How do I put an offer on the property?
This should be simple, but sometimes it can be a convoluted process. Let’s start with the law, any offer made to an agent must be passed on to the owner. An agent is not allowed to say no unless the owner has given them the authority to say no. The problem is, some agents take it upon themselves to make their own rules. For example, advising that the owner has already accepted an offer, hence they won’t submit your offer because that’s gazumping and that’s bad – this is illegal.
Jackson+Rowe will never not submit an offer. We submit all offers that are made, no questions asked. Usually we will ask a few questions to get an understanding of your needs:
- Are you able to sign a contract with cooling off
- Are there any conditions attached to your offer
The idea behind this, is that an offer is not an offer, unless it is an agreement that can be accepted. For example, if you offer to pay $500,000 but won’t commit to signing a contract, then the owner can say that’s great but how do I sell it to them if they won’t sign. Likewise, if you have a condition that stipulates you will only buy the property on the provision that your current property sells ,then its hard for an owner to have any certainty. We’ll still submit your offer but we need to know the conditions attached to the offer so it’s clear for both parties.
The second thing we will ask you to do, is to put your offer in writing. This ensures there isn’t any question later on as to the conversations which took place.
Some things that you shouldn’t do
Don’t get intimidated by an agent who rejects your offer. They may not like what your offer but they can’t reject you. Be up front about issues and concerns. If you need to get finance approved or you want a strata search or building inspection, voice your needs. Ask the agent if there are any issues that they know around building, pest or strata. They may not want to answer or they may say that ‘you’ll need to make your own inquiries’ however they cannot withhold important information from you that they are aware of.
You should also ask when you can expect a response. They can say that they will counter at $X or they can say, ‘that’s not enough’ or they can even say that they will not be responding. They are not required by law to give you a particular response but by asking when you’ll hear back, it closes a loop that lets you know when the agent expects to come back to you.