With an approach like that I would counter offer by saying my price is a take it or leave it price.

Wow! It sounds like they (and their agent--do they have one?) are just asking for trouble. What happens if seller one agrees to their offer, but before they can withdraw remaining offers another seller agrees and notifies them---they technically have two valid contracts. One of the first things I learned as an agent is you work one offer at a time, whether it's a buyer or seller. (only exception would be with notification that this is a back-up offer.)

As a seller I think you did the best you could, but I'd be pretty leary of any interaction with these people.

Don't get caught up in what they're doing (or claim they're doing), or allow yourself to be rushed. Treat this buyer like any other, and seek the price you want. This sounds a little too much like a bargaining ploy, and may not even be true.

"They sent us a letter telling us they put in offers on multiple houses,..."
They must have a lot of money. What if several sellers accept their offer? It sounds like a ploy to me, maybe they are flippers?

I wouldn't let tactics like that work on me, treat it like you'd treat any other offer, if it's one you want to accept, take your time and accept it on your terms. I'm also surprised that their agent is using this tactic, it could backfire on them. Like rrah says, what if two offers are accepted, don't they then have two valid contracts?

In NJ, you can make as many offers as you want, and until it goes through attorney review, you can always withdrawl your offer. It happened to us once. We made an offer, the seller agreed, but changed his mind before the 3 day attorney review was up.

I doubt they are flippers, as there is nothing to be done to our house. We've done it all already. Plus if we can't sell it for what we are asking, they would never be able to get enough to make it worth it.

I wouldn't trust them and would stay firm on my ideal price. Based on how they say business is done in NJ, I'd also keep showing it and accepting offers until lawyer review is complete. Yikes!

How does that work Dave -- if you accept their offer then are all the other offers they've made null and void? or do they still work those offers until your three day attorney review process is up?

"I'd also keep showing it and accepting offers until lawyer review is complete"

That's the plan.

cordovamom, the three day attorney review process doesn't start until both parties sign the accepted offer sheet (I'm not sure what it's called). So they have until the end of the 3rd day of AR to withdrawl any or all offers. Once it passes AR, it becomes a contract and there are very few ways to get out of it.

Your house hasn't been on the market very long. Now that the holidays are over, you are likely to have more offers on your listing.

I don't mean to be insulting, but I would consider it a point of weakness to throw in all the extra items you have offered with the first counter offer. I would wait until they counter offer back. That is just my opinion.

Can you find out why these buyers are interested in your particular house? Ask your agent to do a little digging. Will they be living in it or buying it for an investment? Do they already own other property? Is there something about this neighborhood that is particularly attractive? Good school system, parks, shopping, quick work commute, etc. Even if they back out, this will be useful to know for any other buyers who come along.

I don't know how good your agent is, but I have sometimes found that seller's agents blab as much as a buyer's agent. We talked to one seller's agent who was representing the sale of a dilapidated house. She told us the owner's kids were losers, had completely neglected their mother and that was why the house was in such poor condition. It may have been the truth, but if I were the owner, I'd be livid that an agent hired to represent me shared that kind of information with strangers.

Don't complain to your agent about how much your dying to sell so you can join the wife in N.C.. This will get back to buyer's.

Here are a few links. Top 10 Predictions for Home Buyers & Sellers in 2007-Agents Will Negotiate Record Numbers of Counter Offers
homebuying.about.com/od/marketfactstrends/qt/2007Predictions.htm

Tips for Presenting a Counteroffer
www.realtor.org/rmotoolkits.nsf/pages/Nego15

realtytimes.com/rtnews/websearchview4?searchview&searchorder=4&query=Counteroffers

If they aren't very picking right now and just don't care, they may flip and be really picky after the inspection. That is the craziest thing I've ever heard. I don't think putting in multiple offers is a smart idea. Good luck.

