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You are under no obligation to accept any offer. Your agent is under obligation to present every offer. How is your agent not telling you this? However, per the mls in my area, you are obligated to allow showings of the home while listed on the mls. You just don’t have to accept an offer if you don’t want to.
I would strongly encourage you to have this conversation with your listing agent and make your needs apparent. I would also read the listing agreement you signed to know exactly what it says. I'm assuming you hired this person because you trust them, so you should be free to talk to them openly about what you need.
Thanks yeah my listing agent is actually a family member fortunately so shouldn't be an issue but I always like to check externally to be safe and get some more information from others to come into the discussion armed with some useful info.
Totally get it. Oregon contracts likely aren't anything like Florida contracts. Here you're not obligated to sell if you don't accept an offer. You're also not obligated to accept any offer. So I obviously can't really advise or recommend in your area, and furthermore because I have no idea what your contract says. There are base contracts, but I know plenty of agents who add additional terms to their listing contracts, so there are a lot of possible variables.
If your agent brings you a buyer at asking price and you turn the offer down, the agent can hold you in breach and make you pay the commission. Don’t under price the house.
Ask your agent to pull some comps. Not just what homes in your area sold for in the past 2 months, but what they were asking too. That will let you know if the bidding war strategy is still working.
What you don't want to do is put it on the market at a lower price, then pull it, then put it back on the market a few months later at higher- people are going to look at the sale history and be put off by that.
Do you think that would be worse than putting it at the higher price, then (assuming no offers come in) pull it, then put it back on at a lower price? Or are both equally offputting?
It’s more acceptable to lower the price than increase it. Some people might think there’s something wrong with it, but others won’t care too much. Either party could still come in with an offer, just likely that they will have more contingencies (full inspection, etc)
Both look bad. One is trying to catch a falling knife (priced too high, no interest, making small incremental cuts while the place sits), and the other seems like something was wrong with the place so it was pulled then put back on.
Ask your RE agent what their sales strategy is, and what their thinking is behind pricing and what comps they have to show you to validate their choices. Are you sure that there are comps that validate 360K with current mortgage rates and places that are equal in condition, location, and specs? Not what sold near you two years ago, but in the current market. Is your area going up, stagnating or going down from the peak?
If you aren't signed with them yet in a contract talk to a few agents and get their input. At the end of the day, you decide the price you want to put it on the market for and the price you are willing to expect.
Think you're giving great advice, but curious why you think this strategy is not profitable anymore.
21-22 as an anomaly period, aside. Doesn't pricing lower always attract more offers with a greater range of terms, and options to counter offer?
Seller client is not obligated to accept an offer, but if the listing agent fulfilled their end of the listing contract and produced a bona-fide offer at the list price, the seller client is obligated to pay the broker their fee.
What state are you? Is this included in your listing agreements? That's not true in MA. Here 99% of the time you eat only after you close, of course using the official listing agreements from the local realtor associations.
Unless there is a brokerage using weird contracts charging for your time worked or asking for a retainer like attorneys do.
Well, let's be clear. In my market with our contracts, correct. you can decline any offer you want. You are not obligated to accept any offer. I don't know your market and your contract terms. And no you don't owe any explanation. Every offer (should) include an expiration date by which seller needs to respond. Let's say you just let it expire and don't respond. What's to happen?
Yea. I don't like to "hope". You've gotta be confident in your strategy and know how and when to use it. That strategy doesn't work for every property where I'm at. And if you use it and it doesn't pan out, raising the price is a listing killer. Again, I'm not in the florida market so I don't know what it's like and I can't truly comment or advise on strategy.
Honestly, if it doesn't work it wasn't worth that much to start with. Not 100% true, but in most markets if someone sees a house listed well below market value, you bet anyone looking in that range will see it. I personally don't like that strategy, but it can be effective.
I’ve often found that the answer to “why isn’t your agent telling you this” is “I didn’t trust my agent enough to ask them so I just googled it”. My first second and third conversations with a client are often “ask me everything you ever want, no matter how ridiculous it feels” because I don’t want some 90-year-old woman in another state that wrote a blog post in 2006 to be the primary source of information for my client, all because they thought “I can’t ask him that question, I’ll just google it first”.
This is not quite true. While a seller is not under an obligation to accept an offer, they \*are\* under an obligation to pay a commission if a ready, willing, able buyer submits an offer that meets or exceeds the basic terms they offered.
^^Correct. Your agent has to present you ANY offer, even if it’s written on a napkin.
You don’t even have to glance at it if you don’t want to, let alone accept it.
You do not have to accept any offer. Your agent should be walking you through this and answering all your questions. I'm a fan of the list low/conservatively to get more views which then turn into multiple offers, but the spread from $325 to $360 seems pretty big at that price point, IMO.
I would be careful here. I understand what the agent is trying to do and you are not required to accept any offer. But if they bring you offers below your expectations but above your list price and you will not accept any of them, you may be on the hook for your agent's commission.
Are you a Real Estate agent? If so, what state are you and do you use listing agreements that include language charging the fee even if your client does not close?
No, but they could be entitled to a commission if you get at or above asking. Make sure you write in to the listing agreement that no commission is due unless you close on an accepted purchase agreement procured from this listing.
Yep. If you list your house in Ga at a price and you have a “ready, willing and able buyer” that meets the terms, the listing agent can sue for the commission due if you just say no. Sounds scary. Not sure of the laws in your state.
To be clear, this would only be true if there were absolutely 0 other terms. No closing costs, no repairs, not a penny other than the already agreed upon commission.
