Short Sale Q & A
Help! I've Been Asked for Highest and Best on a Charlotte NC Short Sale!
A recent buyer asked the following: "I put the only offer on a short sale and the next day I'm told there's another offer and I need to put in the highest and best. Is it a fake offer?"
The buyer is concerned because the home has been on the market for a couple of months and now, all of a sudden, there are multiple Offers on the property. He is concerned because his agent said that there is no way to determine if another Offer is truly in the hands of the sellers. It could very well be that because the market is just now heating up, resulting in multiple Offers. My response to the buyer:
The agent is correct in saying that there is no way to find out if there is another Offer nor, what the other buyer is offering. Your agent can ask the listing agent if the seller will allow them to share the other Offer price. 9 times out of 10, they won't but, it's worth asking.
I'd like to think that this is not a ploy because I have seen several multiple Offer situations in recent months--especially on the good short sale and foreclosure properties. When your agent notified the listing agent that you were going to be submitting an Offer, the listing agent likely notified all showing agents who had a buyer with possible interest, that an Offer was coming in. The other agent was doing the best that he/she could to represent the seller's best interest in getting a high enough bid that the bank will accept. Their goal is to get an amount to the bank that they will accept in short, so that they (the sellers) can avoid foreclosure. I've seen homes that sat for months and months get multiple Offers after not receiving any over those months. Or perhaps the other Offers that came in were simply rejected because they were so low that they knew the bank would not accept.
If you really love this home, I'd give it my best shot at getting in the home. Your agent is probably going to ask the listing agent to be sure that the sellers sign your Offer so that you have an executed Contract and no other higher Offers can 'knock you' out of the running for this home as you await bank approval.
Debe Maxwell, CRS, Realtor®/BrokerCharlotte North Carolina Real Estate
SAVVY + COMPANY REAL ESTATE
1920 E. 7th Street
Charlotte, NC 28204
Mobile: (704) 491-3310
Fax: (704) 353-7014
www.iCharlotteRealEstate.com
(THE best Charlotte home search available - no kidding!)
Debe Maxwell, CRS/Realtor®/Broker
Broker@TheCharlotteScoop.com
Phone (704) 491-3310
