What should you do if you receive multiple offers at once?
The housing market can get a little crazy when the number of available properties reduces.
This leads to increasing prices!
Right now the demand is through the roof and many properties are receiving multiple offers.
So what should you do if you suddenly have multiple offers?
What to do if you receive multiple offers at once.
The housing market can get a little crazy when the number of available properties reduces.
This leads to increasing prices!
Right now the demand is through the roof and many properties are receiving multiple offers, and some areas in the UK are reporting an increase of up to 10% this year!
But what should you do for the best if you suddenly have lots of offers on your property?
Firstly, huge congratulations!
If you have received multiple offers, then clearly, your property is in high demand!
How you and your agent handle the negotiation now will make sure that you achieve the maximum price for your property and not leave money on the table.
So how should you handle this situation to make the most of your property value without upsetting your offerors or gazumping anyone?
There are many ways to tie up a negotiation, but the key is to maximise the offers you get to make sure that you are selling your property at the highest price possible.
Usually, the fastest and easiest way to tie a sale up at the very best price possible is to ask your offerors for their best and final offers.
'Best and final offers' creates an auction-style scenario where the offeror has to put in the very highest price that they are willing to pay for the property. As the offer is final, there is no re-negotiation, so they have to offer the very highest price possible if they are to be the successful bidder.
Often using this method will highlight for you the most serious buyers. There will usually be a very high offer from someone who really, really doesn't want to lose your house.
Make sure that all potential offerors have provided evidence of their finances and ability to move. If they have a property to sell, you need to know where they are in the process. Are they on the market? Or do they have a buyer? Has their buyer had a survey yet? Do they have a completion timescale in mind?
Decide on a date and time to receive the offers, in writing, from each of the offerors. Allow a week or so for them to submit their offers so that they have time to prepare the proof of finances.
Once the date and time come around, you and your agent can open the offer letters and decide which one you would like to accept.
These are final offers, so there is no re-negotiation, but unlike an auction, you as the seller are not obliged to accept any of them if you don't want to.
Having all offers laid out, complete with each offeror's purchasing ability and timescale, can make it very easy for you to decide which buyer to accept.
You may not go for the highest, but the position that best fits in with your own timescales, or the most secure finances ie, cash over someone that has to sell their own property.
You have the control, and you can also rest assured that you have achieved the highest possible price for your property without gazumping anyone or taking three weeks to negotiate backwards and forward between everyone.
In fairness, this is not the most attractive option for the buyers because they have no guidance on where the offer needs to be. Still, your agent can explain that it is not always the highest offer but the most complete and secure offer that is likely to be accepted. It also means that they are not being forced to pay more than they are comfortable paying, leading to the sale falling further down the line.
If you would like guidance on how to handle the sale of your property, get in touch.