Apr 4, 2018

Does this home have the BEST Lake Washington / Mount Rainier View in Seattle?

Posted by: Rocky Gabay

These are a few photos of a clients home I SOLD with one of the best views in Seattle.
Whats is more interesting than this view is the client himself Charlie.
Charles F. Wurster is a founding member of the Environmental Defense Fund and Professor Emeritus of Environmental Sciences, State University of New York at Stony Brook. His Book DDT WARS can be found on Amazon.
Photo Credits: https://www.jerryhughesphotography.com/

Mar 27, 2018

How to win Multiple Offers (From a Listing Agents Perspective)

Posted by: Rocky Gabay

1. Price
One thing that is most displeasing to a seller is a List Price offer when obviously there is a lot of activity. Go all in, bid high and then Escalate to finish it off!
2. Escalation
Most offers I have worked with have completely lost all common sense in an escalation. It is great you can escalate your initial lowball offer. However, escalate and do it with authority! Please do not go $1,001 over the next highest offer. Doesn’t that just sound silly or most likely insulting? Go increments of 5k at least.
3. Earnest Money
Drop large Earnest money! The seller wants to feel comfortable that you are confident that you will close. Make sure your agent has helped you cross T’s and dot I’s before you go all in.
4. Contingency’s 
No contingency’s or as little as possible. Sellers don’t want to renegotiate price, terms, or cancel a contract after pulling the property off the market.
5. Loan officer
Make sure your Loan Officer can communicate well to the listing agents. We do call and we do verify information such as, buying power, credit score, assets, and make sure that your lender will be in good communication with us throughout the whole process.

Underwriter conditional approval is like Gold to us listing agents. If you can get that done before you offer you will be a top of all offers in regard to terms.
6. Down payment
The Larger the down payment the better, but if you have a VA loan you can offset the 0% down by showing off your assets or your income.
7. Closing date
Tighten up that closing date the seller wants to get paid and so do we. 3 weeks can be done by the right lender. Ask for forgiveness if you need more time. 
8. Communication
Make sure you have a strong agent representing you. They should be either experienced, or a good talker. Experienced and a good talker is best because us listing agents are so lazy want to hear that the buyer’s agent will be on top of everything. 
9. Increase down payment for low appraisal.
Even though your agent has done the research and has not let you go crazy with you bid you can instill confidence in a seller by saying you’ll be happy to put more down payment if the property does not appraise for the loan value.