Here's what NOT to do when submitting an offer....

Buying & Selling Real Estate
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Here's what NOT to do when submitting an offer....

Marc M.
Contractor · Rockville, MD · Member since 2014 · 423 posts · 135 votes

So I'm buying a personal residence for myself.  Came across this house that fit nearly all my parameters but the place needed a lot of work and they were asking more than I qualified for.  Passed on it and kept searching.

A week or so later, my agent gets an email from the listing agent saying that the owners needed to sell and wanted to know what I would offer.  It had been on the market for about 4 months.  House was listed for $399k, was worth about $450k fixed up but needed between $60-80k in rehab.  

I put an offer in for $300k, really thinking they weren't going to take it but that's the price I would have needed to be for the rehab cost and equity I was looking for.  Signed the offer, sent it in, then the listing agent asked for a financial information sheet, which I'm still not clear the point of since it doesn't require any supporting docs.  Due to an insane work schedule this week, it took me about a day and a half to get the info sheet back to the listing agent.

Turns out that just before I sent it back in, another offer came in which they accepted.   Come to find out that my offer had been accepted and signed, they were just waiting on my info sheet.  Poof goes about $150k in nearly instant equity and a great house I was starting to believe might actually become mine.  I'm kicking the crap out of myself right now but I learned a valuable lesson.

Moral of the story: don't sit on paperwork when it comes in.  Knock it out and get it back to your agent so someone else doesn't swoop in and steal a deal out from under you, regardless of how far-fetched it may seem.  I'm beating myself up because blaming my work schedule is really just an excuse, I could and should have made time to get it done and I explicitly remember thinking to myself, "It's been on the market 4 months with no traffic.  It can wait another few hours."  No, apparently it couldn't.

Next step is to send out a direct mail campaign to owners in that neighborhood.  I'm going to find a better deal than that one; it won't be easy but I'm sure as heck going to try.  First offer will be for $299,999. :-)

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Joe VilleneuvePro Member
Plymouth, MI · Member since 2013 · 13k+ posts · 19k+ votes
10y

"The things that come to those who wait, are the things that are left behind, by those that got there first"......Me (my epitaph, and tagline on my emails)

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  • Marc M.
    OP
    Contractor · Rockville, MD · Member since 2014 · 423 posts · 135 votes
    10y
    Originally posted by @Jay Hinrichs:

    @Mike Cumbie  there has been a lot of fraudulent cashiers checks in the last 3 years or so.

    Most title and escrow companies will not allow them for RE closings they only accept wired funds... So that could be why my cashiers checks this time were not accepted.

     Yep, I've bought and sold a lot of motorcycles in the last few years and fewer and fewer sellers are willing to accept cashier's or certified checks because of the increased ability of people to produce fraudulent copies.  Sure makes it tough when you don't want to carry $5k+ in cash around.

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  • Marc M.
    OP
    Contractor · Rockville, MD · Member since 2014 · 423 posts · 135 votes
    10y
    Originally posted by @Ned Carey:
    Originally posted by @Marc M.:

    I don't see how you could possibly interpret that I was trying to pass blame.  Am I missing something or did you go off on some tangent?

     Marc, I can't speak for Minh but I often answer questions for the benefit of other readers not just the original poster. 

     Plausible explanation and maybe my spidey senses are off but I didn't get the impression that was the case.

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  • Marc M.
    OP
    Contractor · Rockville, MD · Member since 2014 · 423 posts · 135 votes
    10y
    Originally posted by @Justin B.:

    Marc,

    Many times things have not gone my way, but in almost every case, a bigger and better door was opened.  When I first moved up to Maryland straight out of college from 1,000 miles away for a job, it was scary enough.  6 months after being hired, my company was bought and 95% of the employees (including myself) were laid off.  I happened to find an even better job and am WAY better off for it.  It was a scary time for sure, but even though at the time I thought it sucked, it was the best thing that could have happened to me.

    I would not be surprised if you found a much better deal and were saying to yourself, thank goodness that last deal wasn't accepted. :)

     Thanks Justin, I'm just about over it.  In thinking about it, I actually didn't care about losing the house, I was really more frustrated with how I lost it.  But that's not a mistake I'll be making again.  Waiting on that 10,000 sq ft, 25 acre property in Rockville for $100k to pop up now.  :-) 

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  • David Veikune
    Investor · Hays, KS · Member since 2014 · 105 posts · 28 votes
    10y

    Best of luck on the next one. Your time will come.

    1Reply
  • Marc M.
    OP
    Contractor · Rockville, MD · Member since 2014 · 423 posts · 135 votes
    10y
    Originally posted by @David Dachtera:

    @Marc M.,

    Unless they've changed it, most RE purchase contracts spell out in their verbiage that "Time is of the essence" or something similar.

    Sitting on it that long was ill-advised, but learn that now about yourself. Next time around, be aware of it and discipline yourself to do better.

     Yep, I've always said that experience is the best teacher.

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