Latest / Massive Agent Podcast / MAP 026: How to Get More Offers Accepted… Even in Crazy Tough Seller's Markets

Transcript

MAP 026: How to Get More Offers Accepted… Even in Crazy Tough Seller's Markets · Massive Agent Podcast

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: On this episode of the Massive Asia Podcast, we're going to talk all about how you can get more offers accepted even in those crazy tough, crazy competitive sellers' markets.
• 0:09
  SPEAKER_01: The Massive Asia Podcast.
• 0:17
  SPEAKER_00: I love to buy houses.
• 0:18
  SPEAKER_00: I like to sell houses.
• 0:35
  SPEAKER_00: Hey, what's going on, Massive Agents?
• 0:37
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to episode number 26 of the Massive Agent Podcast.
• 0:40
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you for listening.
• 0:41
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you for tuning in.
• 0:43
  SPEAKER_00: I appreciate it.
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_00: You're going to like this one today, especially if you, like the rest of us, have been super frustrated lately because in most markets around the country, there's not enough homes.
• 0:54
  SPEAKER_00: There's way too many buyers for the inventory available.
• 0:58
  SPEAKER_00: And it's tough, especially if you're around that medium home price, median, not medium, median home price or below.
• 1:05
  SPEAKER_00: In Salt Lake, that's like the, you know, in the if you're in the 200s, it's so tough to get a home.
• 1:10
  SPEAKER_00: So there's tips and things you can do to make your offers get accepted more often, which means your clients will love you more often and you will get referrals more often.
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_00: In fact, I just got an offer accepted for a buyer.
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_00: This was actually a couple months ago, but there were multiple offers.
• 1:27
  SPEAKER_00: Uh I believe there were three or four.
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_00: And so here's what you need to do every single time.
• 1:32
  SPEAKER_00: What I did is I called up the listing agent before we made the offer to find first off, find out if there are other offers.
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_00: Guys, if you're not at least finding out if there are competing offers, eesh, smack yourself.
• 1:44
  SPEAKER_00: That's stupid.
• 1:46
  SPEAKER_00: Now, now that that's out of your system, we can focus on smart.
• 1:50
  SPEAKER_00: You find out if there's other offers and you say, hey, we're about to do this offer.
• 1:53
  SPEAKER_00: What does the seller need?
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_00: What's important to the seller?
• 1:56
  SPEAKER_00: What are the needs and wants of the seller?
• 1:59
  SPEAKER_00: The reason why you ask those things is you want to find out what you could possibly accommodate in your offer that would make your offer more attractive to them.
• 2:07
  SPEAKER_00: I'll get to some examples in a second, but in this particular situation, I found out that these people, they need to buy they need to buy another house.
• 2:14
  SPEAKER_00: So they're selling their house first, and then they're gonna buy another house.
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_00: And so we found out, okay, let's actually give these guys 30 days.
• 2:23
  SPEAKER_00: But we'll we'll close on it, give them 30 days to stay in the house rent-free, which is amazing.
• 2:29
  SPEAKER_00: And then that gave them time to, as soon as, you know, we we got past the appraisal, they went out and started making offers, they closed on the house, they did that, and it was rent-free.
• 2:40
  SPEAKER_00: So that was extremely attractive to them, and it didn't cost the buyer any more money.
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_00: Like sure, it they couldn't possess the home for uh you know for a month, but they were willing to do that to get the house that they really wanted.
• 2:52
  SPEAKER_00: Of course, nobody else was doing that.
• 2:53
  SPEAKER_00: The listing agent told me I was the only one that asked what was important to the seller.
• 2:58
  SPEAKER_00: That was huge.
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_00: And in fact, I found out we weren't even the highest offer as far as purchase price.
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_00: We beat out another offer because the terms of the offer were better and more attractive to the seller.
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_00: I want you to really think about that.
• 3:13
  SPEAKER_00: It's not just about the price.
• 3:15
  SPEAKER_00: Closing quickly can sometimes be appealing.
• 3:18
  SPEAKER_00: Closing super quick, like a two-week closing, that can be appealing to some sellers, but in this situation, the sellers didn't want to close that fast because then they'd be out on the street, not really, but they'd have to find uh temporary housing quicker.
