I’m frequently asked how it works when an offer or offers come in. There are generally a couple of ways an offer can be submitted to the sellers – email, or in person. When the home has been on the market for a small amount of time, say a couple of weeks like it used to be in a “normal” market, and a buyer wants to put in an offer, as the seller agent I always try to get the agent to present his/her offer in person with his/her clients in the area to negotiate the offer that night. I do this in an attempt to get the buyer excited and try to get them to offer more. The agent would show up at the house and “present” his/her offer to me and my clients. He would do his best to sell us on how his clients love the home and they’ll be a perfect fit for the neighbours etc. He then gives me a copy of the offer and I run through it briefly with my clients. I then ask the agent to politely leave so we can have some privacy to discuss the offer. If the offer is unsatisfactory to my clients we “sign it back” to the buyers. In other words we make a counter offer to them. This goes on until either the home sells that evening or the final offer is rejected and the home stays on the market. When an offer comes in by email, I present it to the sellers without the buyer agent present. Getting an offer in by email to me was always the lazy way for an agent and his buyer to put in an offer and when an offer is a lowball, it’s almost always an email offer. Rarely will an agent show up in person with his clients and put in a lowball offer as the agent doesn’t want to waste everyone’s time and he/she has to present this offer face to face with me and the sellers.

When there are multiple offers things can get very interesting. Some agents will say on their listing “offers to be emailed to listing agent only, as per seller” Hmm, as per sellers huh? Sounds like as per the agents schedule! Want to sell for less in a multiple offer situation? Only take offers by email and not in person. It’s a fact. If all the buyers show up at the same time it turns into an auction sort of atmosphere and drives up the price. If offers are emailed only, there is far less hype resulting in a lower sale. Granted, it’s not always possible to present in person but, make sure your agent tries his/her absolute best to make this happen.

When representing a buyer in a multiple offer situation I love it when the agent only wants offers to come in via email. It’s a recipe for a better deal for my clients if they manage to win the bidding.