Getting the House Sold with a Reverse Offer

You've just taken a new listing. The photos have been taken and virtual tour is complete and they both look fantastic. The listing has been entered into MLS. The listing has been syndicated to every real estate website known to mankind and even has been uploaded to your website. The sign is in the yard with a call capture rider and the lock box is on the door. The marketing flyers have been created and have been blasted via emailed to all the agents in the area, also possibly even placed in the flyer box outside the home. You've scheduled and held an open house and put the home on a broker tour. There is a high degree of traffic, BUT no offers!


At this point, you're probably scratching your head wondering why someone hasn't purchased this home. You've ruled out your marketing as you're put in a ton of work. You can rule out condition because you've worked with the seller to stage, re-arrange or clean up the home. In your own opinion, the list price is comparable to the other homes listed in the area. The buyer and agent feedback always states, "Great Home" or it states "We love this, this and this, but didn't love that." As the listing agent, what do you do?

Do you sit back and wait for the right buyer to come along?

Do you take ownership and have your seller make an offer (reverse offer) to the buyer?

Frankly, I am impatient so I hate the first option. In the back of my mind I always remember, I was hired to bring the buyer in the least amount of time, for the highest price with the best terms possible. So, if I patiently wait - I'm not delivering my guarantee or commitment to my client. Some may disagree with this statement, but this is how my brain functions. I'll be the first to tell you reverse offers rock! There are times when a buyer or buyers agent needs a little nudge in the tush to begin the negotiation process. I've encountered a few situations where the buyer was ready to put in an offer, but the agent didn't realize the buying signals... or the agent was pushing the buyer to another area over an area preferred by the buyer.

I politely ask for feedback from every agent showing and when I'm reviewing responses, I'm looking for signs the buyer could be ready to buy. If I see the buyer likes the home, but has issues with a few select items it is time to contact my client and address these concerns and see if they'd be willing to replace, repair or offer a credit in lieu of repairs to the possible buyer and begin the reverse offer to the buyer. If so, I've my work cut out for me.

I begin with preparing the reverse offer from seller to the possible buyer. In the offer, it states what the seller will sell the home for and what repairs they are willing to make or what dollar amount they feel is appropriate for the repair. A cover letter is attached explaining what they are receiving an offer from the seller. I learned to include this, actually the hard way, when a buyers agent couldn't explain the concept of a reverse offer to her buyer. We give the buyer 48 hours to ponder our reverse offer.

If at the end of the 48 hours, we have an acceptance or a counter offer - my not so mysterious plan worked. If we end up with a rejection, the only loss is time of preparing the offer. After all, there is no harm in asking and if you don't you'll never know what the answer could be.