I was quite ecstatic when I received 10 bids for one of my listings last week… There is a very quick rumor mill in the town, and word quickly spreads that ‘there is bidding’ and people’s juices start flowing and they hope that bidding will greatly rise as a result of it… I feel a touch differently. Bids come in all shapes and sizes, and so why would I brag about receiving lots of bids and perhaps turning people off in this indecisive buyer’s market? I want to receive as many bids as possible for several reasons. I know my clients love their home, and I can only think how nice they must feel after having obtained those 10 bids, copies forever in their possession, and upon receiving so many bids, they can also be able to better determine which bids are not attractive as well as those bids that are attractive, making their decision that much more easier.
I suggested to my client to have two piles.. One pile she would consider, and one pile she wouldn’t.. But all that aside…. I was amazed at the presentation of those bids and the manner in which they were presented….I called every agent who had expressed an interest in the home, or who had shown the home.. I didn’t send out a blanket email….. There were 4 or 5 buyers who were really interested in the house, and it was those buyers that I did not wish to scare away….Some agents wanted to just give me a verbal bid.. I politely asked for their bid to be in writing, etc.. I was surprised that a few bids came with no pre-approval…How unprofessional was that! You are asking to be considered in the purchase of a house, and then you do not submit a pre-approval. Some agents never asked when my client would like to close….. very important in placing a bid in a multiple bidding situation.
One of the first feed backs I had received on the house when it was listed 2 or so weeks ago, was that the house was overpriced, and her client really knows real estate. I was amazed, first at the agent trying to lecture me on the market (I think we all hate that) but that this same potential buyer ran to the house for a second viewing one hour before the deadline of submitting bids, and then placed a bid… great strategy…. I think my client still was recalling that first comment.. but regardless, her bid was not one to be considered for monetary reasons…She simply did not know the market.
At the open house, I informed a young lady who was working with an agent to let her know that we were accepting bids by a certain time the following day, and I was contacting every agent who had expressed an interest on behalf of their clients. That agent called me the following day – and was very upset that I had not called her.. and yet she had not supplied any feedback, had not reached out to me informing me that her client liked the house, and yet she knew of the deadline as I had informed her client… what kind of an impression did she give calling as opposed to just submitting her bid? At the end of the day, it isn’t about me, it is about my client seeking the best bid – not necessarily the highest – but the best bid in terms of qualifications, terms, etc. That agent only needed to call me, inform me of her client’s interest – she already knew via her client of the deadline, and then place her bid. Why be antagonistic? My owners had met the buyers whose bid they chose very briefly, and my owner had heard the wife say as she entered ‘this is THE house.” Consequently, my owners kept asking where their bid was, had it arrived yet…There was already that bond between buyer and seller…. and only after a few choice, positive words!
I feel my client chose correctly.. and we are having a seamless transition in contractual mode.. When I place a bid, it is in writing, with a pre-approval, noting the attorney and inspector at hand- so they know we mean business, and as hokey as it is, I still have my buyers write a little personal note about themselves. Everyone has a different bidding strategy, but if you are representing your buyer, wouldn’t you want to submit it in its best possible light? 😉
Larchmont and New Rochelle are great!
