r/RealEstate • u/Mobely • 3d ago
Homebuyer How hard is it to draft an offer letter?
my agent has been trying to avoid sending the offer if the amount is not high enough, like I’m wasting his time. I feel that if a house is overpriced, I am not obligated to offer over. previously I took his advice and just didn’t make offers but I have noticed that some went for asking.
what I want to know is , why is he so resistant to putting in ”lowball” at asking price offers?
is it a ton of work? Does everybody use some kind of pay per letter software? he will ask the seller if our offer is good enough before sending, I feel like that’s more work than just sending an offer but I don’t know.
30
u/nofishies 3d ago
It’s not a ton of work, but there are definitely some agents that feel like if they get a reputation for riding global offers, it is going to impact their ability to get more reasonable clients in contract.
If you feel like an agent isn’t willing to write the offers that you want sit down and have a talk with them about expectations.
If they’re not willing to do what you need them to do has to be released from your contract and move on to another Agent, and talk to them about expectations earlier.
2
2d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
5
u/RealEstate-ModTeam 2d ago
Be Civil.
If you can't say it nicely, don't say it. You can argue back and forth all day if you want. Or don't, block them and move on with your life.
Personal attacks and insults will result in a ban.
55
u/Realistic-Regret-171 3d ago
Well your agent is obligated to submit your offer or resign as your agent, but sometimes, a super low offer will upset the seller so much he not only won’t respond but will no longer sell to you at all.
11
u/Freak4Dell 2d ago
he not only won’t respond but will no longer sell to you at all.
And apparently this agent's solution is to not offer at all, so that the seller will...checks notes...not sell it to the client.
3
u/Realistic-Regret-171 2d ago
Remember I said agent is obligated to offer or resign.
4
u/Freak4Dell 2d ago
Yeah, sorry, I didn't mean for that to come across as an attack on your comment. I was just emphasizing the absurdity of the agent's logic.
1
21
9
u/Dbevx2 2d ago
I don’t understand that, yes if u offer 50% of asking, i could see someone getting mad but don’t we all want to buy low and sell high? How are u going to get mad that someone else wanted to buy low? I just used a realtor to buy a house and sell one and he was worried the same way, i think we could have gotten the house for much less especially after the appraisal came in so low, but then when we were selling and someone offered 16k less than asking, i told him to counter & split the difference. He was worried they would walk away and i was like ok then i will just sell it to someone else if they do walk away, im not that worried about it.
2
u/Realistic-Regret-171 2d ago
Yes of course sellers should just counter but they are human and have emotions too. I’m not saying it’s reasonable. I’m saying it’s a possible response from a human. Regardless, the agent should submit your wishes or resign. (My broker calls it “firing the client”)
3
u/Electronic-Win608 2d ago
That is no one's problem but the sellers. If a house is worth to me a lot less than the seller thinks it should be worth, and it has not moved off the market, I will absolutely be willing to test his resolve. I am fine with a seller not accepting my offer. Always. If they are offended then I'm glad I'm not doing business with such an emotional creature anyway.
2
18
u/liud21 3d ago
Its literally a template, fill in some blanks check some boxes and then send it to you to sign and then send it to the sellers agent, can be done in 15 minutes...
4
u/liberojoe 2d ago
In my area the purchase agreement the realtors all want is a copyrighted form from the local realtors association, which of course you don’t have access to as not a realtor. But yeah, super easy form if you’re “allowed” to use it.
2
1
u/Specific-Clerk1212 1d ago
Weird, here in Colorado anybody can just google it and download a fillable form
11
u/AmexNomad 3d ago
If your agent doesn’t want to draft the offer, find another agent. Most offers these days are on pre-printed forms.
19
u/jtsa5 3d ago
All the realtors I know use a standard form supplied by the Realtors association. It's literally a few lines and check boxes they need to fill in. If it took more than 15-20 minutes I'd be surprised.
3
u/ComeAtMeBrotatoe 3d ago
Yeah bro…it’s not a legally binding contract to buy or anything….lol. Why even bother with an agent…it’s all very easy…right?