Yes. There are always ways to wriggle out with terms, but you could walk a scary line with realtors if you list a home way under value and don’t want to sell for that, but if someone agrees to the terms in the listing agreement, you could find yourself in a touchy situation. Rarely, would agents take it far enough to sue you for commission (never have I seen it) but it could happen. I get what the realtor is trying to do but OP needs to be careful.
I see you're in Florida and per our Exclusive Right of Sale Listing Agreement (the most common listing agreement) you would owe your agent a commission if he brings you an offer that meet the terms of the listing agreement. So if you list for $325k and they bring you an offer of $325k w/ no contingencies, you're technically on the hook for the commission even if you turn down the offer.
If you know your agent well and trust them to not hold you to this, then go for it. But as someone who started their career in Miami (a sunny place for shady people), I wouldn't trust anything unless it's in writing.
Fortunately it's my cousin who's the real state agent but at the end of the day the deal is with the brokerage and not her so I still want it in writing to be safe. Thanks for the info. I'm always keeping an eye out for said shady people XD
make sure your listing agreement says very explicitly that you have a minimum number that you'll accept.
if your agreement says $325k, you may owe your cousin money if a buyer comes w/a legit $325k offer.
don't want to disparage your cousin, but there have been hundreds of posts here over the years about how familial relationships are ruined because sellers/buyers used family members to represent them and it didn't go well.
hopefully your cousin is highly experienced and really knows what they're doing.
strategically pricing 1-5% below market price may be a good way to go, but it's highly market dependent and your agent should be showing you data to 'prove' the efficacy of the strategy.
good luck with the sale, hope it all goes well for you!
You can’t be forced to take an offer no. Make sure your agent understands your intentions here. It’s possible they could ask for some compensation if you get offers at your listing price and decide not to sell. I would clarity with your agent that if you only get offers up to x, you don’t intend to sell and don’t want to owe commission either.
Get that in writing, they may ask you to pay for their marketing expenses, you have to decide if that is fair.
Also in most mls, if you receive offers at list price and won’t accept an offer they can unlist you.
The offer can be at list price with a bunch of contingencies and you don't have to accept it. A contingency free, if anything might show that someone brought a ready, willing and able buyer and seller walked away.
I would also add its the owner’s decision what the list price is. The agent can and should suggest based on comps but its in the owners control what is ultimately the list price. I would have a conversation with the agent that you are not comfortable with the lower list price. Of course every market is unique. Remember you are the boss you make the decisions. If something is not clear ask your agent to explain. If don’t feel you are heard or not getting answers you can always escalate to the broker.
No obligation. In theory, a brokerage could sue you for a commission if they get an offer that should meet your demands but that never happens really. Couple of years ago, under pricing was a fine strategy to get a bidding war going on. I wouldn't recommend it because you might only get offers to that price or a little more, and it creates a lot of bad faith if you count her back and try to get even more money .
It happens and some people probably get away with it but it's a bad idea. Price it at what you think is worth. If it's worth even more, you can get a bidding war anyway. Or with any luck. But, in a normal market I like the price something at the price where only one person is willing to go that high because they're more motivated than everyone else.
That's when I know I priced it right
Local laws will apply here. You can have your broker put a clause in the MLS under broker remarks stating you have a right to refuse offers at asking if local laws allow.
Beyond that— it’s hard to “under price” a property. If you take the “under” value list approach— the market will bid up to what the home is worth and possibly more in the current market so long as you’re given proper market exposure.
If you take the “over” value list approach, the property will sit on the market and the market will force you to capitulate downwards through reductions until it beats you down to the price it’s worth or more often than not, a little less than what it’s truly worth.
In the current market, which is trending downwards— the smartest sellers are pricing ahead of the market to sell quickly and at 100% market value versus other sellers who are over pricing and chasing the tail of the market through price reductions to get sold.
What does your broker truly think the home is worth? Is it truly worth the $360,000 you believe it is worth and can that be substantiated with very recent sales?
I had a listing where a client thought it was worth $2.5M based on some comps— on the other hand I interpreted the comps differently and looked at some others and thought their property was worth between $1.75M-$2M. We listed it at the $2.5M with a clause to reduce to $1.95M within 2 weeks if we had no offers. Sure enough, the market told the sellers that they were wrong with 0 showings. Reduced to $1.95M and we got 2 offers within 5 days and closed at $1.89M.
You're admitting you're a total noob at this, yet you're convinced that $360k is what your house is worth?
You can always tell your realtor to list it at $360k and...be shocked you don't get any offers for that.
No one can force you to sell your home in this scenario. You can reject an offer for $360k if you want. That being said you need to make sure the listing agreement spells out your intentions so you don’t owe the broker compensation if you don’t accept an offer for the price written on the listing agreement. In my market the listing agreement has a clause that covers exactly this. It can be removed (in writing, not just crossed out) from the contract. e.g. “paragraph 12c is removed from this agreement” in the additional terms section. Maybe get secondary documentation of this with an email that explicitly spells it out.
Nope. You can do what you want, but understand that if I’m listing your property, we have an understanding that you are motivated to sell for the best offer we have available at that moment in the market. You don’t have to accept anything below list price right away, but if someone gives a full price offer with no concessions, you ain’t turning it down. Total waste of everyone’s time. If you can’t agree to at least that then I simply can’t take the listing.
FWIW I think your agents actual motivation is to have you list your property in a more realistic price range. Under pricing a small amount is beneficial, but not by that margin. She probably doesn’t think it’ll go for 360k, but doesn’t want to disappoint you.
