A: This is a stupid little thing that does indeed happen out
there in the world of real estate. The reason is because selling your
home is a very emotional decision that can make some sellers wary and
nervous. When the reality of a deal getting done inches closer, that is
when the wariness can turn into nervousness; and that can lead to a
rash decision that surprises everybody involved. Luckily it doesn't
happen too often, but I did go through this three times in the past two
months alone. In my opinion, the last thing you want as a seller broker
is to have your client second guess their decision to sell OR their
pricing strategy when first putting the apartment on the market.
History usually shows that the best offers come in the first few weeks,
but as a seller, sometimes you can't help but wonder if you really did
price your property correctly?
One
of the biggest headaches I find in this business is when you run into a
seller that gets nervous or scared when you present a solid offer soon
after the property hits the market. What does the seller want???? If
you price at $1,250,000 and you get a solid bid in 3 days from a
motivated buyer, why is that reason to get all nervous and nuts that
ultimately leads to a rash decision?? Well it's not my place to say! I
just question why the seller listed the apartment in the first place
before thinking things through properly. Unfortunately my clients and I
just experienced this situation for a midtown condo. Asking price
$1,250,000, 3 days on market, we submit a solid offer and get a seller
response of $1,240,00 - so we ACCEPT! And what are we rewarded with? A
seller that got scared and removed the listing from the marketplace.
This was the third one in the last few months (520w19, 144w27, & 200e58), and I thought it might make for a good topic of discussion.
Here is the rub: Its the seller's home to sell, they need to
agree to all terms of the deal or its just not worth getting the
attorneys started! In the end they are the one that must countersign
the contract that the buyer signed first to seal the deal.
Nobody can force anybody to sign that contract. Sure you might be able
to pursuade a buyer or seller to agree to do something they might be a
little uncertain about, but you can't force them to sign the contract!
That is something they must do on their own; likely after dealing with
the emotions of buying or selling in their own way.
Whenever I present a solid offer for a property whose listing
history is under 7 days, I get a bit worried that the seller may start
to question things. On the one hand you may get a seller that is
ecstatic to have gotten a solid offer in such a short period of time
and who feels lucky to be able to move forward so fast.