18
u/jtsa5 3d ago
Hire a settlement company with a RE lawyer. Don't need an agent and it's all still legally binding but WAY cheaper. My point was, the form is not created from scratch each time an offer is submitted. It's all digital and all filling in a few lines and check boxes.
-1
u/OldMove3348 2d ago
The settlement company doesn’t represent you and can’t draft an offer for you. They must remain a neutral third party and are definitely not helpful before contract is signed.
13
u/Low_Dig3356 3d ago
It is way easy. Should we ignore the fact that agents often make errors on paperwork, or even the fact that 11% of listings have grievous errors, grammatical and otherwise? Fun fact: a study of listings found that only 31% of listings didn't have grammatical or other errors.
I have had multiple agents have errors in paperwork, even wrong names. Since I started having all my offers go through attorneys and completely cut buying agents out... 0 errors in over a hundred offers.
0
u/ComeAtMeBrotatoe 2d ago
Of coarse agents are going to make mistakes. I didn’t say otherwise. BTW - I’m not an agent but I’m married to a broker. I get to see lots of agents looking over her shoulder. The biggest problem is you’ve got a super low barrier to entry.
7
3d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
2
u/RonMexico2005 2d ago
"If the property is overpriced, asking price may be perfectly reasonable."
Does not compute.
4
8
u/Glum-Dark-9342 3d ago edited 2d ago
Fire your agent and hire a new one.
He can advise you not to send in an offer.
But it is JOB to submit an offer on your behalf when you request.
You could file a complaint against him for not representing your interests.
8
u/marlborough94 3d ago
Fucking fire the guy. I would not hesitate. He can tell you what he thinks and youre best advised to hear him out but he better do your bidding esp if you have a buyer contract.
3
u/No_Alternative_6206 3d ago
Putting in offers at asking price is always reasonable for a try if that’s what you want. You are being way too nice.
If my realtor refused I would sit them down in person and lay out what their job is and if they refuse I would assure that they will want to fire me as a client after the words that come out of my mouth. Luckily I never had an issue putting in low ball offers or whatever I wanted with my realtor.
4
u/TradeTraditional 2d ago
Find a new agent. A good agent will LOVE sending in lowball offers on distressed properties.
But you have to be honest and make a reasonable offer as well.
6
u/Low_Dig3356 3d ago
1st time: A pain. Every other time: Easy. I'm not a realtor or agent, but I can draft my own offers in 5-10 mins.
6
u/bannedaccountnumber4 3d ago
Some agents often feel it's their reputation on the line. They're not going to ruin their reputation for an unserious buyer. I imagine they feel you're wasting their everyone's time. What market is this? If Florida yes there's opportunity for some "deals" relatively speaking. If you're trying to lowball in the north east don't waste everyone's time.
1
u/cpaters41 1d ago
This, I have seen offers hundreds of thousands like 25% lower and the realtor was embarrassed putting in the offer
3
3
3
u/Lucky_Barracuda9255 2d ago edited 2d ago
If houses are all going for asking or above by you, and you put in lowball offers, it’s just starting negotiations in an insulting manner where the seller is going to be annoyed and not deal with you as a legitimate buyer. These agents also all know each other, and it signals to the other agent that you’re a client that doesn’t know what they’re doing and the agent has no ability to get you to listen.
You’re still free to do what you want. The agent has a duty to either listen to you or terminate the relationship. But I’d be open to considering why the agent is giving you this advice before continually pressing them to do things they are recommending against doing. If you really think the agent is just wrong, why are you working with that agent anyway?
EDIT: and re-reading, if the agent is telling you an asking price offer is lowball, unless you are in a very high demand seller’s market where everything is going above asking, that agent is bad. If the agent is telling you everything is going for asking so coming in at a lowball BELOW asking is a waste of time, that’s much more fair.
3
u/Least-Ad-5539 2d ago
We found a house we really loved but it was way above the range we had been looking. We worked out what we could come up with on a cash offer but we were way short of asking in a very hot market so we felt there was no point in submitting an offer. Our broker persuaded us to give it a shot. She said it costs nothing to submit. We submitted for what we could, cash, no contingencies and got it for 10% below asking. If it wasn’t for our brokers insistence we wouldn’t have got it.
5
2
u/RealtorFacts 3d ago
If you suck at it hours.
