I was speaking to a colleague, new to the business, recently and she was looking very frazzled and tired looking. She got very busy, very quickly upon entering the business. She prospects by regularly knocking on doors, cold calling and sitting at open houses, borrowing them from other agents if she has no listings. She does all the things expected of a new agent who starts in the business with no client base.
Upon asking her how things were going, she told me she was out late working on an offer at 1:00 a.m. that morning. I remember doing the same thing early in my career but I just don’t function very well late at night and I try to avoid the 11:59 p.m. offer response time. I find I have to be alert when working on offers so that I don’t miss something or make any mistakes. No two offers are ever the same. Every clause must be examined carefully to see if it is in the best interest of the party we are representing.
Along with any conditions in the offer, it is important to make sure all dates coincide and that all pages are correctly initialed and signed. It is imperative that all parties understand what they are signing and that all terms are agreed to before final acceptance. These days many offers and counteroffers are dealt with via fax or e-mail. Bringing all parties to the listing Brokerage’s office to negotiate the offer can usually simplify the process. If the offer negotiations stall in the evening, it is often wise for everyone to sleep on it, re-group and re-address the debatable issues in the morning.
I don’t think anyone is at their best at 11:59 p.m. It’s important to be clear headed when signing a contract. If on the other hand an offer is in the final stages of being accepted at the witching hour, it may be prudent to finish up and deliver accepted copies to all. It is quite common for some people to suffer temporary buyer or seller remorse.
I feel it is very important for all parties to realize that time is of the essence when an offer has been prepared and awaits presentation. REALTORS®, buyers and sellers must be easily accessible and understand the sense of urgency when it comes to negotiating the sale of a property. With “all hands on deck” the offer process can be transacted successfully and in a timely manner.
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