• 3:32
  SPEAKER_00: And they didn't want that, so they wanted more time.
• 3:35
  SPEAKER_00: You have to find out first.
• 3:36
  SPEAKER_00: Do that.
• 3:37
  SPEAKER_00: So if you are just joining the Massive Agent Podcast for the first time, thank you so much.
• 3:41
  SPEAKER_00: It's nice to meet you.
• 3:42
  SPEAKER_00: My name is Dustin Brome.
• 3:44
  SPEAKER_00: I'm a realtor in Salt Lake City, Utah with EXP Realty.
• 3:46
  SPEAKER_00: I'm the founder of the Massive Agent Society, that's our Facebook ad lead gen and support and training system.
• 3:53
  SPEAKER_00: You can find out more about that at MassivAgenSociety.com.
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_00: And what we try to do on this podcast is give you some lead generation tips and ideas and strategies to help you get more clients, to help you close more deals.
• 4:04
  SPEAKER_00: And it's not always a lead gen tip.
• 4:07
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes it's just helping you be a better agent because that will, of course, help you get more business later on down the road.
• 4:15
  SPEAKER_00: It's just good business to take care of your clients and to please them, because if you do, over time it will come back to you, they'll refer you business, but if you piss them off, if you do a crap job, if you do a half-assed job, you're not gonna grow your business.
• 4:30
  SPEAKER_00: Okay?
• 4:30
  SPEAKER_00: Sure, maybe you can get new clients in the door, but they're gonna go right out the back door.
• 4:34
  SPEAKER_00: How's that for an analogy, huh?
• 4:35
  SPEAKER_00: So we're gonna talk more in depth about how to get offers accepted in a very tough seller's market.
• 4:41
  SPEAKER_00: You always call the listing agent before you make an offer to find out if there are other offers and what the seller's wants and needs are.
• 4:48
  SPEAKER_00: This is absolutely crucial.
• 4:50
  SPEAKER_00: I've been talking about this a lot lately on social media.
• 4:53
  SPEAKER_00: I've been doing these new little videos over on Instagram on our Massive Agent profile at Massive Agent.
• 4:59
  SPEAKER_00: Go check that out on Instagram.
• 5:00
  SPEAKER_00: And we're gonna be doing one of those like at least every other day, where a minute long little tips, and that's kind of to supplement our new Alexa uh daily briefing as well, called the Massive Agent Minute.
• 5:12
  SPEAKER_00: So if you have the A word, if you have briefing.
• 5:15
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, come on.
• 5:16
  SPEAKER_00: Alexa, stop.
• 5:17
  SPEAKER_00: She was about to play my uh my daily briefing and I shut her down.
• 5:21
  SPEAKER_00: If you have an echo or an echo dot, go find the Massive Agent Minute under Skills, and and you'll get a lot of these little minute-long tips as well.
• 5:29
  SPEAKER_00: But making that call to find out what this what's important to the seller, I mean, it all revolves around that.
• 5:34
  SPEAKER_00: What is most important to the seller?
• 5:36
  SPEAKER_00: It's not always about the purchase price.
• 5:39
  SPEAKER_00: It often is, but there's other things that play along with that.
• 5:43
  SPEAKER_00: You also want to double check your contract before you submit it, that it's filled out perfectly.
• 5:48
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, that you're not missing things, that you're not missing initials, that you're not missing certain addenda that need to be there, you're not missing the lead-based paint disclosure if the house is built before 78.
• 5:58
  SPEAKER_00: You want the listing agent to get your offer and say, Well, this was done by a pro.
• 6:03
  SPEAKER_00: These guys didn't miss anything, I don't have any questions, I don't have any uh issues with this, like it it was done by a professional.
• 6:12
  SPEAKER_00: That will help you as well.
• 6:13
  SPEAKER_00: And if you sell homes, if you are a listing agent, you know what it's like when you get a bunch of offers that are just kind of you know, the grammar's terrible, there's it's missing an addenda, it's it's missing initials here, it's like amateur hour.
