North Kona Home Sales

FOR THE PAST 7 WEEKS I’ve been dealing with ‘Low-Ball’ Offers! Am I complaining? NO WAY! It is exhausting, I’m riding the same roller coaster with my clients – of whom I am very protective. Here’s the reason I put myself through this abuse – if I don’t have an offer to work with there is no way to get my client to the closing table – and that’s my job.

WHEN YOU ARE SELLING YOUR HOME, especially if it was your childhood home or if it was once your “Dream Home,” you’re attached to it. So dealing with “low-ball offers” from potential buyers can be frustrating, if not disheartening.

IN A STRONG BUYER’S MARKET like the one we have today, you have to expect to get some low-ball offers — don’t let them rattle you. Don’t get mad at the buyer, the agent who represents them, or your agent. A changing market creates insecure buyers. No one ever wants to pay too much! With a lot of over-priced listings still out there, buyers are having a hard time telling which ones are priced too high and which ones are priced just right. As a consequence they tend to make low offers on the property they like best that is within their price range.

IT WILL BE YOUR FIRST INSTINCT to turn down a low-ball offer cold, but really, you should take a good long time to think about it. There are many reasons people make “low-ball offers.” Deciphering what the prospective buyer is thinking will only benefit you. I always request my sellers to SLEEP ON IT before we even discuss a low offer. Next we step back and honestly assess the value of the home again. Is your home overpriced? Did you price it higher than your Realtor told you it would sell for? Has any home like yours in your neighborhood ever brought the price you are asking. If your price doesn’t compare to other prices of homes that have sold in your market, you may get stuck with the home and no buyers, or worse, chase the market down and end up taking far less than the offer currently on the table.

IF, AFTER THE REALITY CHECK, you and your agent agree your property is properly priced, a counter very near or at the asking price or offering some other concession might be in order. Of course, it could be that the prospective buyer simply doesn’t have the money to purchase the house, pay the closing costs and make needed repairs. I try to find out more about the buyer’s motivation and situation. It may be possible to make adjustments in the counter-offer to make the deal work. This could include offering to make repairs, paying some of the closing costs, or going down on the price.

REMEMBER, EVEN THE WORST OFFER you may ever see was made by someone who thought enough of your home to want to buy it. Although you might initially be insulted by the offer – try to think of it as a compliment. If you can work with them without compromising too much, your house will be sold.

I GET ABOUT 1/4 OF THE LOW OFFERS I work on to the closing table! It often takes me about 8 weeks to bring the buyer and seller together on their expectations. Not once have I ever had a buyer or seller tell me they regretted making the transaction work.

I included the new photo of myself for Casey Delo Santos, a fellow Realtor and very good friend who said the other on did not look like me.

Joyce Murphy, Realtor Broker BIC
Hawaiian Isle Real Estate LLC
Luxury Real Estate Florida, Inc.
“In Real Estate, Experience Counts!”
808-443-4302 / 808-327-1155
More Kona Real Estate Information at:
www.LuxuryRealEstateHI.com

Filed under: Real Estate Information