Email Elizabethpresent offers to seller
Why Do Sellers Reject Offers?
Why do sellers reject offers? So many reasons. Let’s focus on a few key points. There are a variety of reasons that offers are not countered and usually, it is because of a combination of factors that negatively affect an offer. Multiple inconsistencies spell out a warning of murky waters ahead.
Price, of course, is an issue. A low down payment, depending on the type of property and value. Good faith deposits tell a seller how serious a buyer is and the level of commitment. Available cash on deposit shows cash reserve funds. Contingency timelines can make or break an escrow. Inspections, of course, are always advised but how well has the buyer’s agent educated her buyers on the as-is condition? Are the buyers expecting repairs?
Agents sometimes ask for retrofit, and that tells you upfront expect some issues as retrofit is not acceptable to many sellers. It is easy enough to counter out items. The problem is even when you counter out the obvious risks, it is still possible an agent may tell the buyer they can expect the seller to do repairs or get a seller credit, etc. Guess what? The seller said no repairs and she meant it. The buyer cancels as the buyer’s agent has set impossible expectations. It happens, as crazy as it sounds.
After you have closed so many transactions in your career, the way an agent writes an offer exposes the story. An agent’s communication style, the way he or she takes feedback, are the agents defensive? A user-friendly agent will help close the escrow, not insert minefields to blow up the escrow. When you work hard to be the best Sacramento real estate agent for your client, it means always sharing everything you observe with them.
Newer agents are ok to work with if they are humble enough to admit what they don’t know everything. If they try to bully their way through a transaction without the knowledge needed, it quickly becomes a nightmare. They ask for unreasonable concessions and extensions. Once we are in escrow, of course, you try to hold the sale together for your seller.
A difficult escrow is very hard on everyone, especially the seller. Dealing with a difficult buyer’s agent and a nervous nellie buyer can feel like you have used a roll of duct tape to hold an escrow together. We go to any lengths to protect our clients and try to close even the most difficult escrows.
When things go awry, the seller can always serve a 48-hour notice to perform. This notice says comply or this escrow could be canceled. By the time this notice has been served, you can assume it is a last-ditch effort. The seller has lost patience and faith in the buyer and says: I quit. When an offer and a buyer’s agent show you too many red flags at the start, a rejection may be the most direct route. It is time to wait for a stronger offer.
It is kind of like dating, both parties start out on best behavior. If the first date is horrible and you want to kick him to the curb, it is very unlikely an ongoing relationship would improve with time. Cut your losses early when red flags appear. Get out before time, energy and precious resources are invested. Sellers reject offers because they are saving themselves a headache when a perfectly good offer will come along.
If you want to list your home and have confidence that offers are well-scrubbed and vetted, contact Weintraub & Wallace Realtors with RE/MAX Gold at 916-233-6759.
— JaCi Wallace
Is it True a Sacramento Listing Agent Must Present all Offers?
An agent asked last week what he could do when a listing agent in Sacramento refused to present an offer to the seller. Well, he could print out a photo of that listing agent’s mug, draw devil horns on the head, tack the picture to a wall and throw darts at it. That’s one solution. He could also report the listing agent to the Board of Realtors and the Bureau of Real Estate. It’s a violation to withhold an offer. Listings agents are required to present all offers to the seller upon receipt or as reasonably as they can thereafter. It doesn’t matter if the home is already pending, either. An offer comes in, that purchase contract has gotta go to the seller.
A listing with an “active short contingent” status is especially suspect because that status, by its very nature, attracts offers. Agents who refuse to present offers or say no offers are accepted for an active short contingent status in MLS can find themselves fined by MLS as well for violating its guidelines. However, listings of any status are not exempt from a listing agent’s duty to present all offers.
It also doesn’t matter if the purchase offer is written on a roll of toilet paper, the listing agent must deliver the offer to the seller. Real estate agents don’t have the ethical nor legal right to decide which offers the seller gets to see and which can be withheld. Not our decision. But you’d be amazed at how many Sacramento listings agents don’t understand this simple procedure or were never informed of its necessity.
Something else some buyer’s agents don’t realize is the rejection on page 8 does not need to be initialed nor signed by the seller. It is not required. If the seller rejects the offer, no signature is necessary. The listing agent is not required to return a page that shows the seller has rejected the offer by an initial or other acknowledgement. It’s only a courtesy.
An email from the listing agent to the buyer’s agent detailing the outcome of the offer is sufficient. If buyer’s agents try to demand a written rejection by the seller, basically they’re saying a) they don’t understand how purchase contracts work, and b) they don’t trust the listing agent — neither of which is likely to endear them nor their buyers; it’s just stupid and insulting.
If you suspect an offer was not presented to the listing agent, the first step is to ask your buyer’s agent or manager to speak to the listing agent’s managing broker. Brokers are responsible for the actions of their agents. I’d say that most listing agents in Sacramento realize they must present all offers and comply. It’s unusual for the opposite to happen. But bottom line, if you’ve irritated the listing agent, it probably doesn’t really matter what else you do. A complaint will just bring personal satisfaction and help to raise the bar. It won’t get your offer accepted. That’s the real world part.