• 6:26
  SPEAKER_00: It's freaking amateur hour.
• 6:28
  SPEAKER_00: But then you get one that's just perfect, it's laid out, it's concise, and you're like, okay, this is a great, solid offer.
• 6:35
  SPEAKER_00: It just it's that psychological edge.
• 6:37
  SPEAKER_00: Now here's another thing you need to consider in sellers' markets, because I don't know if you've noticed this, there's a very big difference.
• 6:44
  SPEAKER_00: There it is two totally separate things.
• 6:47
  SPEAKER_00: The price that it's gonna take to get the property under contract, the price it's gonna take to get your offer accepted and to win a bidding war is not the same as what the house will appraise for.
• 6:57
  SPEAKER_00: So if your buyers are wanting to run comps and find out what do the comps say the house is worth before they make an offer, and it's a very hot area and a very hot price point, they're not gonna get a house.
• 7:08
  SPEAKER_00: They're just not.
• 7:09
  SPEAKER_00: And maybe they have to go through that a few times before they learn, hmm, maybe the comps be damned, we'll worry about that after getting it under contract.
• 7:17
  SPEAKER_00: You just have to explain that it's gonna usually you just have to throw money at the seller, make the terms very attractive, beat out everybody first, get it under contract.
• 7:25
  SPEAKER_00: Once the home's under contract, then you worry about, hey, is this thing really going to appraise?
• 7:30
  SPEAKER_00: And if not, what do we do?
• 7:32
  SPEAKER_00: You know, what's our plan A, what's our plan B if this house does not appraise?
• 7:36
  SPEAKER_00: But honestly, it's it's kind of a game.
• 7:39
  SPEAKER_00: It really is.
• 7:40
  SPEAKER_00: You you worry about what it's worth later if you're interested in getting the house.
• 7:45
  SPEAKER_00: And guys, if you're listening to this, especially if you're listening to this, you know, years down the road where it's not a seller's market anymore, or maybe you're in an area where it's a buyer's market and this sounds weird to you, and you're like, well, that's not really, you know, when you're just throwing money at the property and you know, going way above and beyond the purchase price, that's not good for your buyers.
• 8:04
  SPEAKER_00: I disagree.
• 8:05
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, they hired you to get the house.
• 8:07
  SPEAKER_00: So if if they actually want the house, they're gonna have to do what it takes to get the house.
• 8:12
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm sorry, if there's 12 other offers and you say, well, the comps only say it's worth 240, but it's listed at 260, so I'm only gonna offer 240.
• 8:21
  SPEAKER_00: You don't stand a chance.
• 8:22
  SPEAKER_00: You just don't.
• 8:23
  SPEAKER_00: You have to get the property under contract first.
• 8:26
  SPEAKER_00: Make sure your buyers understand this.
• 8:28
  SPEAKER_00: Also let them know what happens with the appraisal.
• 8:31
  SPEAKER_00: It say, hey, look, I'm not that confident that it will appraise for this crazy amount that we just gave the sellers, but here's what happens if it does appraise lower.
• 8:40
  SPEAKER_00: Talk about it up front.
• 8:42
  SPEAKER_00: Figure out your plan A and plan B.
• 8:44
  SPEAKER_00: Another option you can do to make your offer more attractive, like I said in the beginning in my story of a recent transaction, find out if the seller has to buy another house first.
• 8:54
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes they already have one, sometimes they don't need to buy another house next.
• 8:59
  SPEAKER_00: They're just maybe they already have one or they're moving to another area or whatever.
• 9:03
  SPEAKER_00: But find out.
• 9:04
  SPEAKER_00: That's very helpful because you could give them more possession.
• 9:07
  SPEAKER_00: You could say, hey, we'll let you stay in for another for an extra two weeks rent-free, or we'll let you stay in for 30 days rent-free.
• 9:14
  SPEAKER_00: It doesn't have to be rent-free, it just makes it more attractive that way.
• 9:17
  SPEAKER_00: You could also lease it back to them.
• 9:18
  SPEAKER_00: You know, you could close on it and then lease it back to them for a month or two, or whatever.
