Tips for Writing Purchase Offers in a Foreign Market Like Sacramento

Being an out-of-area agent working at writing purchase offers in a foreign market must be really tough. For example, as a Sacramento Realtor, I would not want to represent a buyer to purchase a home in San Francisco. I would refer that buyer to an agent in San Francisco. I don’t know the values, the neighborhood pockets or even much about local customs. Except I know enough to realize agents in San Francisco do a lot on the front-end of the transaction. In Sacramento, most of our due diligence is during escrow.

To be blunt, my 40+ years in the real estate industry absolutely do NOT qualify me to represent a buyer or a seller outside of my local four-county area. If another agent believes differently, that’s certainly that agent’s prerogative.

Further, it is not against the law for any California agent to engage in writing purchase offers in a foreign market. Because a California real estate license allows a broker to collect a commission for the sale of property anywhere in our great state. I’ve watched San Diego agents try their hand at listing homes in Sacramento, generally very poorly, too. Such a bad idea. Those poor sellers.

If you are an agent who has elected to begin writing purchase offers in a foreign market, you might ask a listing agent to share local customs. This procedure would stop the seller from having to clean up all of the mistakes in the offer before the offer could be accepted. During the time a counter offer is out for signature to the buyer, another buyer could swoop in and snatch that house.

Sacramento is in the midst of a strong seller’s market. Not to mention, once a buyer decides to buy a particular listing, another buyer often falls in right behind. It easily comes down to timing. That second buyer could cause a bidding war, induce multiple offers.

It is so easy to ask a listing agent about writing a purchase offer in a foreign market. For example, sellers do not pay for a buyer’s home inspection report. Yet, some Bay Area agents I’ve noticed believe they do. If I were a buyer, I would not rely on a home inspection from a seller, LOL. Which is probably why buyers pay for their own inspections. It only takes a second to ask how to split fees, which party chooses title and escrow.