Looking to the Lender It’s common for Buyers — especially first-time Buyers, at lower price points — to include seller-paid closing costs as part of their offer. So, instead of offering $200k for a home, the Buyer may offer $206k less $6k in seller-paid’s. See, “Maximum Seller Contribution: Not Just 3% Anymore.” To the Seller,...Read More
Updating Showing Instructions on MLS It’s not required by MLS. And the property isn’t in multiples — at least not until Buyer #2 shows up. But, in my experience, it’s smart to update the showing instructions for a listing to advise Buyers’ agents that an offer is being negotiated. I see two advantages, in fact: 1)...Read More
(More) Signs of a Seller’s Market I would never counsel a Seller to list their home with the condition that any sale is contingent on their finding another home. What Buyer wants to enter into a deal not knowing when — or even IF — their Seller is able to find their next home? What if the...Read More
Three Questions (“Good,” “Better,” “Best”), or “Highest and Best?” Not Exactly As a Buyer’s agent, doing a good job for a client competing for a home in multiple offers means giving them good advice. In turn, that means knowing “the lay of the land” — at least to the extent that the listing agent is...Read More
Multiple Offer Scenarios: Why it Matters if the Seller Likes the Buyer More than one multiple offer has played out with the Seller favoring a particular Buyer — sometimes because of an especially resonant Buyer letter — but feeling hamstrung because it’s not the strongest offer. The solution? Go back to them and tell them the...Read More