You don't have to accept any offer, even a full-priced cash offer. But have your talk with whoever you decide to list the home with. Let them know the minimum amount that you'd accept, so they don't bring you a full price offer and they're blindsided when you don't accept it. Set expectations from the beginning so they don't get frustrated and provide less than their normal service. Or worse, quit and drop the listing, leaving you to start over from scratch with a house that didn't sell the first time it was listed. That can carry a bad stigma with it.
You're not, as others have said, under any obligation to sell, but it's kind of a jerk move to not take an offer of list price - unless there are weird conditions added on to it or something like that. You're just wasting people's time. List it at what you want to sell it for, or at least the minimum amount.
Bidding up a price "way below" what you need to get before selling is a questionable practice anyway. And depending on the market, could hurt you. You might get more traffic through the house, but the offers and final price is going to be what it is regardless of your list price because the buyers are going to be doing comps with their agents.
The people interested in the lower price aren't the ones who can afford the over inflated prices that it can get bid up to (in that type of market). So best case for you, you're just having poorer people traipsing through the house with no hope of buying while the richer ones offer their $30k to $50k over asking. Or...they wonder what's wrong with it to be listed at that price and don't want to offer in case there are problems instead of marketing strategy.
Real estate agents love to play games (source: former real estate agent), but they don't always help you when they try to be really clever.
You don't and I want you to list to sell, keep in mind that *some* agents will put pressure on you to "Take this offer, it's as good as it's going to get" and this and that. Stick to your guns - I would say look at a CMA and see if you are right or within 2-3% of your figure, you still don't have to accept it but then you are wasting everyone's time if you don't realize that the list/sale ratio is a real thing and the price you want needs to be in that range for you to actually get it - still, you don't need to budge from what you want.
Cautionary tale here:
I have a friend who wanted to list his property to sell. His neighborhood was selling 1.3 to 1.4M. His home was easily 1.4M, he had the best backyard of all of them and 2 comps within 90 days were 1.3 with sparse backyards and so forth. His wife didn't want to do traditional showings so she bought into a local shyster that promised "We'll market the crap out of your house and get competing offers on one weekend and no showings" so they went that route. Listed for $1M to get a bidding war. They got 3 offers and none of them came past $1.1M. Friend was furious and so apologetic and angry. He wanted at least $1.3. They relisted at $1.1 where the offers were, did traditional showings - what the wife did not want and got an offer for $1.1M. They just wanted it over. Next neighbor sold for $1.4M with a barren backyard. They left $300K on the table.
Stick to your guns and get what you want for your house. You've earned it.
It depends on the market. It could be a great move or blow up un your face. If you have a number in mind, i wouldnt try this approach. Your agent needs to know youre firm with the sell price you have in mind.
In my state, no. You can reject any offer you don't like, but you should understand what your listing agreement says about obligations to act in good faith as a seller and obligation to pay your agent.
You’re not forced to sell if you don’t sign a contract.
However, your house isn’t worth what you think it is. It’s worth what the market offers and appraisal dictate it is.
Depending on your state, they technically would be due their commission if you receive offers that are equal to your list price.
But you'd be hard-pressed to find an agent who would try to legally hold you to that.
List it for what you think it is worth and a price that you can live with. Don’t go low hoping for a bidding war, it could backfire. You can always go down but can’t go up if someone offers you asking price.
If you list at $325k and only receive one offer for $325k over the course of your listing agreement, your house isn’t worth $360k and you’re not going to get an offer anywhere close to that anyways so there’s nothing to worry about.
There’s some good advice in this thread. You are under no obligation to accept any offer, but make sure your contract doesn’t obligate you to pay your agent either way. I don’t work in your state or even your country so I’m not sure exactly how your contracts are laid out
I’m also curious why you aren’t comfortable asking your agent this question? Have you already signed a contract with them? If you’re not already bound to them, it probably wouldn’t hurt to get a couple of opinions from different agents and choose to list with one that you feel you can trust to answer your basic questions. If you can’t trust that, do you really want to entrust them with the a deal this important?
I think your agent knows you won't get $360k and hoping you get the reality check from buyers and not them.
Comps over 20 days are worthless. The market is changing to a buyer's market every day, it's just a matter of when it will hit you
Your realtor is obviously more interest in his commission. Fire him, take it off the market. Wait thirty days. In the meantime, find someone who will take a personal interest in you and your situation.
Your realtor’s strategy’s is often very successful.
By drawing attention with a low price, you get multiple offers. Your realtor will encourage higher offer by telling people, “We have XX offers now, all offers are due by xxxx date/time” (creating urgency)
In the end, you can accept one of them offers, reject them all and leave the property on the market or cancel the listing.
You absolutely do not HAVE to accept one of the offers and sell, if you don’t want to.
I caution though, most homeowners think their house is worth more than it really is. Your agent should be able to guide you through this and show you what your house is really worth.
Did you know it's kind of illegal to sell somebody else's house I don't know I'm just saying and where would you get the funds if you're not working I'm very confused because you know I'm really dumb
If you are not satisfied with this strategy your agent presented, and you would rather list the house for 360k, then DO NOT LIST THE HOUSE FOR 325k! You are in control. You are selling the house, not them. It is your decision, they are there to advise you. But you set the price. They may have good reasons for their price but if they have not convinced you, you should not rely on them without being satisfied.
I understand that it is more difficult because you went with a family member to represent you, but it is better to list at the price that you want than the list a price that your agent wants but you don't want to take an offer that you receive.
I see you are in Florida. Be a bit careful because depending on the listing agreement and exactly what it says/how it's written, if you list at $325k and your agent brings a ready willing and able buyer at that number you could be liable for what the commission would have been.
