Now tell the truth, every single person reading this was told by a mama at some point that:

      "You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar."

Yes?

It's true.  And it seems that in the rush of hard work to do the very best job possible for our buyer or seller clients, we sometimes forget this fact.

And forgetting this basic fact can HARM your clients far more than you realize.  (hey-buyers and sellers-listen up, I'm talking to you as much as your agent out there)

I would be remiss in my writing if I did not share the fax cover that accompanied an offer on one of my listings.  Received this one today. 

1. CASH OFFER! 2. Closing at the end of the month. 3. Very good offer based on current market conditions and sold comps at xxx. 4. Investors own more units in xxx than Owner Occupants.  This makes it very difficult for a buyer to obtain conventional financing.With a all cash buyer you will not have to worry about  this huge problem in xxx. After speaking with the HOA about the issue you will find that this is a real problem for sellers in this complex. 5. Unit is vacant. 6. This unit has been on the market with multiple agents for a very long time. The market has spoken!!!! 6. The buyer is not emotional at all. If he cannot get the right deal on this unit he will walk away quickly.

Allow me to mention a few relevant facts. 

  • The real estate market in Charlotte NC is balanced.  We have not been hit nearly as hard as many areas of the country.  This is often hard to explain to buyers and sellers who read the newspapers daily!
  • This neighborhood only has 3 current active listings and one pending.  It's not in decline.  I sold the one across the street in May for much higher than this offer, and it was in worse condition than this one.
  • The seller is not emotional at all and isn't in a position where he needs to cut and run.  He just put in new carpet and painted the place. 

I mentioned to the buyer's agent that a negative fax cover doesn't do his client a lot of good in the presentation of the offer.  He mentioned that he was 'working hard for his client.'  And I don't doubt that he's a hard worker.  However, a comment like 'The market has spoken!!!' only makes me want to say 'The seller has spoken!!!' when we reject it!!  Not a good reaction.

BUT.  A lowball, bottom-feeder offer accompanied by a nasty cover letter is NOT going to generate a good counteroffer.  It's going to tick off the seller.  Meaning that the buyer will not get the seller's best price.  Why work with someone who starts off this way?

Now, had the offer been accompanied by some actual comps that support this price on a unit in this condition (they don't exist, btw) and a positive reaction to the condition of this unit, the seller may have responded with a counteroffer instead of an outright rejection.  We haven't been on the market that long, have had several second showings in the past couple of weeks, so we know we're not too far off on price.  Certainly not enough to encourage us to respond to an offer that's 20% below list.

Don't yell or threaten the other side in a transaction...be positive, point out the pluses in your offer, and sweettalk that seller.  You'll get a lot further and heck-you might just have happy buyers AND sellers in a transaction.