How low can you go in this market in lowballing your offer?

So today is the day!!  Why not??  After 25 days or so into our new normal living in quarantine, I thought what could be a better time to learn how to write my first blog post.  What do I have to lose?  As mentioned, I am a mom of 3 healthy grown boys and for the last month my kitchen operates as a 24 hr diner!  I am also trying to be a teacher to a special needs son along with operating my business as usual in these unusal times.  So I thought, here I can be in my thoughts, away from the news and maybe be of help to you who reads this.

And so it begins…  What am I thinking about?

I wanted to share with you a call I got yesterday from a lead on a listing I have.  Nice gentlemen.   He had reached out to me to find out if my listing was still available?  I was appreciative that he spent some time with me on the phone as I was able to learn in just a few minutes how he truly felt about all Real Estate Agents.  In our conversation he had told me that agents were all in this for themselves.  That we are all only looking to make the most out of a buck and not willing to negotiate deals.  After hearing him, it really upset me that this was what he had thought.  I had explained to him that I was sorry that his past experiences made him feel this way.  At the sametime, I also thought to myself, if he only knew me better.  My goal and fullfillment in the industry is to see my clients happy in the end. That being a part of their life changing event and being able to deliver was a privilege.

So after about 15 minutes on the phone and being told that I sounded like a decent person, the next question was how low can you go in this market in lowballing your offer?  My response back to him was not as much as you would think.  Why?  First, Banks have rolled out mortgage forbearance programs, so most sellers are not in immediate danger of losing their home, even if they just lost their job or their income has been significantly cut.  I also explained that also sellers have taken their listings “TOM” and are waiting for better market condition.  Lastly, buyers who have been out there searching for a home in a market with low inventory have been educated enough to know that when they find a home that is priced to sell to act quick.  They’ve been around long enough now to know how quick homes move into contracts and/or do not want to get involved in a bidding war.

On the other hand, in these unusual times a home seller who doesn’t have the luxury of time is also facing a smaller buyer pool.  This is due to the stay-at-home orders and only being able to do a virtual tour in order to show their home. So if you are a buyer you may have the upper hand for a short time for homeowners who do need to sell.  You as the buyer also would have to be willing to make an offer with just previewing the home virtually. As for the sellers who does have the luxury of time, they maybe more open to offers and willing to negotiate.  I do believe they will engage you as a buyer and would accept an offer that was not of an insult to them and of a modest offer.

In the end, this is where I as your agent would ask those questions to learn more about the seller and see if they would be willing to negotiate.  I would also do my part to educate you as a buyer showing you similar homes recently sold to help you get to a modest offer so that a seller accepts.

So that’s it!  Till my next blog post… I ask that you all Stay safe and healthy!!

Remember we are all in this together so do your part and stay home so that we can get things back to normal sooner than later.