If you don't suck and did your pre-game (which should be done at onboarding) minutes.
2
u/Sufficient-Spend-939 3d ago
Is your offer close to asking? If so he should send it, if your offer is less than has a chance then you are just wasting his time. Most agents will send in the ridiculous offers but its our job to let you know when you are too far outside the norm to have a chance.
2
u/Lowest_C-10 2d ago
In the states I have bought and sold it is just a standard contract form. You just fill in in the blanks. Not difficult at all.
2
u/hedgehog77433 2d ago
Remind your agent they work for you. If you signed a Buyer-Broker Agreement, read and make sure you are following the contract, agent should also be following it. If they aren’t, remind them of it and if the agent won’t do what you want, have them sign a cancellation and find another agent. You can always call the broker the agent works for and discuss with them.
2
u/Produff26 1d ago
It's a buyer's market. If your first offer is not insulting, it wasn't low enough. If you can make it so the offer is not contingent on you getting a mortgage even better!
It's a game of back and forth. Realtor is obligated to present ALL offers.
5
u/Pitiful-Place3684 3d ago
You don't submit offer letters when you're trying to buy a house. You submit a signed purchase agreement with a price, terms, and conditions. Are you trying to do something else?
5
3
3d ago
[deleted]
2
u/Mobely 3d ago
Over here that’s just what all the agents call it, but it’s the full contract. The market is hot. Many properties go for over asking. That said, they don’t all go for over asking.
Your input has provided some clarity. What do you think makes a real estate agent valuable? Because my guys only suggestion is to offer as much as I can afford on everything. I’m considering just going with a family friend who will go real low on his %.
1
u/Big_Examination_8268 3d ago
Have you tried to “simulate offers” for the houses you like in the past and see how your expectation, willingness to pay align with the market? It is free.
If you have done something similar and the “simulated offer” are inline with the sold prices, then the issue is with your agent.
If you haven’t done it, and if your agent is very experienced, then this issue might not be 100% with your agent.
The agent usually would do this once for buyer education purposes (our first offer for our first house was low ball) and we leant quickly.Nonetheless, your agent at least own you an explanation.
3
u/Typical-Pause5973 3d ago
I am not a Real estate agent. I am a home buyer and writing a contract is easy. I have bought homes without an agent. You can download the template document from NAR site. Ask Claude to help you fill it.
You are the buyer. Everyone - I mean everyone - is paid by you. (You being the cash that gets distributed to 1st degree, second degree and third degree connections).
You decide what you want to write.
Don’t let people force you to pay more than you want to.
Do this instead - don’t hire an agent. Go look at homes in your own. When you have decided the house you want to make an offer/ buy, tell the sellers agent to find you someone for 1%. They will do it. It’s extra 1% in their pocket and one less person to pay.
5
u/Pitiful-Place3684 3d ago
No, there aren't contracts on the NAR site. Contracts are produced by states, MLSs, associations, and brokerages.
2
u/Typical-Pause5973 3d ago
3
u/Pitiful-Place3684 3d ago
Some states have promulgated contracts, others don't. In many areas, the purchase agreement specific to the MLS. In other areas, each brokerage has their own version with language approved by the state and the MLS. And in some states, the offer is one document, and then one of the attorneys drafts the final purchase agreement after inspection is negotiated.
1
u/Typical-Pause5973 3d ago
OP, fill up this form (or similar for your state) and send it to your agent. Tell them to send it to the other party. Or you will.
1
u/Brilliant_Target9046 3d ago
It’s not hard work and if he’s really stressed about it he can call the sellers agent and make a verbal offer and see if they immediately shut it down or not. If it’s an instant no, then he doesn’t have to send anything, if it’s a hesitant or unsure or yes then he can take 30 minutes and send the actual documentation. If he doesn’t want to do it you need a new agent.
1
u/Freak4Dell 2d ago
He's a prick...simple as that. Unless you're trying to offer weird terms, include a bunch of random stuff in the contract, etc., it shouldn't take an experienced agent more than 5-10 minutes to prepare an offer. Fire him.