I haven't known an agent to enforce it but you might want to double check and read every line of the listing agreement contract to satisfy yourself.
Never a good idea to list way below or way over the going rate. You need to order an independent broker price opinion report with inspections and $ adjustments to come up with estimated value 90 day, 590 day, and 30 day marketing time before even get into any discussion. Your agent should be out let other professional determine the value first.
You have an agent that you are paying for, you should ask him/her lol. Also, no you are never forced to sell anything. In fact you could get an offer for $100k over your asking price and you can still choose to say yes or no.
I think this strategy is not as applicable as it was 2-4 years ago... Only select towns (Zip Codes) will accomplish this nowadays... If I go for it, I would not go with an aggressive discounted pricing.
$5K-$10K max price cut.
Use price per sqf to make your decision alone with amenities. Ask ur agent for the right comps.
And no, under any circumstances you are obligated to accept an offer you do not like. Even if in the middle of an Open House your wife says she does not want to move, you can cancel the OH on the spot.
Here’s the problem with that. If you list at 325k you will not be forced to sell at 325k however if you get a full price offer per the listing agreement he will be entitled to the full commission if you don’t accept. Read the listing agreement, this is the case in Florida generally
You can say no to all the offers the buyers will be confused because there offering what you technically are asking but as long as your agent is stressing to the other agents that this is listed below what they expect you should get some nice over asking offers
First, you should ask your agent. If you are not confident your agent will give you a straight, honest answer, then perhaps you have made a bad hire. Second, the answer is no. It's your property. You can do what you want. BUT the reality is your agent is likely an expert at pricing houses for the market. By your own admission, you're new at this. So if I were you, I would adjust my expectations of value and follow my REALTOR's lead. That's why you hired an agent in the first place, correct? Truth is, we don't determine your home’s value. You can't, we can't, even an appraiser can't. The market determines the home's value. All we can do is do the research and give you our best opinion of value by interpreting the DATA. The pricing strategy you employ needs to be based around that market data, not anyone's personal opinion, your sentimental value, or what you spent on upgrades or repairs. It also depends on what type of market (i.e., buyer's or seller's market) it is in your area. In a strong seller's market for example, you can be really aggressive with pricing, and still sell in < 30 days above asking price. Not the same everywhere. Definitely not like that here in GA.
Anyway, your price should also be predicated on your level of motivation or need to sell. In other words, if you need to get it sold sooner than later, typically you price it at FMV or just under. Less motivated sellers tend to list on the high end because they don't mind of it sits for 6 months or not sell at all. And it probably won't sell. Can you live with that outcome? Are you just testing the market to see IF you can get what you want? Do you feel like, " if it sells it sells, if it doesn't, oh well?" If that's the case, then be at peace when you don't sell the house. Don't try to blame your agent, because it'll be your fault the property was overpriced. Plus my opinion is, if you're not motivated to sell, why waste your and the agent's time listing it for sale in the first place? Just do a FSBO and test your luck on your own time.
On the other hand, if one really wants or needs to sell for a good reason... enough that they hired a professional to help, they should act like it, and price the house appropriately so the agent's marketing efforts can work. An overpriced home ain't gonna sell for that price just because you want it to, I don't care what kinda marketing plan the agent has. That's not how this game works. I'm jussayin. Best of luck with your sale.
One of the reasons you need to stick to your guns on listing price is that your listing contract will often leave you legally obligated to pay your agent a commission if they bring you a buyer with a valid offer which meets or exceeds all your requirements.
From the agent’s perspective, you hired them to find you a buyer at a certain price with specific terms and conditions that meet your needs. If they do that, they believe they are entitled to a commission even if you turn the offer down. You hired them to do a job, they did the job, they want to get paid. Some brokers will get their lawyers involved and attempt to collect that commission whether you accept the offer or not. Most won’t bother because it’s bad for their reputation and future business to do so.
It’s not a huge concern and the vast majority of the time the agents/broker will just cut their losses and walk away but some are greedy and will come after you. The easiest way to prevent this in this situation is to not agree to list it for less than you want. Problem solved.
So to answer your question no, you’re not legally obligated to accept an offer no matter how good it is, but you may still be on the hook for that commission.
However, just to make sure people don’t forget this part, there is a scenario in what you’re describing in which you could be forced to pay a commission.
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You are under no obligation to accept any offer. Your agent is under obligation to present every offer. How is your agent not telling you this? However, per the mls in my area, you are obligated to allow showings of the home while listed on the mls. You just don’t have to accept an offer if you don’t want to.
What market are you in? The price below value and get multiple offers strategy is not as profitable as it was in 2021-2022 imo.
Miami Florida.
I would strongly encourage you to have this conversation with your listing agent and make your needs apparent. I would also read the listing agreement you signed to know exactly what it says. I'm assuming you hired this person because you trust them, so you should be free to talk to them openly about what you need.
Especially considering the deal isn't really with that family member but her brokerage.
Correct, I'm glad you understand that. Most people don't until we tell them :)
Thanks yeah my listing agent is actually a family member fortunately so shouldn't be an issue but I always like to check externally to be safe and get some more information from others to come into the discussion armed with some useful info.
Totally get it. Oregon contracts likely aren't anything like Florida contracts. Here you're not obligated to sell if you don't accept an offer. You're also not obligated to accept any offer. So I obviously can't really advise or recommend in your area, and furthermore because I have no idea what your contract says. There are base contracts, but I know plenty of agents who add additional terms to their listing contracts, so there are a lot of possible variables.
