Verbal or Written Offers

[William Johnson]

What are your opinions about making verbal or written offers on MLS properties. Do you believe that we should do a minimum number of written offers each week even if there is no indication from having a phone conversation with the agent that the written offer will be accepted and, also taking into account that I would have to go and visit these five properties in order to have credibility with the agent who is selling the property so that he/she will present my written offer in a serious manner.

Up to this point I am only doing verbal offers on the phone find out whether they are negotiable for the price that I'm willing to pay and if they are not then I am not going to visit the house as I consider it to be a waste of time. It is a Catch-22 though because in the past I would at least do five written offers which meant that I would have to visit five properties even if I wasn't sure that they were negotiable. 

So I'm just wanting to have the opinions of the members of this forum about this subject.

I do understand that there are many who do not believe that the MLS is a good place to do wholesaling so I would prefer not to have that debate on this thread because although I do agree that the MLS may not be the ideal place for wholesaling I do know from experience that they exist in large numbers on the MLS, it is just a question of uncovering them.

[Richelle T.]

@William Johnson 

You don't necessarily have to view a property to make an offer on it.

[Bill Gulley]

Question is, who are you dealing with? A homeowner may haggle verbally, a Realtor or shouldn't be and most investors don't act on verbal offers, talk is cheap as they say.

In RE there really isn't such a thing as a verbal offer, an offer that may be accepted and enforced must be in writing, everything else is just talk, much of it is hot air.

A written offer full of contingencies isn't much of an offer either, certainly can't take it to the bank.

Making 5 offers a week is an indication of a low baller that shotguns out offers and they tend to try and weasel out if there is any mistake made on their part, if the deal isn't as good as they thought it might be, actually, they are not dealing in good faith so much as hoping they snag some deal, any deal. Once these types are known, their offers are often ignored, replies from Realtors may be more of a pain for them once they know who does business that way.

And, what happens if you get 3 offers accepted? Can you follow through or do you pull some dodge the deal trick ? Ethical investors do what they say they will do.

I have purchased sight unseen, made an offer after speaking to the appraiser who I knew personally who had been on the property. I also know the area so well I often will know the property at the very least its location and condition of the area so if  it's at the right price I already know if it can be a deal to make an offer......and if I offer something, if it's accepted it's a done deal. But making blind offers are very few and far between as I expect major repairs.

If an offer comes from someone who has not viewed the property or has had it inspected prior to the offer, they aren't serious buyers unless everything is just right for them, most all properties will have some issue, none are perfect, so a decision can be made quickly to discount the offer to file 13.

Wasting my time or my client's time reflects on your reputation for a long time, sometimes forever. What I have found in my area is that these types of wannabe investors don't last for the long haul, pretty much fly by night. :)

[William Johnson]

No you do not have to visit it but if you want to maximize the chances that the listing agent to take you serious and present the offer properly you normally have to visit. 

[William Johnson]

Originally posted by @Bill Gulley:

Question is, who are you dealing with? A homeowner may haggle verbally, a Realtor or shouldn't be and most investors don't act on verbal offers, talk is cheap as they say.

In RE there really isn't such a thing as a verbal offer, an offer that may be accepted and enforced must be in writing, everything else is just talk, much of it is hot air.

A written offer full of contingencies isn't much of an offer either, certainly can't take it to the bank.

Making 5 offers a week is an indication of a low baller that shotguns out offers and they tend to try and weasel out if there is any mistake made on their part, if the deal isn't as good as they thought it might be, actually, they are not dealing in good faith so much as hoping they snag some deal, any deal. Once these types are known, their offers are often ignored, replies from Realtors may be more of a pain for them once they know who does business that way.

And, what happens if you get 3 offers accepted? Can you follow through or do you pull some dodge the deal trick ? Ethical investors do what they say they will do.

I have purchased sight unseen, made an offer after speaking to the appraiser who I knew personally who had been on the property. I also know the area so well I often will know the property at the very least its location and condition of the area so if  it's at the right price I already know if it can be a deal to make an offer......and if I offer something, if it's accepted it's a done deal. But making blind offers are very few and far between as I expect major repairs.

If an offer comes from someone who has not viewed the property or has had it inspected prior to the offer, they aren't serious buyers unless everything is just right for them, most all properties will have some issue, none are perfect, so a decision can be made quickly to discount the offer to file 13.

Wasting my time or my client's time reflects on your reputation for a long time, sometimes forever. What I have found in my area is that these types of wannabe investors don't last for the long haul, pretty much fly by night. :)

 @Bill Gulley: you have taken so many things about me, my process of due diligence and my level of experience and knowledge for granted in this post.  I can only say thank you for illustrating the kind of thinking that could potentially cause selling agents to not give me a fair shake when they present my offers to their clients.

What would you suggest I do? 

How do you feel in a general sense about wholesalers using the Mls?