by Paul Hammond
Last night, I was involved in an Offer presentation on my two-day-old listing, with three competing Offers! It was a difficult night! Two of the three Offers were very competitive and came from experienced Realtors; the third Offer was from a relatively new Realtor, who, did a very commendable job but was faced with too many conditions. Lesson learned: we had to send them away to disappoint their Purchasers! The Seller also had some health concerns and dementia and all concerned had to be patient to work within these guidelines. So where was the stress?
The answer is fairly obvious – the stress was on both sides! Saying that, most would argue that the stress was mostly on the competing Purchaser’s side. But, I disagree. In this circumstance, trying to help a client with dementia was extremely difficult, and almost every detail had to be written down on all three Offers as a quick and easy reference for the Seller to review. Even then, there were many repeated questions, mostly supported by the Seller’s siblings, who were also in attendance at the “Offering”.
Removing the obvious uncompetitive Offer, early on, helped to narrow down the potential confusion to two competing Offers. However, the details of the Offers was not the major hurdle but rather, it was the appreciation of the Seller for the competitive nature of the competing Offers! The Seller says, “the listing is only two days old and we might get a better Offer down the road.” Both of the Seller’s siblings looked at me and I think both our hearts dropped…how was I going to explain to the Realtors of the competing Offers that my client wanted to wait for a better Offer?
So, my answer was this: I explained to the other Realtors, prior to the Offer presentation, the condition of the Seller, which was acknowledged by both, with deep understanding. I explained to my Seller that under competition, that the actual competition was driving each competitor to put their best foot forward…and they did! Then I asked each Realtor to speak to the Seller, individually, and advise that their Offer was considerably lower than their original Offer, based on not being in competition!
After the Realtors had spoken, my Client said, “we better get this Offer done tonight!!!” After three hours of negotiating, explaining, and with the help of everybody, we got done what was in the best interest of my Client!
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About the Author
Paul Hammond was born and raised, and attended school in the Burlington and surrounding areas. Paul is married to Donna and has two sons, one of whom has just graduated from medical school. Previously, Paul owned Servicemaster of Burlington for 15 years and provided emergency and restoration services to homeowners and businesses through insurance companies. Presently, he has been servicing the real estate market with RE/MAX Escarpment for close to seven years. Paul’s many years of owning his own business, combined with contract negotiations with major insurance companies prepared him for the real estate world and the complex negotiations and strategies required to be successful. The many referrals of past clients and friends are a testament to the quality of real estate services he provides. Paul also handles commercial / industrial sales and leasing and is the “go-to” guy in his office for that type of real estate expertise. Although primarily handling the Burlington market, with special emphasis on Aldershot and Headon Forest, Paul also covers: Oakville, Waterdown, Dundas, Ancaster, Stoney Creek and Hamilton.
Let my experience and knowledge “Move You!”