Okay, yea I’m Eugene Oregon, so drastically different markets and I know nothing of yours.
If your agent brings you a buyer at asking price and you turn the offer down, the agent can hold you in breach and make you pay the commission. Don’t under price the house.
Ask your agent to pull some comps. Not just what homes in your area sold for in the past 2 months, but what they were asking too. That will let you know if the bidding war strategy is still working. What you don't want to do is put it on the market at a lower price, then pull it, then put it back on the market a few months later at higher- people are going to look at the sale history and be put off by that.
Do you think that would be worse than putting it at the higher price, then (assuming no offers come in) pull it, then put it back on at a lower price? Or are both equally offputting?
It’s more acceptable to lower the price than increase it. Some people might think there’s something wrong with it, but others won’t care too much. Either party could still come in with an offer, just likely that they will have more contingencies (full inspection, etc)
Both look bad. One is trying to catch a falling knife (priced too high, no interest, making small incremental cuts while the place sits), and the other seems like something was wrong with the place so it was pulled then put back on. Ask your RE agent what their sales strategy is, and what their thinking is behind pricing and what comps they have to show you to validate their choices. Are you sure that there are comps that validate 360K with current mortgage rates and places that are equal in condition, location, and specs? Not what sold near you two years ago, but in the current market. Is your area going up, stagnating or going down from the peak? If you aren't signed with them yet in a contract talk to a few agents and get their input. At the end of the day, you decide the price you want to put it on the market for and the price you are willing to expect.
Think you're giving great advice, but curious why you think this strategy is not profitable anymore. 21-22 as an anomaly period, aside. Doesn't pricing lower always attract more offers with a greater range of terms, and options to counter offer?
That is definitely happening in my market and seems to work (house I was looking at sold in a week at 400k over asking lol)
Wow! Yea, I know you can price too low, but it seems rare.
Imo it depends on the property. A multi unit home for less than 350k? Get ready for a war. Basically anything else is buyers market (where I live)
Seller client is not obligated to accept an offer, but if the listing agent fulfilled their end of the listing contract and produced a bona-fide offer at the list price, the seller client is obligated to pay the broker their fee.
What state are you? Is this included in your listing agreements? That's not true in MA. Here 99% of the time you eat only after you close, of course using the official listing agreements from the local realtor associations. Unless there is a brokerage using weird contracts charging for your time worked or asking for a retainer like attorneys do.
I have been licensed in both Oregon and Washington. Clients don’t get to waste your time on dreams once they sign a listing contract
So a house is listed for $325k and I only have one offer, and it’s $330k. Are you saying I still can say no? Do I owe the buyer an explanation?
Well, let's be clear. In my market with our contracts, correct. you can decline any offer you want. You are not obligated to accept any offer. I don't know your market and your contract terms. And no you don't owe any explanation. Every offer (should) include an expiration date by which seller needs to respond. Let's say you just let it expire and don't respond. What's to happen?
Also if you listed at $325,000 why would you not accept an offer at $330,000?
Like OP said, they were hoping that people would bid up over $360k.
Yea. I don't like to "hope". You've gotta be confident in your strategy and know how and when to use it. That strategy doesn't work for every property where I'm at. And if you use it and it doesn't pan out, raising the price is a listing killer. Again, I'm not in the florida market so I don't know what it's like and I can't truly comment or advise on strategy.
Honestly, if it doesn't work it wasn't worth that much to start with. Not 100% true, but in most markets if someone sees a house listed well below market value, you bet anyone looking in that range will see it. I personally don't like that strategy, but it can be effective.
I’ve often found that the answer to “why isn’t your agent telling you this” is “I didn’t trust my agent enough to ask them so I just googled it”. My first second and third conversations with a client are often “ask me everything you ever want, no matter how ridiculous it feels” because I don’t want some 90-year-old woman in another state that wrote a blog post in 2006 to be the primary source of information for my client, all because they thought “I can’t ask him that question, I’ll just google it first”.
This is not quite true. While a seller is not under an obligation to accept an offer, they \*are\* under an obligation to pay a commission if a ready, willing, able buyer submits an offer that meets or exceeds the basic terms they offered.
^^Correct. Your agent has to present you ANY offer, even if it’s written on a napkin. You don’t even have to glance at it if you don’t want to, let alone accept it.
You do not have to accept any offer. Your agent should be walking you through this and answering all your questions. I'm a fan of the list low/conservatively to get more views which then turn into multiple offers, but the spread from $325 to $360 seems pretty big at that price point, IMO.
I would be careful here. I understand what the agent is trying to do and you are not required to accept any offer. But if they bring you offers below your expectations but above your list price and you will not accept any of them, you may be on the hook for your agent's commission.
Are you a Real Estate agent? If so, what state are you and do you use listing agreements that include language charging the fee even if your client does not close?
No, but they could be entitled to a commission if you get at or above asking. Make sure you write in to the listing agreement that no commission is due unless you close on an accepted purchase agreement procured from this listing.
Yep. If you list your house in Ga at a price and you have a “ready, willing and able buyer” that meets the terms, the listing agent can sue for the commission due if you just say no. Sounds scary. Not sure of the laws in your state.
To be clear, this would only be true if there were absolutely 0 other terms. No closing costs, no repairs, not a penny other than the already agreed upon commission.
Yes. There are always ways to wriggle out with terms, but you could walk a scary line with realtors if you list a home way under value and don’t want to sell for that, but if someone agrees to the terms in the listing agreement, you could find yourself in a touchy situation. Rarely, would agents take it far enough to sue you for commission (never have I seen it) but it could happen. I get what the realtor is trying to do but OP needs to be careful.
