If you are a seller and are receiving multiple offers, then obviously you have a home that is very desirable. With multiple offers naturally you are going to want to accept the highest offer given to you, but is that offer necessarily the best offer?
Of course the highest dollar offer is truly important particularly in the seller's eyes, but there are other considerations that need to be addressed.
It's important for your clients to know that real estate transactions are very complicated and that there are various key points to take into consideration with each offer other than just the monetary one.
Recently, a beautiful and pristine home was put on the market and almost immediately multiple offers came in for the home. The sellers looked over the many offers and with much consideration decided to not take the highest offer, but rather the second highest offer. The reason that the highest offer was not accepted was due in part that there were financial restrictions and that the buyers wanted the home to be appraised for the purchase price.
It turned out that the seller's price was higher compared to other homes that had recently sold in the area. They were worried about the contingency that the homes purchase price had to match the appraised value and in turn decided to go with the second highest offer.
The second highest offer was an all-cash offer that required no financing and no purchase price appraisal contingency. The buyers had recently sold another property and had the cash to close without finding a bank for financing. Furthermore, the buyers offered a rapid close and the transaction was finished in just a couple of weeks.
Also, since the buyers wanted to close escrow so quickly, they offered the sellers the opportunity to rent back the property until they found a new home for themselves and thus eliminated the need to move twice.
Part of the valued service you provide to your clients is helping them decide which offer best meets their needs and that can be very complicated when they receive multiple offers. One thing that may help your clients is for you to provide them with a chart that summarizes the offers down to their basic elements. By doing so, your clients can see side-by-side comparisons of the offer prices, cash down payments and closing dates just to name a few.
There are many aspects to a property transaction and the highest offer is not always the best. With your help and guidance the sale will be smoother for all parties involved. Let's not forget that a great transaction can reward you with further recommendations of your services to family and friends who may be looking to buy or sell a home too.