them back when they call you. If the rules change by the Seller’s demand, try to let
all the buyer’s brokers know this before any final decisions are made. The losing bid
buyers are very frustrated and understandably upset when their broker can’t give
them the answers they need to know so they can move on.
5. In a multiple offer situation, discourage the use of buyer’s broker providing
good guy letters and photos of the buyer’s family. You and the seller may not
discriminate on the basis of a protected class i.e. familial status, race, religion, etc.
When buyers provide photos of the family, you potentially put the seller in the
position of the appearance of either accepting or rejecting an offer based on familial
status. That is unjustified discrimination with severe, legal consequences.
REPRESENTING THE BUYER:
1. Preparing the buyer for what is to come is the key. Let them know exactly what
to expect and what they will need to do to be competitive.
2. If they have the wherewithal to be a cash buyer (pulling equity out of their
home or other assets), this obviously puts them in a superior position.
3. If they don’t have all cash, get them fully pre-approved. This will put you ahead
of all the pre-qualified buyers you are competing against.
4. It may be tempting to waive all contingencies to be competitive, but we highly
discourage waiving contingencies that protect your client. Whatever you can do
to keep them in place while keeping them competitive, make sure you do. The best
way to do this, is to just speed up the time lines.
5. If all else fails and you want to set your offer apart from the crowd your buyer
may consider having the Earnest Money check payable directly to the seller,
using the non-refundable EM verbiage in the new Form CBD301. This is a risky
practice for the buyer, but seller’s love the idea of being able to cash that EM check
immediately and spend it however they deemed appropriate! You can make the
EM release to the seller conditioned upon clearing some contingency i.e. within 48
hours of inspection removal, or within 48 hours after mutual agreement, etc.
6. Advice for cash buyers: If the buyer is all cash and wants to close in a week to 10
days make sure the EM check is payable to
escrow (not CBD’s trust acct because it takes
7-10 days to clear and transfer to escrow) and
it is in the form of a cashier’s check or you can
do a wire transfer directly from the buyer’s
account to escrow. Remember the wire fraud
issues that are out there and make sure your
buyers follow proper wiring protocol.
ADVICE TO HELP YOUR BUYERS NOT GO CRAZY
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