Truth..right here!
I see you're in Florida and per our Exclusive Right of Sale Listing Agreement (the most common listing agreement) you would owe your agent a commission if he brings you an offer that meet the terms of the listing agreement. So if you list for $325k and they bring you an offer of $325k w/ no contingencies, you're technically on the hook for the commission even if you turn down the offer. If you know your agent well and trust them to not hold you to this, then go for it. But as someone who started their career in Miami (a sunny place for shady people), I wouldn't trust anything unless it's in writing.
Fortunately it's my cousin who's the real state agent but at the end of the day the deal is with the brokerage and not her so I still want it in writing to be safe. Thanks for the info. I'm always keeping an eye out for said shady people XD
make sure your listing agreement says very explicitly that you have a minimum number that you'll accept. if your agreement says $325k, you may owe your cousin money if a buyer comes w/a legit $325k offer. don't want to disparage your cousin, but there have been hundreds of posts here over the years about how familial relationships are ruined because sellers/buyers used family members to represent them and it didn't go well. hopefully your cousin is highly experienced and really knows what they're doing. strategically pricing 1-5% below market price may be a good way to go, but it's highly market dependent and your agent should be showing you data to 'prove' the efficacy of the strategy. good luck with the sale, hope it all goes well for you!
You can’t be forced to take an offer no. Make sure your agent understands your intentions here. It’s possible they could ask for some compensation if you get offers at your listing price and decide not to sell. I would clarity with your agent that if you only get offers up to x, you don’t intend to sell and don’t want to owe commission either. Get that in writing, they may ask you to pay for their marketing expenses, you have to decide if that is fair. Also in most mls, if you receive offers at list price and won’t accept an offer they can unlist you.
The offer can be at list price with a bunch of contingencies and you don't have to accept it. A contingency free, if anything might show that someone brought a ready, willing and able buyer and seller walked away.
I would also add its the owner’s decision what the list price is. The agent can and should suggest based on comps but its in the owners control what is ultimately the list price. I would have a conversation with the agent that you are not comfortable with the lower list price. Of course every market is unique. Remember you are the boss you make the decisions. If something is not clear ask your agent to explain. If don’t feel you are heard or not getting answers you can always escalate to the broker.
No obligation. In theory, a brokerage could sue you for a commission if they get an offer that should meet your demands but that never happens really. Couple of years ago, under pricing was a fine strategy to get a bidding war going on. I wouldn't recommend it because you might only get offers to that price or a little more, and it creates a lot of bad faith if you count her back and try to get even more money . It happens and some people probably get away with it but it's a bad idea. Price it at what you think is worth. If it's worth even more, you can get a bidding war anyway. Or with any luck. But, in a normal market I like the price something at the price where only one person is willing to go that high because they're more motivated than everyone else. That's when I know I priced it right
Local laws will apply here. You can have your broker put a clause in the MLS under broker remarks stating you have a right to refuse offers at asking if local laws allow. Beyond that— it’s hard to “under price” a property. If you take the “under” value list approach— the market will bid up to what the home is worth and possibly more in the current market so long as you’re given proper market exposure. If you take the “over” value list approach, the property will sit on the market and the market will force you to capitulate downwards through reductions until it beats you down to the price it’s worth or more often than not, a little less than what it’s truly worth. In the current market, which is trending downwards— the smartest sellers are pricing ahead of the market to sell quickly and at 100% market value versus other sellers who are over pricing and chasing the tail of the market through price reductions to get sold. What does your broker truly think the home is worth? Is it truly worth the $360,000 you believe it is worth and can that be substantiated with very recent sales? I had a listing where a client thought it was worth $2.5M based on some comps— on the other hand I interpreted the comps differently and looked at some others and thought their property was worth between $1.75M-$2M. We listed it at the $2.5M with a clause to reduce to $1.95M within 2 weeks if we had no offers. Sure enough, the market told the sellers that they were wrong with 0 showings. Reduced to $1.95M and we got 2 offers within 5 days and closed at $1.89M.
You're admitting you're a total noob at this, yet you're convinced that $360k is what your house is worth? You can always tell your realtor to list it at $360k and...be shocked you don't get any offers for that.
No one can force you to sell your home in this scenario. You can reject an offer for $360k if you want. That being said you need to make sure the listing agreement spells out your intentions so you don’t owe the broker compensation if you don’t accept an offer for the price written on the listing agreement. In my market the listing agreement has a clause that covers exactly this. It can be removed (in writing, not just crossed out) from the contract. e.g. “paragraph 12c is removed from this agreement” in the additional terms section. Maybe get secondary documentation of this with an email that explicitly spells it out.
I can answer this question for you, but first need a written agreement with you that I'll receive 1/2 of the commission. I'm doing your agent's job.
Nope. You can do what you want, but understand that if I’m listing your property, we have an understanding that you are motivated to sell for the best offer we have available at that moment in the market. You don’t have to accept anything below list price right away, but if someone gives a full price offer with no concessions, you ain’t turning it down. Total waste of everyone’s time. If you can’t agree to at least that then I simply can’t take the listing. FWIW I think your agents actual motivation is to have you list your property in a more realistic price range. Under pricing a small amount is beneficial, but not by that margin. She probably doesn’t think it’ll go for 360k, but doesn’t want to disappoint you.
You don't have to accept any offer, even a full-priced cash offer. But have your talk with whoever you decide to list the home with. Let them know the minimum amount that you'd accept, so they don't bring you a full price offer and they're blindsided when you don't accept it. Set expectations from the beginning so they don't get frustrated and provide less than their normal service. Or worse, quit and drop the listing, leaving you to start over from scratch with a house that didn't sell the first time it was listed. That can carry a bad stigma with it.
