Silly LOW Offers

Silly LOW Offers

By Karen Soro

The Sharp-Soro Team

Henry Turley Realtors

Specializing in Downtown Memphis, Tennessee, USA

901-338-4444

So, here is the scenario - you are going to put your home on the market to sell. You have done everything your realtor has told you to do. You have de-cluttered the entire house, installed granite countertops in the kitchen, put in new carpet, put on  a fresh coat of neutral paint, pressure washed the outside and planted flowers in the flower beds. Heck, you have even had the interior decorator come by and “tweak” the house. You have a nice floor plan, it sits in a nice location and the home has been well maintained. The place is looking awesome.

You live in a sought after neighborhood (oh, yes, there are such things!). It’s a lovely place. The homes around you are selling and you should be no exception.

You have had me come over to your house and we have gone over the comparable sales in the neighborhood. I tell you that, unfortunately, the prices have dipped a bit because everyone has been watching too much “news” on TV and they think they should- so they have- it’s a self fulfilling prophecy. There it is in black and white. We analyze the prices and days on the market. We look at your amenities as compared to your neighbors. We carefully put together a price that reflects the current market conditions. You price it to sell. You have “CONSIDERED THE MARKET.”

After a few weeks an offer comes in. It is 30% off your asking price. REALLY? REALLY? Your knee jerk reaction is to categorically refuse the offer. Your are mad, you can’t help it, it’s insulting. It’s a SILLY LOW OFFER!

What you have to do now- is stay calm. You should counter the offer with one that would be acceptable to you. Pretend like they are bonafide buyers that really DO want your house. You will soon see if they are serious- or if they were just looking well beyond their means. If the second offer stays ridiculously low- shut down the negotiations and hold tight. At this point one of two things will happen, they will either step up to the plate and make a decent offer or they will leave. If they leave, let them go- you may be surprised- they may decide to come back and meet your terms at a later date. 

I am not really sure why people think that they should make a silly LOW offer. Is it because they think everyone is desperate?Is it because they think everything is in foreclosure? Well, the tactic certainly does not work well when people deal with foreclosures. The banks seem to be expecting full price. In fact, almost every foreclosure that I have been involved with DID sell for full price or MORE! And fast! So, what else could it be? Do they think that people have NOT considered the market? Well, generally, they have, and if they haven’t then they are not going to suddenly decide they want to give their house away anyway.

When you make a silly LOW offer the only thing you really accomplish is to set up a contentious relationship between you and the seller. It will cause the seller to raise their hackles and, maybe, decide they don’t want to deal with you, period. And quite frankly they may decide that they don’t want you EVER living in their house. People get emotional about the place they call home! Don’t start out by insulting them! That is really a BAD plan. 

A much better plan is to make a reasonable offer. In our market a reasonable offer would be one that is more like 5-6% off the asking price. That way, the seller will want to deal with you. You will set up “goodwill” and you will probably get the home for a better price than you would have by coming in with a silly LOW offer.