How Many Offers?

[Firepath]

I am curious as to how you all go about making offers. Do you make multiple offers and wait to see which if any are accepted then choose, or make them one at a time? I've made three so far (one at a time) but at this rate, it could be a long time before I even get to sign a contract. My first offer was accepted right away but had some problems and had to back out of that one. My second offer was rejected with no counter. I think I insulted them, but then noticed the very next day they dropped their asking price by $4/pt. I have another offer out now since last week, still waiting to hear back. I've got a couple of others I'm ready to jump on but don't know if I should keep waiting....

 

[CarolMN]

I'd do one at a time - it just feels more ethical.

To speed things up, why not make an offer and tell the broker that it's only good for 24 or 48 hours (or whatever period of time you are willing to wait before moving on).

Good luck!

 

[ELMC]

If you are uncomfortable making multiple offers at once (and many people are), I would suggest making offers that are good until end of the business day. At least that way you could have five potential contracts in one week without ever finding yourself in a situation where you have two dates to the prom.

 

[cz4ever]

I am curious as to how you all go about making offers. Do you make multiple offers and wait to see which if any are accepted then choose, or make them one at a time? I've made three so far (one at a time) but at this rate, it could be a long time before I even get to sign a contract. My first offer was accepted right away but had some problems and had to back out of that one. My second offer was rejected with no counter. I think I insulted them, but then noticed the very next day they dropped their asking price by $4/pt. I have another offer out now since last week, still waiting to hear back. I've got a couple of others I'm ready to jump on but don't know if I should keep waiting....

I wouldn't make more offers at a time than I would be willing to have all be accepted. However, it's perfectly reasonable to make an offer with a limited time duration, e.g., 48 hours.

 

[twoj]

I found when we made offers we heard in less than 3 hours. I was really surprised how fast the negotiation went.
I found with two sellers that they accepted my initial offer but a third seller countered. So, I would maybe drop your offer a dollar lower than you want to pay.

 

[DougEMG]

I've had multiple offers out at the same time, but did tell the broker I would buy all of them if my offers were accepted.

You have a couple of options.

1- make one offer at a time but tell them they only have 24 hours to respond otherwise you move on to the next offer

2 - make the offers all at once and say you'll take the first one that accepts.

The main thing is having a broker that will do this.

 

[AllieV]

I was doing one at a time, but it took nearly 2 months because sellers were so slow to get back. Finally I asked if I could do multiple ones at once and was told yes. So I said to make my same offer to three similar contracts (all with the same broker). Only one accepted, so it worked out ok. I don't know if the broker told all the sellers that I made multiples. I left the ethics of it up to the broker.

 

[Firepath]

I hadn't thought of the time limit offer, so thank you for that advice. Hopefully this will be the week that we get to sign a contract. Wish me luck!

 

[Caren90]

If you are dealing with the same listing broker, you can make offers on several contracts and stipulate that the first seller to accept your price will be the contract you purchase. That way, the broker is clear that you are interested in purchasing only one contract.

Stephen

 

[MickeyFan612]

I hadn't thought of the time limit offer, so thank you for that advice. Hopefully this will be the week that we get to sign a contract. Wish me luck!

Good Luck!! I agree with what the others are saying about it being okay to make multiple offers at once, especially if the broker is clear you only want to purchase one! In my experience sellers often times are soo slow to get back in touch with the broker. Also I think if a seller knows the offer is being presented to multiple contracts it is likely they will respond more quickly!

 

[belias21]

I hadn't thought of the time limit offer, so thank you for that advice. Hopefully this will be the week that we get to sign a contract. Wish me luck!

Good luck! Keep us posted...

 

[Deb & Bill]

Don't make an offer you are not planning to purchase. When you make an offer, a sale is pending. That means no one else can offer to purchase at that time. And if you don't follow through, the owner just got ripped off because they may have lost another sale.

 

[belias21]

Don't make an offer you are not planning to purchase. When you make an offer, a sale is pending. That means no one else can offer to purchase at that time. And if you don't follow through, the owner just got ripped off because they may have lost another sale.

I would have to agree with this point. Putting yourself in the seller's shoes... if you received a voicemail or email from your broker that there was an offer on your property, then call them back a couple hours later only to find out the offer no longer existed... I don't know. I don't think I'd be too happy.

IMO, the best option here would be to go with the 24 or 48 hour approach and just queue up offers without having multiple offers out at the same time. For example, make an offer on Monday morning that expires 5pm on Tuesday. If you don't hear anything or can't work it out by then, get your next offer out there Tues night or Wed morning and have it good through Thurs at 5pm. Just seems more ethical to me.

 

[ELMC]

Don't make an offer you are not planning to purchase. When you make an offer, a sale is pending. That means no one else can offer to purchase at that time. And if you don't follow through, the owner just got ripped off because they may have lost another sale.

Deb, although what you say makes sense, this hasn't been my experience. Recently on one of my BWV contracts, someone snuck in an offer before contracts were signed, forcing me to pay for maintenance fees when I had originally not included them in my (accepted) offer. At the time I didn't think that there was much I could do about it, but now you have me wondering, specifically because of your statement above.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

Don't make an offer you are not planning to purchase. When you make an offer, a sale is pending. That means no one else can offer to purchase at that time. And if you don't follow through, the owner just got ripped off because they may have lost another sale.

In my experience of selling a contact only went sale pending once there was a verbal agreement on both sides - unless the offer was for full listing price and terms. Until verbal agreement from both sides other offers were accepted.

 

[belias21]

In my experience of selling a contact only went sale pending once there was a verbal agreement on both sides - unless the offer was for full listing price and terms. Until verbal agreement from both sides other offers were accepted.

I'm working with TTS right now and I was indeed told that if I were submitting a full price offer that they would change it to 'sale pending' on the website right away. This makes sense to me.