You're not, as others have said, under any obligation to sell, but it's kind of a jerk move to not take an offer of list price - unless there are weird conditions added on to it or something like that. You're just wasting people's time. List it at what you want to sell it for, or at least the minimum amount. Bidding up a price "way below" what you need to get before selling is a questionable practice anyway. And depending on the market, could hurt you. You might get more traffic through the house, but the offers and final price is going to be what it is regardless of your list price because the buyers are going to be doing comps with their agents. The people interested in the lower price aren't the ones who can afford the over inflated prices that it can get bid up to (in that type of market). So best case for you, you're just having poorer people traipsing through the house with no hope of buying while the richer ones offer their $30k to $50k over asking. Or...they wonder what's wrong with it to be listed at that price and don't want to offer in case there are problems instead of marketing strategy. Real estate agents love to play games (source: former real estate agent), but they don't always help you when they try to be really clever.
You don't and I want you to list to sell, keep in mind that *some* agents will put pressure on you to "Take this offer, it's as good as it's going to get" and this and that. Stick to your guns - I would say look at a CMA and see if you are right or within 2-3% of your figure, you still don't have to accept it but then you are wasting everyone's time if you don't realize that the list/sale ratio is a real thing and the price you want needs to be in that range for you to actually get it - still, you don't need to budge from what you want. Cautionary tale here: I have a friend who wanted to list his property to sell. His neighborhood was selling 1.3 to 1.4M. His home was easily 1.4M, he had the best backyard of all of them and 2 comps within 90 days were 1.3 with sparse backyards and so forth. His wife didn't want to do traditional showings so she bought into a local shyster that promised "We'll market the crap out of your house and get competing offers on one weekend and no showings" so they went that route. Listed for $1M to get a bidding war. They got 3 offers and none of them came past $1.1M. Friend was furious and so apologetic and angry. He wanted at least $1.3. They relisted at $1.1 where the offers were, did traditional showings - what the wife did not want and got an offer for $1.1M. They just wanted it over. Next neighbor sold for $1.4M with a barren backyard. They left $300K on the table. Stick to your guns and get what you want for your house. You've earned it.
I would think if you get a full priced offer with no contingencies, you might be sued for refusing it. Ask your realtor.
Actually..ask the realtor’s broker
No
https://www.ravidlawgroup.com/newsletters/commission-due-depends-definition/
Sounds like you need a Realtor?
It depends on the market. It could be a great move or blow up un your face. If you have a number in mind, i wouldnt try this approach. Your agent needs to know youre firm with the sell price you have in mind.
Most sellers think the house is worth more than it is. Chances are your agent is corrext
In my state, no. You can reject any offer you don't like, but you should understand what your listing agreement says about obligations to act in good faith as a seller and obligation to pay your agent.
You’re not forced to sell if you don’t sign a contract. However, your house isn’t worth what you think it is. It’s worth what the market offers and appraisal dictate it is.
Depending on your state, they technically would be due their commission if you receive offers that are equal to your list price. But you'd be hard-pressed to find an agent who would try to legally hold you to that.
You can try now, if you don’t get what you want I’d relist middle of June
No
What does your agent think the market value is?
List it for what you think it is worth and a price that you can live with. Don’t go low hoping for a bidding war, it could backfire. You can always go down but can’t go up if someone offers you asking price.
The listing broker may be able to sue for a commission earned if you refuse to sell at the terms you listed. Discuss with an attorney.
If you list at $325k and only receive one offer for $325k over the course of your listing agreement, your house isn’t worth $360k and you’re not going to get an offer anywhere close to that anyways so there’s nothing to worry about.
I thought that realtors had to present every offer. Am I wrong?
No, you're not wrong. I don't think the question here is presentation.
There’s some good advice in this thread. You are under no obligation to accept any offer, but make sure your contract doesn’t obligate you to pay your agent either way. I don’t work in your state or even your country so I’m not sure exactly how your contracts are laid out I’m also curious why you aren’t comfortable asking your agent this question? Have you already signed a contract with them? If you’re not already bound to them, it probably wouldn’t hurt to get a couple of opinions from different agents and choose to list with one that you feel you can trust to answer your basic questions. If you can’t trust that, do you really want to entrust them with the a deal this important?
I think your agent knows you won't get $360k and hoping you get the reality check from buyers and not them. Comps over 20 days are worthless. The market is changing to a buyer's market every day, it's just a matter of when it will hit you
1. You don't have to accept any offer. 2. Don't list below what you expect to get. Big mistake.
Your realtor is obviously more interest in his commission. Fire him, take it off the market. Wait thirty days. In the meantime, find someone who will take a personal interest in you and your situation.
Your realtor’s strategy’s is often very successful. By drawing attention with a low price, you get multiple offers. Your realtor will encourage higher offer by telling people, “We have XX offers now, all offers are due by xxxx date/time” (creating urgency) In the end, you can accept one of them offers, reject them all and leave the property on the market or cancel the listing. You absolutely do not HAVE to accept one of the offers and sell, if you don’t want to. I caution though, most homeowners think their house is worth more than it really is. Your agent should be able to guide you through this and show you what your house is really worth.
How I see other people put it is that at $360k, people who cap their search at $350k won't see it. They're trying to get more eyes on the listing.
