Offers are only the start: How to obtain the highest possible price for sellers.

Is your seller subjected to a high number of multiple offers? Here's how to ensure sellers are satisfied with the price and terms they received. According to a recent observation, each sold house receives an average of three offers.

While receiving multiple offers is advantageous for sellers, with numerous sales offers flooding in on almost every listing, we believe it is too easy for listing agents to become complacent and look for shortcuts. 

We follow the following procedure to ensure that we obtain the highest and best for our clients.

To remain competitive, most offers are substantially at the asking price or above and are entirely unconditional (loan, appraisal, inspection, and any other contingencies entirely removed).

As a result, many agents, overwhelmed by multiple offers, recommend to the seller that they accept the highest bid and move on.

This approach demonstrates the agent's failure to uphold their legal obligation to the seller to obtain the highest and best offer and terms. Receiving a large number of multiple offers is, in our opinion, just the beginning.

Provide all necessary information upfront.

To ensure that a prospective buyer has all of the information necessary to make an informed decision and to pave the way for non-contingent offers, we provide all prospective buyers with a complete documentation package.

Although this approach requires considerable effort up front, it significantly reduces workload once the contract is signed and eliminates the possibility of delays. We need that all prospective buyers thoroughly inspect the package and sign a statement certifying that they received and read the package in its entirety.

We consist of the following:

A- Buyer's & Seller's Agreement: including terms the seller would like to see (potential rentback, projected closing dates, special needs, etc.), specific information any potential buyer needs to know, offer deadline (if applicable),

B- Complete seller disclosures & Title Deed
C- Comprehensive inspections
D- Have any renovations or repairs been performed?
E- What is included in the sale and what is not included?
F- Is there a deadline for making an offer?

Establish an offer deadline.

To generate anticipation and competition, we establish a specific offer deadline (date and time) and state that we WILL NOT consider preemptive offers. Occasionally, we see agents who include both an offer deadline and the ability to accept additional offers prior to the deadline.

This conveys the deadline is null and void and opens the door to anarchy.

Handle offers as they arrive.

As offers come in, we forward them to our clients so they can stay up to date on the activity. A seller never needs to be concerned about whether or not we have informed them of a new offer. We have chosen to do so to maintain a policy of complete transparency.

Rarely do we encounter a seller who desires only a summary; the vast majority are eager to receive offers and monitor activity. Some sellers even take advantage of this opportunity to conduct additional research on potential buyers.

Organize a meeting with the seller 

Once we have confirmed that we will be examining offers, we schedule a meeting with the seller to go over everything.

We will have completed the following prior to the meeting:

A- communicated the offers to the seller.
B- thoroughly examined all offers and, where necessary, contacted buyer's agents with questions.
C- Sent the seller the final offer letter after verifying financing and available funds.
D- Contacted the buyer's agents who made the final cut to inform them that they must be available for a phone call during our meeting with the seller.

It requires additional effort, but in the end, sellers are completely satisfied that they received the best price and terms possible, and you, as an agent, have demonstrated that you went the extra mile for your client.