• 9:23
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe it's a couple of weeks, whatever time they need to go get another house, help them out with that.
• 9:29
  SPEAKER_00: Because most buyers don't even think of that.
• 9:32
  SPEAKER_00: Or most buyers, agents don't even think of that.
• 9:34
  SPEAKER_00: They're just like, oh, here, we'll offer this amount, and you know, then we want closing costs.
• 9:38
  SPEAKER_00: You have to, in a seller's market, think about what's important to the seller and what makes the seller happy, what will be attractive to them.
• 9:47
  SPEAKER_00: Because by doing those things, that's how you win.
• 9:50
  SPEAKER_00: That's how you win the day, that's how you win the offer, that's how you get the property under contract and make your buyers super happy.
• 9:58
  SPEAKER_00: Another thing you can do, and this is just my opinion, there's lots of different opinions, a lot of differing opinions on this.
• 10:04
  SPEAKER_00: When it comes to writing a letter as a buyer, having your buyers write a letter to the seller, I've seen it work and I've seen it not work.
• 10:10
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 10:11
  SPEAKER_00: My personal opinion is it doesn't hurt.
• 10:14
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, it's I think that there's more upside to it.
• 10:17
  SPEAKER_00: I think it's gonna work more often than it will hurt.
• 10:21
  SPEAKER_00: So if this if the buyers want to write a letter to the seller, and and here's the thing, just don't make it too over the top because I I have seen it once where a seller was like, well, these people are just, you know, they're really laying it on thick.
• 10:35
  SPEAKER_00: They're really trying to tug at my heart strings, and they didn't like it.
• 10:38
  SPEAKER_00: It rubbed them the wrong way, and it made them actually like the buyer less because they thought the buyer was just full of shit and feeding them a bunch of lines that they thought they wanted to hear.
• 10:48
  SPEAKER_00: So just make sure it's genuine, make sure it's not too fluffy, make sure it's not too over the top, you know, f flatter the seller, flatter the house a little bit.
• 10:57
  SPEAKER_00: Uh talk about why that house in particular would be so great.
• 11:01
  SPEAKER_00: But again, just keep it, you know, don't go over the top with it, because that can backfire.
• 11:05
  SPEAKER_00: I do think writing a letter does help more often than not, though.
• 11:09
  SPEAKER_00: That's my personal opinion.
• 11:10
  SPEAKER_00: And if you guys have any tips or tricks for getting your clients' offers accepted that we haven't talked about, or did we talk about earnest money?
• 11:17
  SPEAKER_00: I don't think we did.
• 11:18
  SPEAKER_00: You know, make sure that with earnest money, earnest money by by putting in a bunch of earnest money above and beyond, you know, 1% or whatever it is fairly uh standard or expected in your area, by putting in a bunch of earnest money that shows the seller and their agent that, hey, you're serious about this.
• 11:36
  SPEAKER_00: You're putting more skin in the game potentially.
• 11:38
  SPEAKER_00: And in Utah, it's a very buyer-friendly contract, so there's a lot of ways to protect that earnest money, so it's not really on the line except for maybe the last week before closing.
• 11:48
  SPEAKER_00: But nonetheless, by being willing to put that money on the line, like if everybody else is doing$4,000 and you're willing to do$10,000 in earnest, you're not paying any more for the house.
• 11:59
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, that that money's part of your down payment, anyways, but it just makes your offer that much stronger without paying more for the house.
• 12:07
  SPEAKER_00: So really consider getting your buyers to put in a bunch more earnest money because if you have three offers that you're looking at, they're all for$400,000, and they're all you know, close in three weeks, they're all 20% down conventional buyers, and then they're all$4,000 in earnest money, 1%, and then you have$10,000 in earnest, your offer sticks out.
• 12:29
  SPEAKER_00: It's like, wow, this one's stronger because they're willing to put more skin in the game, if you will.
• 12:33
  SPEAKER_00: Earnest money is a very, very useful tool that a buyer's agent should use.
• 12:38
  SPEAKER_00: It just takes some education.
• 12:39
  SPEAKER_00: You gotta educate your buyers on how earnest money works, and then you have to make sure that you're not a crappy agent and you have to watch those deadlines like a hawk.