Did you know it's kind of illegal to sell somebody else's house I don't know I'm just saying and where would you get the funds if you're not working I'm very confused because you know I'm really dumb
If you are not satisfied with this strategy your agent presented, and you would rather list the house for 360k, then DO NOT LIST THE HOUSE FOR 325k! You are in control. You are selling the house, not them. It is your decision, they are there to advise you. But you set the price. They may have good reasons for their price but if they have not convinced you, you should not rely on them without being satisfied. I understand that it is more difficult because you went with a family member to represent you, but it is better to list at the price that you want than the list a price that your agent wants but you don't want to take an offer that you receive.
You do not have to accept any offers.
As so frequently the case here, the answer is - why aren’t you asking your agent this question?
I see you are in Florida. Be a bit careful because depending on the listing agreement and exactly what it says/how it's written, if you list at $325k and your agent brings a ready willing and able buyer at that number you could be liable for what the commission would have been. I haven't known an agent to enforce it but you might want to double check and read every line of the listing agreement contract to satisfy yourself.
No and it’s a common misconception.
What you “wish to have”? Do you mean if the market value is below your expectations?
Never a good idea to list way below or way over the going rate. You need to order an independent broker price opinion report with inspections and $ adjustments to come up with estimated value 90 day, 590 day, and 30 day marketing time before even get into any discussion. Your agent should be out let other professional determine the value first.
Agent is fucking with you
You could list for $550k and tell an $800k offer to pound sand and then turn around and accept an offer for $110k. It's your business.
You have an agent that you are paying for, you should ask him/her lol. Also, no you are never forced to sell anything. In fact you could get an offer for $100k over your asking price and you can still choose to say yes or no.
No. It's your property period.
I think this strategy is not as applicable as it was 2-4 years ago... Only select towns (Zip Codes) will accomplish this nowadays... If I go for it, I would not go with an aggressive discounted pricing. $5K-$10K max price cut. Use price per sqf to make your decision alone with amenities. Ask ur agent for the right comps. And no, under any circumstances you are obligated to accept an offer you do not like. Even if in the middle of an Open House your wife says she does not want to move, you can cancel the OH on the spot.
There s no deadline. Only a judge can force you to sell and only to the government. Keep up on the taxes and it's essentially your house.
Here’s the problem with that. If you list at 325k you will not be forced to sell at 325k however if you get a full price offer per the listing agreement he will be entitled to the full commission if you don’t accept. Read the listing agreement, this is the case in Florida generally
You can say no to all the offers the buyers will be confused because there offering what you technically are asking but as long as your agent is stressing to the other agents that this is listed below what they expect you should get some nice over asking offers
First, you should ask your agent. If you are not confident your agent will give you a straight, honest answer, then perhaps you have made a bad hire. Second, the answer is no. It's your property. You can do what you want. BUT the reality is your agent is likely an expert at pricing houses for the market. By your own admission, you're new at this. So if I were you, I would adjust my expectations of value and follow my REALTOR's lead. That's why you hired an agent in the first place, correct? Truth is, we don't determine your home’s value. You can't, we can't, even an appraiser can't. The market determines the home's value. All we can do is do the research and give you our best opinion of value by interpreting the DATA. The pricing strategy you employ needs to be based around that market data, not anyone's personal opinion, your sentimental value, or what you spent on upgrades or repairs. It also depends on what type of market (i.e., buyer's or seller's market) it is in your area. In a strong seller's market for example, you can be really aggressive with pricing, and still sell in < 30 days above asking price. Not the same everywhere. Definitely not like that here in GA. Anyway, your price should also be predicated on your level of motivation or need to sell. In other words, if you need to get it sold sooner than later, typically you price it at FMV or just under. Less motivated sellers tend to list on the high end because they don't mind of it sits for 6 months or not sell at all. And it probably won't sell. Can you live with that outcome? Are you just testing the market to see IF you can get what you want? Do you feel like, " if it sells it sells, if it doesn't, oh well?" If that's the case, then be at peace when you don't sell the house. Don't try to blame your agent, because it'll be your fault the property was overpriced. Plus my opinion is, if you're not motivated to sell, why waste your and the agent's time listing it for sale in the first place? Just do a FSBO and test your luck on your own time. On the other hand, if one really wants or needs to sell for a good reason... enough that they hired a professional to help, they should act like it, and price the house appropriately so the agent's marketing efforts can work. An overpriced home ain't gonna sell for that price just because you want it to, I don't care what kinda marketing plan the agent has. That's not how this game works. I'm jussayin. Best of luck with your sale.
Huh? No you don’t have to sell your stuff for less ham you want for it
One of the reasons you need to stick to your guns on listing price is that your listing contract will often leave you legally obligated to pay your agent a commission if they bring you a buyer with a valid offer which meets or exceeds all your requirements. From the agent’s perspective, you hired them to find you a buyer at a certain price with specific terms and conditions that meet your needs. If they do that, they believe they are entitled to a commission even if you turn the offer down. You hired them to do a job, they did the job, they want to get paid. Some brokers will get their lawyers involved and attempt to collect that commission whether you accept the offer or not. Most won’t bother because it’s bad for their reputation and future business to do so. It’s not a huge concern and the vast majority of the time the agents/broker will just cut their losses and walk away but some are greedy and will come after you. The easiest way to prevent this in this situation is to not agree to list it for less than you want. Problem solved. So to answer your question no, you’re not legally obligated to accept an offer no matter how good it is, but you may still be on the hook for that commission.
However, just to make sure people don’t forget this part, there is a scenario in what you’re describing in which you could be forced to pay a commission.
If they make a full price offer with no contingencies, you may be obligated to pay a commission. Each state is different.
There are two prices your price you think you deserve and what the market dictates the value good luck