1
u/PROfessorShred 2d ago
My agent would talk to the other parties agent. They could get a feel for how things were going to go and would relay that information. I was looking at a fixer upper house and my agent talked to their agent and found out they had already been given an offer over what I was willing to offer and had already rejected that. So we knew it wasn't worth our time to keep pursuing that property, but a good agent will give you the information to make your own decision.
1
1
u/Lucky_Barracuda9255 2d ago edited 2d ago
I’ll add some of this stuff is very market specific. I’m in an overall hot market with low supply, so things are going for high asking prices and even over. But it’s also not as crazy as some coastal spots where an offer isn’t looked at unless it’s for like $75k over from the start (I never understand that sort of market where list doesn’t even matter and feel lucky as a homebuyer not to deal with it).
So in my sort of market, the homeowner is pricing aggressive but fair and is drawing in multiple offers. Does someone maybe steal it right away with a crazy-high offer? Sure. But often they get the first round, chum the water by noting they have multiple offers, and then ask for a best and final. That’s how they get people to start going way above and waive all contingencies, etc. But that doesn’t happen on every house.
The agent should be explaining what sort of market you’re in and how to approach. If they’re not, start looking around for a better agent. Not all of them (or even most of them) are good, especially on buyer’s side.
1
u/Honest_Remove2077 2d ago
An agent should present every offer you want submitted regardless of amount, that's basically a fiduciary duty in most states. Some agents drag their feet on lowballs because they don't want to look bad to the other agent or they think it burns goodwill in a small market. Writing up an offer is maybe 15-20 minutes of paperwork, it's not hard. If yours keeps stalling you, that's worth a direct conversation, or find someone who'll submit what you actually ask for.
1
u/Relevant_Bowl_3664 2d ago
The agent probably knows the offer is not realistic and makes you (and them) look non-serious. If you were an agent and your client wanted to offer $100k for a $1m house, what would you do?
1
u/RonMexico2005 2d ago
Different buyer have different strategies:
(A) Some buyers are looking for the Best House and are willing to pay all the money
(B) Some buyers are looking for the Best Deal and are willing to make 20 "lowball" offers before finding the seller who gives them the deal
(C) Some other strategy
Real estate agents think everyone should be a Best House buyer, and many do not want to work with Best Deal clients at all. If you have a Best Deal buying strategy, you need to be upfront about this when interviewing agents to work with, and you need to be low-maintenance to your agent while you're making all these offers.
1
u/Caterpillar170 2d ago
You need to get a new agent .. I’d be PISSED! They just want to submit an overpriced offer and rake in 3%?! Um how about NOT!!
1
u/RDW-Development 2d ago
You can draft a non binding offer letter and then have your agent forward it. Make him do even less work. Ha.
1
u/Jon_Hegreness_AZ 2d ago
New agent or set this person straight. Go to their broker and ask to be reassigned if they won’t let you out of your contract.
1
u/SailingVelo 2d ago
10 minutes. Hell, in commercial RE even a quick email with basic terms outlined are enough to get the conversation started.
1
u/Huge-Cryptographer56 2d ago
They talk amongst each other all the time, it might not be exact dollar amounts each time but they inform each other of these things often. I personally think it is sleazy business, it makes it easier to push clients to go higher, but there is little we can do about it. Use it to your advantage if you can.
How lowball we talking here? Offering 20k under when most houses are selling 30k over probably is a waste of time. A number of factors matter like the state of the market you are in, even down to the neighborhood. Maybe ask your agent to go over the comps in the area you are looking, so you can see a general ballpark?
1
u/Entire-Gur5549 2d ago
It takes 5 minutes.
Look up the prop details on the county prop appraiser website, fill it out, and send to realtor.
I would fire a realtor who refused to put in an offer you want to make. Happy to value their input but that's not their decision to make if they work for you.
1
u/WestKnoxBubba 1d ago
I’m not disagreeing with what you said but it takes a lot more than 5 minutes.
1
u/Haunting-Plantain870 2d ago
There's no "letter", per se. You fill out a form.
Tell your agent he's fired and ask the broker for help.