Hey Dave,

I'm in the county directly to your east, and was an agent here for a few years (left the business 11 years ago). You're dealing with someone trying to find a motivated seller. Could be a good thing, could be a bad thing. ;-)

Your counter is fine - you didn't give your bottom line price, but probably made a meaningful enough reduction to catch their attention if they're on the level. The snowblower/grill/etc are fine to throw in as an enticement - not wanting to move that stuff doesn't indicate 'fire sale' to me. It's a 50/50 split on buyers who will/will not find that attractive in my experience.

Oh, BTW, I saw your post on the pre-approveds. One point I didn't see mentioned is that NJ has some pretty heavy duty anti-discrimination laws that realtors have to follow. The state sends out ficticious buyers to ensure realtors aren't engaging in 'steering' (ie, racially profiling buyers). Thus, if you have a customer who wants to see a home that that's at the borderline of their affordability level, you take them.

Hang in there - just keep taking deep breaths. You're at least receiving offers (a good sign). The fact the buyers can't qualify isn't an issue with you - as pointed out on your other thread, pre-quals/approvals aren't underwriting.

Oh, and FWIW, of almost half of the homes we looked at when DH and I were buying had owners that were home at the time. Stop making yourself nutso about clearing out of the home for every showing if you can't. Contain the pets by all means, but if the buyer is really interested, they'll be back.

Thanks nestie.
"Oh, and FWIW, of almost half of the homes we looked at when DH and I were buying had owners that were home at the time. Stop making yourself nutso about clearing out of the home for every showing if you can't. Contain the pets by all means, but if the buyer is really interested, they'll be back."

We started doing just that. Instead of leaving, we just take the dogs for a short walk up and down the street.

Now back to the offer. They came back last night at $315,000, we countered with the lowest price we will accept, which is $325,000. Pretty much told them to take it or leave it.

It's clear that most of the posters here would get offended by an offer like that but the truth is it's a business deal not a wedding invitation and these folks are hot to trot so consider it carefully and level-headedly respond. Do not take it personally since it's a business deal. They're probably not telling the truth. Be sure to put a very narrow window of time for which they can accept the offer. Give them a taste of their own medicine.

I hope it works out for you....fingers crossed for you

I think they are bargaining in bad faith. If they are treating all the sellers like this, imagine what a joy they will be going through to closing. If I were their realtor, I would not present more than one offer at a time.

As far as attorney review goes, yes, there is a three day "cooling off" period in NJ, but you still have to get your attorney to write a formal letter rescinding the offer. The buyer can't be the one to call off the deal.

Also, I would not start throwing personal items into the negotiations just yet. You should save them for when you need to throw them into the deal.

"The buyer can't be the one to call off the deal"

As long as the 3 day AR is not over, the buyer or the seller can call off the deal. They may have to go through their lawyer, but they can call it off.

"I think they are bargaining in bad faith. If they are treating all the sellers like this, imagine what a joy they will be going through to closing. If I were their realtor, I would not present more than one offer at a time."

Isn't an agent obligated to submit an offer? I'd be pretty P.O.'ed if I were the seller and found out you refused to submit my offer.

"As far as attorney review goes, yes, there is a three day "cooling off" period in NJ, but you still have to get your attorney to write a formal letter rescinding the offer. The buyer can't be the one to call off the deal."

You can't write your own letter? Why not? I find this hard to believe. Either way the buyer is the one calling off the deal - the lawyer would just be writing a letter at their client's instruction

It sounds like they are just trying to sniff out a desperate seller. So what? It's a pretty transparent tactic. I don't think they are really being that sneaky about it.

I would be a little extra wary of them becasue it seems a little amateurish and I might be afraid that they would have unrealistic expectations concerning condition or their ablility to get financing. I would demand a quick close in case they flake.

> "It sounds like they are just trying to sniff out a desperate seller. So what? It's a pretty transparent tactic. I don't think they are really being that sneaky about it."

