When Pending Isn't Really Pending

You've searched the local MLS, driven all over town, shown your client several Active listings and they finally fall in love with the home that they must have, so you head back to your office to write an offer to purchase. As you check the MLS just to get the agent's email address, you find that the "perfect home" is now showing up as PENDING in the MLS...an offer has already been accepted by the seller and your client's hearts sink. (cue music: "Tears of A Clown")

This happened several times this past year to my clients but I managed to get three of my clients into those "already sold" properties. No magic here, I just keep working my offers with a business-as-usual attitude. As agents we have to help our clients through the emotional roller coaster along with all the other duties of setting up inspections and getting disclosures signed.

In the three cases (one REO, one standard sale and one short sale), I just called the agents to get a feel for the strength of the accepted offer, requested that I send our offer in and then keep in contact as the original offer worked it's way through the process. For whatever reason, these transactions could not be completed by the original purchaser and I received a call from the seller's agent asking if my clients were still ready to make the purchase.

In today's real estate market, it pays to be diligent with your offers. It is all too easy to just "throw a bunch of offers in" and see what sticks. While that is a tactic, it just doesn't show my customers that I really care a lot about their business.