• 12:50
  SPEAKER_00: You do not want to lose your client's earnest money.
• 12:52
  SPEAKER_00: Make sure they understand what the deadlines are and what they mean and what they must do or not do prior to those deadlines to keep their earnest money safe.
• 13:00
  SPEAKER_00: Make sure they know that and make sure you watch it too and make sure that they that they're safe.
• 13:05
  SPEAKER_00: Guys, if you want to get more offers accepted, have your lender make a call to the listing agent before they choose offers.
• 13:13
  SPEAKER_00: The reason being, whenever you submit a pre-approval letter or a pre-call letter, everybody's sending those.
• 13:18
  SPEAKER_00: And a lot of times they're very generic and they don't say much.
• 13:21
  SPEAKER_00: It's one of those boxes that as listing agents we just kind of check to make sure that they're there.
• 13:26
  SPEAKER_00: But the great listing agents will actually look into it.
• 13:29
  SPEAKER_00: They'll they want to make sure, okay, is this buyer actually approved?
• 13:33
  SPEAKER_00: Where are they in the approval process?
• 13:35
  SPEAKER_00: How strong are they?
• 13:36
  SPEAKER_00: Like, are they just barely qualifying or are they extremely well qualified?
• 13:40
  SPEAKER_00: Those are things that I as a listing agent want to know.
• 13:43
  SPEAKER_00: And so have your lender, when you're making an offer on a place and you know it's going to be competitive with multiple offers, make sure your lender, like submit the offer and then have your lender call the listing agent to vouch for your buyer.
• 13:57
  SPEAKER_00: When they can hear it from the lender or and ask any questions that they have about the buyer or about the offer directly to the lender, that really helps give them confidence that they can bring to their seller.
• 14:07
  SPEAKER_00: And the vast majority of times, nobody else had their lender call the listing agent.
• 14:11
  SPEAKER_00: So just that little phone call, they receive a phone call from you, of course, and then they receive one from your lender.
• 14:17
  SPEAKER_00: That's going to give the listing agent a ton of confidence in you and your buyer and the offer.
• 14:23
  SPEAKER_00: Guys, it's stressful out there.
• 14:24
  SPEAKER_00: I know.
• 14:25
  SPEAKER_00: Um, it's very hard working with buyers with that don't have a huge budget because it's just so competitive.
• 14:32
  SPEAKER_00: You know, the Fed just raised interest rates last week.
• 14:35
  SPEAKER_00: They're supposed to do it two more times by the end of 2018.
• 14:38
  SPEAKER_00: Will that slow down the market?
• 14:40
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe.
• 14:40
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, probably a little bit, but in Salt Lake City, it's still so hot.
• 14:45
  SPEAKER_00: There's still so much demand, it's not gonna do much.
• 14:47
  SPEAKER_00: It'll take a few buyers out or it's gonna reduce the purchasing power of a few buyers, but they're still there, they still need that housing.
• 14:56
  SPEAKER_00: So learn now in a crazy seller's market how to get your offers accepted, and then you're gonna be an absolute pro once it flips eventually to a buyer's market and there's more houses than there are buyers, you're gonna be able to get everything.
• 15:11
  SPEAKER_00: You'll win absolutely everything because you know how to do it.
• 15:15
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, and like I mentioned earlier, we do have our brand new uh briefing on Amazon Echo on Alexa.
• 15:22
  SPEAKER_00: I have to I always forget to unplug it.
• 15:24
  SPEAKER_00: We have our new daily flash briefing.
• 15:26
  SPEAKER_00: I've been doing it every day.
• 15:27
  SPEAKER_00: So even Saturday and Sunday, if you say A word, play my daily briefing, or what's my briefing, you'll hear a 60-second-ish tip from me.
• 15:36
  SPEAKER_00: It's called the Massive Agent Minute, and it's a way for me to just be more raw and just like if I have something I want to say or a story to tell or a tip or if I want to rant about something, I'll just record it real quick and throw it up there.
• 15:48
  SPEAKER_00: And a new one comes every day.