Why not let them think they are winning and being sneaky and "stealing" the house. You don't need acting lessons to act desperate, I'd hold firm on the price but give these folks quite a performance. You got them right where you want them. Trick them into thinking they're getting an unbelievable deal. You have to give something so that the negotiations continue, but give very little. If you just tell them to buzz off or tell them the price is firm, they'll move on to someone else. Hey they may be a bunch of nasty people but they've got a line of credit to spend so get them to buy your house. I could have fun with this one.

You know what I like about this board? Everybody has an opinion on what should be done and shouldn't be done. When in reality, nobody knows what a buyer or seller will do. We have no idea what the other party is doing or not doing, thinking or not thinking. All we can do is take our best guess, and hope for the best.

"As long as the 3 day AR is not over, the buyer or the seller can call off the deal. They may have to go through their lawyer, but they can call it off."

Dave, you are taking me too literally! That's exactly what I said. All I meant was that the buyer (or seller) cannot write the letter himself - it has to be written by the attorney within the three day period. I have seen attorneys wait until the last second and sometimes it's scary. Of course, it's the buyer (or seller) who makes the decision not to go forward, but the letter comes from the attorney.

Solie, I didn't say an agent shouldn't submit all offers, but the offers should be submitted one at a time (this is my opinion)! It's absolutely wrong to submit multiple offers on a fishing expedition - it's unethical because the buyer is not bargaining in good faith.

"You can't write your own letter?" That's why it's called attorney review. Your attorney writes the letter. Otherwise it would be called something else.

""You can't write your own letter?" That's why it's called attorney review. Your attorney writes the letter. Otherwise it would be called something else."

Ah...got it. My bad.

But I still think it's overstepping for the agent to take it upon himself/herself to decide not to submit offers. If it's not illegal then a potential buyer should be able to submit whatever offers they want. Now, I could understand how doing this without disclosing it might be a grey area, but as long as they are upfront about it and it is legal I don't see how an agent has the right to screen offers. And ow would you decide which one would go first?

You can write your own counter offer if that's what you're talking about. I've done it in the past and thankfully everything worked out. I wouldn't do it in this case though.

"But I still think it's overstepping for the agent to take "it upon himself/herself to decide not to submit offers. If it's not illegal then a potential buyer should be able to submit whatever offers they want. Now, I could understand how doing this without disclosing it might be a grey area, but as long as they are upfront about it and it is legal I don't see how an agent has the right to screen offers. And how would you decide which one would go first?"

Solie--I don't know that it is illegal in my state, but I would refuse to do it--our state form does not currently provide for attorney review. It would be a real violation of my fiduciary and ethical responsibilities to get one of my clients in a situation where they have a valid contract on two homes (unless that is the intent.) That is exactly what could happen here. I would be happy to let them choose which one they wanted submitted first, but one at a time. I believe it's called negotiating in good faith.

Solie: You are confusing writing up an offer with submitting an offer. If the agent refuses to write up multiple offers, there wouldn't be multiple offers to submit. One of the first things agents need to learn is to control their clients - not in the bad sense - but if a client wants to do something wrong or unethical, the agent has to speak up and tell them they can't do it. Then the client is free to find another agent if they so chose. It's just not worth it to have a client going off like a loose cannon because there is too much potential for misunderstanding and disaster!

"Solie: You are confusing writing up an offer with submitting an offer. If the agent refuses to write up multiple offers, there wouldn't be multiple offers to submit. One of the first things agents need to learn is to control their clients - not in the bad sense - but if a client wants to do something wrong or unethical, the agent has to speak up and tell them they can't do it."

Possibly I am, I guess the distinction you are making has to do with whether you are the buyer's agent or the seller's agent? So you are saying that if you were the buyer's agent you wouldn't let them make multiple offers? I was responding to your statement that you would refuse to PRESENT more than one offer at a time. Which I interpreted at refusing to inform a seller that someone wanted to make an offer on their home.

As a potential buyer I really can't imagine wanting to do things this way, but if I were being honest (and it were legal) then I would expect my agent to follow through on my instructions. But if my agent refused and let me move onto another agent with no penalty then I guess I would have no gripe with my original agent.