If you’re active in the St. Louis real estate market, then you’ve likely experienced the often dreaded multiple-offer scenario yourself.
While it can be incredibly rewarding for sellers, it’s often very overwhelming for buyers. Quite frankly, it’s down right challenging to navigate for even the most experienced agents representing those buyers, too.
Inman just published an article by Heather Davis, a Realtor Associate with Re/Max Preferred Properties, discussing this issue, which was very timely with some of my recent experiences!
You can read the original article here: The gray area in multiple-offer situations
In just the last week, I had the same investor clients miss out on three buying opportunities as a result of multiple-offer scenarios. This typically isn’t a big deal for them as investors, but one transaction in particular stands out.
Rather than receiving proactive communication throughout the offer period, the agent only offered updates when pressed. At one point, we were told our offer was one of the highest bids. The seller would make a decision within 48 hours.
After coming up further on our offer in an attempt to seal the deal quickly, the listing agent went to “check with the seller”. After an extended period of silence, I reached back out to the agent only to discover another offer had been accepted.
Chaos ensued.
Not really, but you can imagine the frustration!
I assume (and would like to believe) there weren’t any wrong-doings, but that’s just the gray area Heather discusses in her article.
On the buying side, you never know exactly which game you’re playing.
It’s hard to become skilled at a game when you don’t know the rules.
Unfortunately, that’s the reality of the market we’re in today.
There just isn’t a clearly defined way for handling these scenarios. Even with the best intentions, some agents will continue to get it wrong.
At the end of the day it comes down to how well the listing agent handles the situation. With constant communication, sheer timeliness, and a level playing field (where all parties have the same information), agents can better keep the peace of all parties.
I couldn’t agree with Heather more when she says, “How you behave in the gray areas matters. Character depends on it.”