• 15:50
  SPEAKER_00: So on your A-Word app on your phone, click the hamburger thing in the upper left, you know, the three lines, click that, then click skills in the menu, then search for Massive Agent, you'll find the Massive Agent Minute, subscribe, and then of course leave a review.
• 16:05
  SPEAKER_00: But you know how to do that.
• 16:06
  SPEAKER_00: You know to do that.
• 16:06
  SPEAKER_00: That's easy.
• 16:07
  SPEAKER_00: They actually make it easier than iTunes does, which is weird.
• 16:10
  SPEAKER_00: Good for Amazon.
• 16:11
  SPEAKER_00: And good for me, I guess.
• 16:12
  SPEAKER_00: And anybody else with a flash briefing.
• 16:14
  SPEAKER_00: Then finally, as I announced a couple weeks ago, because uh because I'm now with EXP Realty and I am building a nationwide team of other agents, I'm looking for you guys, I'm looking for other agents to partner with who want to join arms and work together at EXP.
• 16:30
  SPEAKER_00: I want to make sure that everybody who comes to work with us on our EXP Realty team that they have all the tools they need to succeed.
• 16:37
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, I'm not when you come to work with me, you're gonna get training, support, coaching, one-on-one, personal.
• 16:43
  SPEAKER_00: You know, it's like I'm personally hiring you, so to speak.
• 16:46
  SPEAKER_00: And powerful things happen when other people are financially incentivized to see you succeed.
• 16:52
  SPEAKER_00: That creates a very powerful, synergistic relationship.
• 16:55
  SPEAKER_00: That's what's going on at EXP Realty.
• 16:57
  SPEAKER_00: So for everyone who comes to join my team, you get free lifetime access to the Massive Agent Society, the Facebook uh lead gen training support system that I talked about before.
• 17:08
  SPEAKER_00: And if you've listened to the show for a while, you know all about it.
• 17:11
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, a good handful of you guys are members, which is awesome.
• 17:14
  SPEAKER_00: But you get free access if you join EXP Realty with me, join our team, you'll get free access to that because I want you to have the resources you need to sell a crap load more homes.
• 17:26
  SPEAKER_00: And if you've been hearing about exp and you you want to learn more, but you you don't want to talk to anybody, you're worried that you're gonna get the hard sell or whatever, and I get it, there's a lot of amateurs out there who are doing the hard sell with EXP, and let's be honest, and with Keller and with Exit and a few others.
• 17:41
  SPEAKER_00: But if you just want to learn about it at your own speed, in the comfort of your own home, with no one bugging you, no one squawking in your ear, just go to MassivAgent Podcast.com slash exp.
• 17:53
  SPEAKER_00: MassiveAgent Podcast.com slash exp.
• 17:56
  SPEAKER_00: Press play on the video.
• 17:58
  SPEAKER_00: That's all you have to do, and that's gonna fill you in and bring you up to speed on pretty much everything.
• 18:02
  SPEAKER_00: Pretty much everything.
• 18:03
  SPEAKER_00: Obviously, there's other things, little details here and there.
• 18:07
  SPEAKER_00: Then if interested, reach out, I'd be happy to help.
• 18:10
  SPEAKER_00: Alright, guys, thank you again so much for listening to the show.
• 18:13
  SPEAKER_00: Uh we've this last month we had we had a pretty big month as far as new listeners, which is great.
• 18:18
  SPEAKER_00: And I I have to thank you directly because I, you know, ever since I've been telling you that even though this is a free show, I ask that you do one thing for us and that you help spread the word and leave a review, leave a rating on iTunes.
• 18:31
  SPEAKER_00: That's helping.
• 18:32
  SPEAKER_00: So if you have not done so yet, please share this with a friend.
• 18:36
  SPEAKER_00: If you've gotten any value at all, share this with another realtor or a loan officer or both, or a title person, anyone in real estate, share this, and it really does help us to grow our audience.
• 18:47
  SPEAKER_00: I can't tell you how much I appreciate that.
• 18:49
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you so much, guys.
• 18:50
  SPEAKER_00: I'm Dustin Brome.
• 18:51
  SPEAKER_00: Signing off, go sell some homes.