Vancouver Real Estate: Why an Offer Won’t Pay off Your Mortgage

While I “get” the concept of “limited representation” (you know, those flat fee listing options) to help sellers get some MLS exposure and find a buyer, it’s what you do AFTER you find the buyer that really matters.

I tell my selling clients all the time – finding the buyer is actually the easy part (although it has gotten to be a tad more challenging in the past year).  The hard part is keeping the deal on track and getting it to the closing table so a seller can actually maximize that equity.

Just try cashing an “offer” at the bank.

It’s that expertise in managing a deal that truly defines the value in the listing expense.  Sure, marketing costs money, nowadays lots of it.  But marketing (or MLS exposure) alone is not going to get it done.

Why this discourse?

I subscribe to a local real estate “forum” where folks post ideas, comments, deals, etc… I find it amazing that people will turn to anonymous posters – with varied agendas, experiences and perspectives – for advice on how to handle contract negotiations. Earlier this week, an email to the anonymous group was peppered with…

“Is it feasible…”
“Do any of you folks have suggestions for me…”
“I have a plan on counteroffering. Open to your ideas and experiences!”
“Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!”

Seriously.  These are actual statements.  From a seller who had the house “listed”, but had no/limited “representation”.  And this level of uncertainty is at the offer stage… what happens going through contract negotiation of terms and conditions, disclosure, inspection, underwriting, appraisal, title, escrow, etc…

Look, don’t get me wrong, I don’t fault someone for trying to save money, especially in this economy. But the premise of penny-wise and pound… well, you know the one I’m talking about.

The offer was $70,000 below the asking price.  I’ve talked again and again about whether this List Price was even correct to start with. But regardless, with that type of discrepancy and that level of uncertainty, the money spent of securing solid, experienced representation of a seller’s best interest in a transaction of this magnitude can not be undervalued.

But hey, I’m smart enough to admit I may be a tad bit biased in my viewpoint.

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