Verbal offers serve one purpose; to "save time" for "professionals" who get paid well to not cut corners.
There's only one way to avoid misunderstanding when negotiating to buy or sell a home. That is to have the complete details in front of you.
With modern tools, it's never been easier to write, execute and deliver an offer.
If you're buying or selling a home, insist that every detail of the negotiation is in writing.
Transcript
Over 27 years in the business, I've literally been involved in hundreds of negotiations and they often unfold the same way.
The buyer's agent writes an offer and brings it to the seller's agent who presents it to the seller, who writes a counter-offer and returns that to the buyer's agent.
And the buyer wants to try another number, and rather than write a new offer, their agent suggests that "well, I'll just call the seller's agent, and I'll discuss it with them."
And usually, they're looking for a concession in the range of a couple of thousand dollars to bring the deal together. But they haven't taken the time to actually write another offer, and my response to them is always the same. I'd be happy to present that to my seller if you would bring me another offer.
And oftentimes that buyer's agent calls back after a half an hour or an hour and says "it's okay, my buyer decided to accept the counter-offer." And my perception of what's happened here is that somebody just doesn't want to take the time to write another offer, and they convince the buyer to close on that counter.
If you're involved in a negotiation, do not fall for the verbal "let's discuss this" position. Insist that your proposal be put on paper, or on an electronic document as the case may be today.
As the old saying goes, a verbal offer is not worth the paper that it's written on. And that's why the Real Estate Act, one of the definitions of an offer is that it is made in writing.
So insist that your agent put that offer in writing so that you know that it's being presented and considered by the seller.
Good luck.
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Norm Fisher
Royal LePage Vidorra
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