Multi-Offers & FNMA

[Marc Caraballo]

Kind of a 2-part question, but both are concerning what I've been running up against lately while putting in offers (more-so than usual it seems).

1. Why would every offer I put it trigger a multi-offer scenario? Now, I realize the obvious answer "because there's more than one offer", but it seems within the last 2-3 months, it doesn't matter if the property has been on the MLS for 3 days or 3 months, as soon as I put in an offer I get a response stating that it's a multi-bid... Am I missing a condition or shift in the marketplace where I keep running into these (by the way, I have not been successful in even one of these, and I'm not putting in garbage offers)? Am I on the outside of a "secret-circle" of knowledge?

2. Do FNMA/HomePath bids get countered? Again, realizing that the answer is inevitably "yes", I have indeed had 1 countered this month, but more times than not, I have been 6-10% within their list price, and get a straight rejection. I even had a situation where I was within $4500 of the list and still got no counter (after being rejected 3 times). Even though I was so close to list, I didn't want to break my own rules/numbers, and quit offering. 30-days later (lack of tracking on my part), the list price was reduced, below my latest offer, and was sold within the day. Again, what am I missing here?

Thanks in advance for your insight & feedback.

[Jason Clemens]

Hi Marc,

This should be an interesting response string, but here's a perspective from South Florida... If you're offering cash at a discount to ask, I think you'll end up with a different response than what you're getting. For Fannie financed offers, I've had a similar experience - even for properties sitting for months, I've immediately received "highest and best request" within a few hours, indicating "multiple offer situation". Additionally, I've received this response on multiple properties after submitting an offer of 90% or more of ask. It seems ridiculous since these properties later sell for a further discount to what I originally offered. I've just grown skeptical of the Fannie process so I've moved on to non-Fannie deals.

I believe the Fannie deals are going at a premium to account for the special financing terms (lower LTV ratios and ability to finance more properties than the usual Fannie limit). To me, if I'm taking advantage of the special financing terms, and I find a Fannie deal worth the asking price, I would currently offer full ask; otherwise, I would keep moving...

Just my two cents...