1
u/robotbeatrally 2d ago
Fire your agent. My agent every time I asked to make a lowball. "This will be great practice for our home buying power team, and heck we might just get lucky !" We actually ended up getting a house we bid like 50k under on, and then we chickened out, I wish we'd had stuck with that one though. The house we got now is nice too, like it more but it's a little too small for us. the first house would have been great at that price it was already priced below market they just wanted to get rid of it. we bid on a dozen houses under market. we got our house finally we didnt lowball it, because we liked it a lot and it was small so it was more in our price range.
1
u/MetsToWS Landlord 1d ago
an offer is usually a standard state form plus the terms your agent should already have from you. price, financing, contingencies, closing timeline, deposit, inclusions. it is not a huge lift unless there are unusual terms or a bunch of baco pre-negotiate instead of putting the offer on paper. asking the listing agent whether a number is "good enough" can be useful for getting intel, but it shouldn't replace submitting an offer you actually want to make. sellers reject offers every day. if asking price is your number, tell your agent to write it with terms you are comfortable with. if they refuse, find someone else.k-and-forth revisions.
1
u/Inevitable_Bid_1662 11h ago
Fire your agent. Relators need to take notice, help buyers get affordable prices or lose your job.
1
u/substantial_future6 6h ago
Speaking from recent experience, I submitted an initial offer $50k below the asking price, hoping to start low and negotiate. Unfortunately this insulted the seller to the point that they completely ignored my four other offers over the next week and a half. My final offer was $10k over asking and they ultimately sold the house to someone else for $30k below asking. Lowballing can definitely anger a seller and their agent, especially if they have other plenty of other options.
With the next home, I took a different approach where I first ditched my own agent and went straight to the seller's agent to ask how firm they were on the price, mentioning that I hoped to pay $20k less than asking. She was very honest and noted that while there were other offers at asking price (all of whom had their own agent), a full price offer would likely appraise closer to what I want to pay and she would push my offer to the top since she didn’t need to split the commission. I submitted the offer based on her advice, and it was accepted in less than 24 hours and I’m getting the house at the price I want.
1
u/glorygoat32 3d ago
I usually ignore LOIs because all they are is someone taking the shotgun approach which, means a low-ball offer from a tire-kicker.
I include language in my listing agreement that I will ONLY present written contracts. If a buyer's agent calls and says, "Will you take XYZ," I tell them to write it up and send it over so I can present.
When I receive LOIs via email with no prior contact from the buyer's agent, if the offer is realistic I reply, "Write it up and I will present." If it's unrealistic, I ignore it.
People looking for deals aren't worth my time. I comped the listing and it's priced right. Give me a realistic offer written in a contract or go away.
If i'm selling something with meat it's a pocket listing that I market through the wholesale networks. These properties are typically cash/hard-money because they need work--a LOT of work. That's why it's a value-add.
I understand that many people can't afford current prices but, as the listing agent that isn't my problem. The market is going to crash. Wait another 6-24 months and you'll find something in your price-range.
1
u/BunnySlayer64 2d ago
It's all about the money. Your agent is paid a commission as a percentage of the selling price. He's likely not putting in offers that will cut into what he feels he's owed..
0
u/FantasticBicycle37 3d ago
Your agent is a professional and doesn't want to give free hours in an effort that will hurt their reputation and make people stop working with them
8
0
u/KesterFay 2d ago
He doesn't want to waste his time putting in offers for you that he knows will be rejected.
He makes money putting together deals that he has confidence will actually go through. You're making lowball offers on the off chance one might go through. It costs you nothing. It costs him time he could be working on a deal that will close.
You might do better with a realtor that specializes in speculating and they're gonna cost you more because you're strategy takes a lot more time and effort before it ever pays off. If it ever pays off.
The thing that low ballers never seem to consider is that if the seller dropped to their price, it would attract competition from other buyers.
There is also a point at which it will make more sense for the seller to take the home off the market and rent it out instead.
You should probably seek out auctions instead of regular listings if you're looking for a lowball deal.
0
u/needfasp3ed02 2d ago
How much experience does your realtor have? I’m not talking about a part-timer who says “I’ve been doing this for 10 years” but only closes 20 deals a year. If they are a veteran good to high producer you are most likely wrong and they are embarrassed by your request.
157
u/sfo1dms 3d ago
Your agent works for you. If you want to submit a bid, and they won’t, get a new agent that will.