Tag: Writing an Offer

A Cinderella Story – Michael and Tatjana… A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

When Michael and Tatjana reached out to The Caton Team – we were very excited to be their Realtors for their first home purchase.  We got them preapproved with Melanie Flynn of First Priority Financial and hit the ground running.  They were so excited, started checking out properties and sooner than later, we began to write some offers.

With fingers crossed and prayers whispered we waited on pins and needles to hear back on their first offer… they didn’t get it.  The first time you lose a house – it’s the pits.  The second and third time it doesn’t get any easier.  Tatjana and Michael started to lose hope.  Who wouldn’t?

But The Caton Team wouldn’t let them lose out on their dream.  As full time Realtors, we’ve spent countless sleepless nights hoping and praying our client’s dreams come true.  We knew – you have to get back on the horse, try, try again….there are other fish in the sea.

And they did – but they had one request.  They no longer wanted to write a letter to the seller that included their adorable family photo.  In shock, I asked why.  They were adamant – ‘what’s the point?  The seller is looking for the most money and highest offer.’  I smiled.  We could hear the disappointment in their voice.  But we had faith.  We couldn’t change what we were doing.  The offer package The Caton Team prepares for each offer is thorough and it is successful.  Sometimes money talks.  But sometimes, it’s the other items in the offer package that get the recognition.

As we waited to hear back on their offer I was looking at the copy of the photo we sent of their family.  I’ve known Tatjana since the 6th grade and here she was, with her husband and two beautiful sons…  The phone rang, couldn’t get to it fast enough.  It was the seller’s agent.  I could hear the happiness in her hello.  They got the house.  Quickly she interjected – it wasn’t about being the highest price, they weren’t.  It was about the letter and the picture.  (It still brings tears to my eyes.)  Turns out the owner was deceased and had charged her best friend with handling her estate.  Her wish was for her home to be sold to a nice family – not an investor.  She had built that home from the ground up, raised her family there, and she wanted her best friend to pick the sweetest family for her home.  And boy they couldn’t have found a better family.

Sometimes it really isn’t just about the money.

Congratulations to Michael and Tatjana – to many happy years and memories in your new home!

 

Got Questions? – The Caton Team is here to help.

Email Sabrina & Susan at:  Info@TheCatonTeam.com

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Thanks for reading – Sabrina

Offer Subject to Inspection – What Does That Mean?

As a Realtor I have a whole dictionary for just real estate jargon.  One of the most confusing terms, and often buyers will get the wrong idea about their agent, is “offer subject to inspection.”  So allow me a moment to explain what on earth this means.

“Offer subject to inspection” is a typical hurdle for buyers to overcome when shopping for homes that are tenant occupied.  The term means – the buyer can physically go in and SEE the home AFTER an offer is accepted.  Sounds a little backwards right?

And no – your agent is NOT trying to strong arm you and force you to buy a home without evening seeing it!

Generally this clause is for homes which are tenant occupied.  In order to preserve the rights of the tenant to have the quite enjoyment of their home – the tenant has the right to refuse prospective buyers to come in and see the home.  That is – until an offer is accepted by the seller, then the buyers has the right to inspect the home.

How does this work you ask?  The buyer must write a REAL offer since the terms are binding once accepted.  When the seller accepts the offer, the buyer will have a certain amount of days which is written into the contract to actually go in and see the home for the first time.  If the home is to their liking and the buyer wants to proceed with the contract – they do.  If the home is NOT to the buyers liking – for just about any reason – during the agreed upon days – the buyer will have the right to cancel the deal and walk away without any harm to both buyer and seller.

So you found a home you like – how do you write an offer?  If there are inspections available before hand – it makes our job of writing the offer a bit easier since we have a good idea of what the condition is.  If there are no inspections, and we haven’t seen the home, we drive by and gather as much info as we can with our eyes from the safety of the car.  We write the offer as best we can with the information provided and once the buyer has seen the home and had inspections we proceed with the new information – either by moving forward or discussing the new information with all parties and find a common and suitable outcome for all parties.

As strange as it seems – it happens more than you know.  For some buyers, they cannot imagine writing an offer for a home without ever seeing the home.  For investment buyers, this very typical and generally have no issues writing up a fair offer to get in.  Of course, what happens after a buyer gets to see the home is a far different story.  I have experienced both follow throughs on the contract and recessions – so truly we cross that bridge together when we get to it.

Which is truly at the root of what us Realtors do.  We are the buyers and sellers guides through Real Estate – what can The Caton Team do for you?

