Should a home seller even respond a verbal offer?

In our part of southwestern Connecticut, verbal offers are not considered bona-fide  offers, but that isn't necessarily true  in all parts of the state, or the country for that matter. Generally speaking, if a buyers agent presents a verbal offer to your agent for your home, and the buyer couldn't even take 15 minutes to write up an offer, I wouldn't hold too much stock in that offer. BUT THERE ARE EXCEPTIONS....

I do want to stress that if your agent receives an offer on your home, whether it's verbal or written, it must be presented to you. As for buyers reading this article, you should know that all offers are to be presented to the seller  up until the time of closing, and the fact that you have a fully executed contract on a property does not diminish the listing agent's responsibility to present those offers, unless the seller has specifically requested in writing that they do not wish to see any other bids.

When to respond to a verbal offer: If and when your agent calls you with a verbal offer on your home, it is always your decision as to whether you will respond. Sometimes, the buyer's offer has an odd contingency and the buyers agent might feel that if you won't even consider that offer, that it is not worth anyone's  time to put anything formal in writing.  It could be that the buyer is out of town and want to move forward and that buyer just can't get together with his/her agent to put an offer in writing. Let your agent be your guide- I can assure you that most listing agents will request that the offer be in writing before presenting anything to you- bu there are extenuating circumstances.


When NOT to respond to a verbal offer: Again, let your agent be your guide. I would tell you to consider  not responding to a  verbal lowball offer . That buyer has nothing to lose, not even 15 minutes worth of his time to write up an offer. If they are truly interested, the psychological benefits of making a bona-fide offer, along with a deposit check can only help to make that buyer come up to a a reasonable price. If the buyer has not even seen your home, and is purchasing your home for speculation purposes, let him put something in writing.

In some areas, verbal offers are not so frowned upon- ask your agent at the time you authorize your listing contract how verbal offers will be handled.

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You are the seller, YOU are the boss! Your Realtor should listen to you!

I recently spoke with a homeowner who had experienced some difficulty in getting his agent to listen to his concerns, and having that agent do something about it. I truly feel badly for that homeseller, who in his case, was a very well educated man, had great business acumen, and had some very appropiate ideas that his agent did not seem to want to listen to, or implement.

Now honestly, that's not always the case. Some homeowners have some ideas that quite frankly, would not be in their own best interests, and it's up to the agent to explain to them that while they appreciate their ideas in order to effect a sale, that those suggestions would not be of benefit, and in some cases those ideas, if implemented could or would be detrimental to a sale.

What are some appropriate suggestions to give your agent?

Take new photos. After a certain period of time, or a season change, the main picture  for the house can look dated. This is not something that you hsould have to tell your agent, but if you need to, DO IT!

Look at your listing as it appears in the MLS and suggest changes if needed- I am convinced that most homesellers have never seen their listing, because if they had, they would change it immediately. An agent not inputting all of the information fields is sheer laziness on their part. (I'm sorry- I'm passionate about it) I would think that a few minutes to put room measurements in  the listing is no big deal. I always do it. That's only one example- schools are important too, especially if it's a sought after educational system.

Some buyers need certain rooms to be of a certain size, and if it's not  readily listed on th MLS data sheet, or available in any way, are not  inclined to see a house and waste their time for something that could only be a maybe. Sure, maybe a room size that is presented is going to turn off a buyer, but that would only be a showing that went nowhere anyway. My standard operating procedure is  that the seller signs off on the MLS sheet, and OK's it, as well as the brochure.

Open houses- well, that's a mixed bag. A few open houses in the right location can be a good thing. Be careful about overexposure to buyers who look every week to see what new listings there are. Agents have homeowners thinking that open houses sell a house. Agents get leads from open houses, and it is a well known statistic that less than 3% of all homes sell at public open houses. You don't want a buyer thinking, "Oh, that house is STILL available!"

If you have had any offers in the recent past, go back to those buyers and see why they didn't follow through on the transaction, if you don't already know the answer and have done everything you could to effect a sale. Could it have been that their highest number was not what you countered at? If you knew what their highest number was, would you have accepted it, or would you accept it now? 

Is it because the floors need refinishing in one spot, or a carpet needs replacing and they couldn't be bothered? What if you addressed their objection after contingencies were all met, and prior to closing? Could that make a difference? You bet, so why not give it a shot? The worst that can happen is that the buyer says no. So go back to that buyer and find out! The answer could be quite simple, and you can have a sale because your agent was pro-active.  **Think outside the box**

A few years ago, brokers didn't have to try so hard to put a deal together. They came pretty easily.  That's not true nowadays. If you have a buyer, do what you can to hold on to them, and put a deal together- if your agent is not willing to go the extra mile for you, you shouldn't feel stuck. If you are unhappy, you can always request a change. Most agencies will abide by a clients request.

