocuSign, they can make decisions on their smartphones, iPads or at their desk in a few minutes.
Speed is good!
Time to Move-on
If you are waiting a day or two, and the seller or buyer won’t respond then pull your real estate offer and move on. The other party should understand that there is a deadline even if one was not included (a topic for another day). Tough words but this tidbit may save you from a nightmare.