Got Questions? – The Caton Team is here to help.  Email us at:

Info@TheCatonTeam.com

Visit our website at:   http://thecatonteam.com/

Visit us on Facebook:   http://www.facebook.com/pages/Sabrina-Susan-The-Caton-Team-Realtors/294970377834

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3 ways Homebuyers kill their OWN real estate deals…

Hello  again!  Below is a great article I read in Inman News that I thought I would share.  I truly see this often….

Got questions – the Caton Team is here to help.  We are a click away – email us at Info@TheCatonTeam.com

 

3 ways homebuyers kill their own real estate deals

Mood of the MarketBy Tara-Nicholle Nelson

I recently bought a couple of spa treatment packages for a friend’s birthday (as much as a gift to myself as to her, to be sure). The package included a pedicure and a massage for the price of the massage, but had a bizarro restriction that required I pick the gift cards up at least one day prior to spa day.

The problem: The spa was across a bridge from my town. Despite my very best calculations, I hit unexpected traffic and it took me an hour’s drive just to pick them up.

It’s a good thing for the spa that I was literally stuck on that bridge, unable to turn around; otherwise, that would have been an undone deal. I was very clear that the value of my hour far exceeded the value of those two “pedis.”

In the end, the conditions I had to surmount to take advantage of the bargain negated the value of the deal — and then some.

And that happens much more frequently than you’d think in the world of real estate. Today’s ridiculously low prices and interest rates, combined, seem like the perfect storm for finding a great deal.

But some buyers run into — or even unwittingly create — circumstances in an effort to cash in on the bargain that deactivate or diminish the full value they otherwise stand to gain from buying at the bottom of the market, for both home prices and interest rates.

Here are three ways homebuyers are defeating their own deals in today’s market:

1. House hunting too long. As many as 60 percent of the homes for sale in some markets are short sales. Many other listings are bank-owned (also known as real estate owned or REO) properties, and those homes tend toward two extremes: terrible condition, or so nice at such a low price they receive multiple offers.

Even the nicer, nondistressed homes on the market can end up in and out of contract over and over again due to appraisal or other lending-related issues.

As a result, it is not at all bizarre to hear homebuyers today say they’ve been house hunting for a year, 18 months, even two or three years. When you house hunt that long, you become susceptible to house hunt fatigue, which causes irrationally extreme overbidding out of sheer exhaustion.

Alternatively, it can cause you to settle for whatever house you can get, even if it doesn’t actually meet your needs — then spend the next 10 years obsessively spending to upgrade, improve, repair and furnish the place to try to make it more like the home you actually wanted.

Both of these outcomes negate and deactivate the bargain you stood to score.

To avoid house hunting too long, it’s uber-important to get and stay clear on the differences between what you want and what you need, and to work with a local real estate professional you trust.

Look to your agent to get and keep your expectations centered in reality, so you can make more strategic decisions throughout your entire house hunt, like house hunting in a price range where you’re likely to both find homes that will work for your life and be successful in your efforts to obtain one.

2. Making lowball offers way too low. Overbidding seems like an obvious way to cancel out the bargain potential of your deal. But making excessively low offers — offers sellers couldn’t afford to take if they wanted to — can have the very same result.

Buyers who think they can operate strictly on the basis of buyer’s market dynamics — without realizing that most sellers will need to make enough to pay off their mortgage or at least receive the fair market value for their home — are cutting off their own noses to spite their faces, all in the name of trying to score an amazing deal.

Note to “lowballers”: If you don’t actually secure the home, the superlow price you offered is no deal at all.

3. Freak-outs, stress, drama and mayhem. Once was, it was mostly the buyers uneducated about the homebuying process who tended to freak out and stress the most, especially at the top of the market. These were the folks who found themselves defeated at every turn by buyers who knew what they were up against and were prepared to make their best offer on their first offer.

Fast forward, and now the norm is for buyers to spend much more time reading up on what to expect, but the inundation of information can create brand new mindset management challenges.

Almost every buyer is stressed about whether they can qualify for a loan, and about buying into a down market. Some buyers try to apply national headlines about home prices being depressed to the superlocal dynamics of their neighborhood market.

This is unwise if you happen to be, for example, trying to buy a home in the boomtown real estate markets of Silicon Valley. Others go the opposite direction and deny that the basic truths about, say, buying a short-sale listing will actually apply to them (attention homebuyers: buying a short sale usually takes a long, long time).

The emotional freak-outs that result from having your expectations shattered, sometimes brutally, in the course of buying a home often lead to panic-based and fear-based decisions, which can be costly in the short and long term. Additionally, the stress itself can take a toll on your ability to be productive at work, and can even impair your relationship with your mate, neither of which are worth any deal you think you stand to strike.