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Why is it important to review real estate market statistics?

Market statistics are a snapshot in time as to how the real estate market is performing. A stock broker diligently watches the market to spot trends, so he/she can advise you as to when the best time to buy a particular stock, and the best time to sell some of your existing stock. You should be able to consider your real estate agent as your trusted real estate advisor, much like how you trust your stockbroker to advise you when the time is right to buy or sell.  The single most important asset that your agent has, or should have, is continued knowledge of the overall market.

You may notice from my town blogs  that I research and publish weekly and monthly analyses and trends of the real estate market in Easton, Fairfield, Norwalk, Trumbull and Westport, besides giving useful tips and advice on the CT Home Blog. I research statistics on neighboring towns, and offer a quarterly report on each town biography page as well.

Unless you pay close attention to market trends,  the best time to buy or sell may not be very clear, and again, watching the real estate market is similar in more than a few ways to reviewing your investments on NASDAQ or the NYSE.  Remember, we only start at the town level, and different parts of town will have their own different real estate markets, and your home, or the home that you want to buy,  has its own individual "market", which can and will be different than even the exact same house next door, so your market is very specific.

Pricing your home to sell in any market, and purchasing a home at the right price comes right down to the details on the state of market, and how those details  positively or adversely affect the home's price. Getting the most out of the sale of your home, and getting the best price on your purchase is something I've got years of experience doing. Feel free to check out some client testimonials, and when you need  a real estate advisor that you can rely on for the most accurate and up to date information, plus the tip top negotiating skills you deserve, just contact me :)

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What Happens if You Change Your Mind After Placing an Offer on a House?

This is a most uncomfortable situation for everyone involved. An important thing to consider at this point,  is how you got to the place of making a bid, when now you are reconsidering that very offer. If you are still in the negotiating stages, and the seller hasn't signed an agreement, it will be a lot easier for everyone.

A couple of questions to ask yourself:

1. Did someone push you into making an offer when you weren't ready?
2. Are you having second thoughts  about the offer you made, or any of the terms or conditions?
3. Has something suddenly changed, (such as a job loss or other unfortunate  event)
4. How far along in the transaction are you? This will determine what you need to do next.

WHAT TO DO: If you felt pushed into making an offer, whether it's by your spouse, significant other, a friend, a child, the seller, the market, or heaven forbid- your agent, TELL YOUR AGENT NOW!  If you are having second thoughts about this particular home for any reason, the time  to voice your concern is NOW.  If the seller has accepted your offer in writing, it is time to call your attorney as well as your agent- do that NOW and forget about the rest of this article.

Yes, as I mentioned, this is an uncomfortable situation, but the best thing to do for all parties is to get it out in the open as soon as possible. I rarely come across a buyer client who changes their mind after placing an offer, but that comes with years of experience on my part, and being able to tell whether someone is truly ready to make the next step after viewing a home that they like. Your agent should ask appropriate questions so that you never get into this situation. I know I do, and that's why this type of thing very rarely happens when you hire me as your agent.

I don't push anyone into making any decisions, and if I ever get the feeling that my client is pushed by anyone into a decision that they are not quite ready to make, then I will kindly and gently do my best to handle the situation so as not to put anyone in any kind of uncomfortable position. Need a trustworthy advisor? Contact me

What determines a buyers market or a sellers market?

The average market time to sell a home dictates what type of market we are experiencing at any given time. Contrary to what you may think, the real estate market doesn't change dramatically overnight, and each town has its own specific historical market averages. Even subsets of inventory ranges, or areas within towns have their own specific historical averages. What may seem like slow sales in one town on a percentage of housing stock units, may actually be that particular town's average. It all depends on what you compare the statistics to, so it's important to have all of the proper information to get a true feel on the state of the market.

In my general service area of Southwestern Connecticut, average  market time as measured in days indicating a steady market is approximately  75-100 days, which favors neither buyers nor sellers. Anything less than that range moves increasingly over to a seller's market, and anything above that range  begins the shift into what we would consider a buyers market. So the rule of thumb is that the more average market time for a given town or city, the more likely that town or city is experiencing a buyers market. The less market time as measured in days it takes to sell a home constitutes a sellers market.

Bear in mind that each town has specfiic areas that seem to be immune to widely varying fluctuations in the market. Take a look at any of my weekly town reports published every Tuesday to get a general idea as to what type of market we are experiencing right now- You might be surprised!  ( Easton, Fairfield, Norwalk, Trumbull and Westport ) Other towns that I service have quarterly reports on their respective information pages on the left hand side bar of my site.