Again, managing your expectations by working with a trusted broker or agent you feel comfortable relying on to understand the market in your neck of the woods and the type of transaction you want to pull off is essential to downgrading the role emotion plays in your real estate decision-making.

Got Questions? – The Caton Team is here to help.  Email us at Info@TheCatonTeam.com or visit our website at:   http://thecatonteam.com/

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How to Write a Great Offer on Bank Owned Homes (post foreclosure)

Point Blank – Writing a good offer is writing a good offer.  Price is most important, then close of escrow, contingency terms and then buyer qualifications.  Just about in that order.  So when a buyer is faced with writing an offer on a Bank Owned home – it is just about as easy as writing an offer on a home where the buyer is working directly with the seller.

The Caton Team Realtors, will provide the buyer with comparable market information – homes of similar condition and size – and what they are selling for.  Armed with this info, the buyer can decide a fair market price to offer.  Since the home is bank owned – the bank is very aware of the homes market value and has elected to sell the property in the open market instead of an auction – most likely because the bank will get more money in a normal sale versus an auction.  So our advise to a buyer – be realistic in your offer price.  Too low and the bank will move on, there can be some back and forth counter offers – but generally it is cut and dry or the bank will hold onto an offer till a better one comes along.  (At least that is how it feels to the waiting buyer.)

Next are the terms.  A bank owned home can move MUCH faster than a short sale.  A buyer will want to keep their property and loan contingencies tight – 10 – 17 days and generally a 30 days close of escrow is acceptable – if not shorter since the home is already vacant.

The downside bank owned homes – no disclosures except for the CA State Mandatory Disclosures – but those pertain more to the area than the actually home.  Why?  The bank has NEVER lived in the home and cannot disclose if there are neighborhood nuisances, or if the downstairs bathroom floods every years.  So it is more buyer beware – however – once a buyers offer is accepted, they will have their contingency time frames (stated in the offer) to conduct any and all inspections they want and to make sure the home appraisals for their loan.

Sounds like any offer right?  Right.  Bank Owned homes are like normal sellers.  The turn around time for an offer response in a couple of days – a week max.  Meaning, when the buyer get’s the offer accepted phone call – the clock starts ticking for contingencies and in 30 days I hand them the keys 🙂

Got Questions? – The Caton Team is here to help.  Email us at:

Info@TheCatonTeam.com

Visit our website at:   http://thecatonteam.com/

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Writing a Great Offer

I’d like to share some tips on writing an offer.  It’s the bread and butter of what we Realtors do.

Before I begin, these scenarios are for real life, breathing sellers WITH equity in their home.  Stay tuned for strategies on writing an offer on a short sale property or a bank owned property.

Searching for the right home is fun – getting the home you want – now that’s my job.  But it takes the buyer and Realtor working together to be successful.

Writing an offer can be very difficult for some buyers.  The pressure and stress of signing their name to the line can cause a buyer to get cold feet, sweaty palms and break out in hives.  It doesn’t need to be that stressful.  The biggest hurdle I notice for buyers is choosing their offer price.

Please note, as professional Realtors we cannot tell the buyer the amount they should offer.  Realtors, such as The Caton Team will provide the buyer with a comparative market analysis to show the buyer the value of homes in the area compared to their chosen home – this information will help the buyer decided their offer price.  A buyer must come up with their price on their own and feel comfortable with their price.

To be frank – price is almost always the most important aspect of any offer.  If the price is right for both parties – it can be smooth sailing.  However, there are several other aspects of an offer that also weighs in – the terms of a contract.  For instance, what is the time frame to close escrow? Generally close of escrow is a 30 day window.  Can the buyer close sooner?  Sometimes a seller likes that.  Sometimes a seller may need more time in the home after close of escrow – so a buyer could rent back the property to the seller either at fair market rent or perhaps even free.  How long are the buyer’s loan and property condition contingencies?  A very competitive offer will have a short window for contingencies.

Writing an offer is serious business.  So serious in fact that for the offer to be considered legitimate – it needs consideration.  Consideration is a fancy word for money.  The money comes as a buyers good faith deposit (which is part of their down-payment), generally 3% of their offer price which is put in our office safe until the offer is accepted.   In fact the purchase contract is also a receipt for the good faith deposit.

When a buyer sits down to write an offer – they must be serious about buying the home and committed to seeing the sale through and closing the escrow.  To be frank – if  a buyer is just fishing for a price and does not care whether or not they get the home – PLEASE be upfront and honest with the Realtor.  There are offer strategies for each buyer’s scenario.  Upfront, honest communication is the essence of a healthy Buyer/Seller and Realtor relationship and the only way to attain the client’s personal goals.

On that note, getting the home a buyer wants is truly a meeting of the minds between both buyer and seller.  Very very very rarely have I seen the strong arm approach succeed in OUR local market.  The offer and subsequent counter offers are a method to find that happy middle where both the seller wants and can sell their home and the buyer wants and can purchase the home.

First, a buyer needs to consider what they are up against.  Are they the only offer?  Are there multiple offers?  Has the seller chosen an offer date – where all offers are due and reviewed in one shot?  Don’t worry – this is where The Caton Team shines.

Let’s cover each situation since it warrants its own game plan.  What does it take to write a good offer?

THE ONLY OFFER

This is a buyer and Realtors dream.  Being the only offer – the buyer has the opportunity to write an offer in their favor (within reason).  Being the only offer, takes the edge off the buyer to come in with their highest price and best terms offer.  It can possibly result in a few counter offers back and forth to find that happy medium between buyer and seller.  During the boom – being the only offer was a pipe dream.  Surprisingly, as our local San Francisco Peninsula market recovers – being the only offer is still rare on choice homes.  Given the opportunity remember that buying a home is finding a happy medium between all parties – so come in with a fair market price offer to reflect the homes location and condition is always a good starting point.  Coming in too low – and well – you just might anger the sellers and get just about nowhere.

MULTIPLE OFFERS

A multiple offer situation is when there are several offers coming in on one house and generally the Listing Agent (Realtor to the Seller) will have an offer due date, where all offers must be submitted at that time and then presented to the seller all in one shot.

Here comes the tricky part.  As professional Realtors the Caton Team is proactive and like any good Realtor – will call the Listing Agent to get the scoop.  I introduce myself to the Listing Agent the second I get wind my buyers are interested.  This helps me gauge the activity around the home so I can advise my clients best.  As Listing Agents, we rarely know exactly how many offers are coming in.  We generally gauge the interest by how many disclosure packages are out.  As you may recall from previous blogs – whenever possible the Buyers Agent will get any and all upfront disclosures from the Listing Agent.  The Listing Agent keeps tabs on how many disclosure packages are out and informs the Buyers Agents.  It’s not an exact science, but we make it work.

Another key factor to consider is the sellers motivation for the sale.  We take the time to find out why they are selling and as Buyers Agents we call the Listing Agent to ask some questions.  Some of out top questions are:  Does the seller have to sell?  Or is the seller looking for the right price in order to sell?  Is the property their personal residence or was it an investment property?  Is the property upside down – in other words – is the property a potential short sale where the lenders cooperation is necessary to actually close escrow?  Is their a family crisis or sadly a divorce that is forcing the sale?  Each bit of information we can get upfront helps our buyers with their decisions.    And understanding both involved parties can bridge the gap.

So the offer due date is set – now we hit the table and write the offer.  Suddenly the buyer is feeling some pressure.  Several people like “their” house and in order to get the house the buyer truly must put their best foot forward.  Now, what does that mean?  That means writing, literally, your best offer – the offer you can stand behind and say – “This is my best offer – and if I do not get this house for my price…. then the other buyer paid too much!”   If a buyer cannot say that about their offer – than they are not putting their best foot forward and the buyer may not get the house – or even a chance to be considered.

The flip side.  A buyer writes a low offer – hoping for a counter offer – or just praying the other buyers move on.  Then they find out the home sold for way more and the buyers offer was left in the dust.

As Listing Agents in a multiple offer situation with 10 offers in hand, the seller cannot and generally will not counter each offer.  The lowest offers are often set aside and if there are a couple similar offers, the seller may opt to counter those – but if one offer shines better than the rest – now a days – the seller will take the best offer and not bother countering anyone else.  Like I said, to be truly part of the negotiations, a buyer must come in with their best foot forward – otherwise – sadly – they are left in the dust.

No matter the situation the buyer faces, The Caton Team is poised to work through the maze.  With over 20 years combined Real Estate experience there isn’t a hurdle we cannot tackle.  With so many variables, each offer truly becomes a world in itself.  Each home is unique for their location, condition and amenities.  The task of weighing all the options can be daunting but we are here to help.

Got Questions?  Email us at Info@TheCatonTeam.com or visit our website at http://thecatonteam.com/

Follow my personal journey through homeownership at http://ajourneythroughhomeownership.wordpress.com/