We have edge-of-the-seat excitement in the world of real estate right now. Properties that were on the market without offers at the end of last year are getting many showing requests, multiple offers, and backup offers with buyers waiting to see if the buyer in the first position will back out.
Last week, we got a nice offer on one of our listings from two doctors and their super cool agent. Our team was impressed both by the buyers and by their agent. And then a talented lawyer and his consultant wife called to see the house and they fell in love and they asked us to represent them and to write an offer. And we were in a multiple offer situation.
When we have multiple offers, I like to honestly and transparently explore what each party is willing to do for price and terms, and then have the seller pick the best buyer based on their offers. And so I explored. And I found that both parties were good to pay the same price for the house. And both buyers represented that they’d go easy on inspections and ask the seller for little because they want the house so badly. The doctors said they could close in 30 days max, but probably a 25 day close would work. The lawyer and his wife said they’d honestly need 45 days to close. Since the doctors could close faster, I honestly encouraged the seller to accept the doctors’ offer.
One week later, the doctors are in escrow and so far there hasn’t been an appraisal yet. And there are a whole lot of inspections going on. There’s an inspection scheduled for Monday with a historic window restoration company. In almost 15 years of doing real estate, I’ve never seen a buyer schedule a historic window restoration company during inspections. Which makes me think there’s a chance the lawyer and his wife with an accepted backup offer might get a shot at this house after all.
Meanwhile, at another property, we accepted an “as is” all cash offer. The buyer inspected and then asked for a huge amount in credits, which ended in a mutually signed cancellation of the “as is” all cash deal. We have six scheduled showings at the property this weekend…and the buyer with the signed cancellation is thinking he may want to buy the house after all.
At another property, a buyer wrote an aggressive offer, put a 10% deposit in escrow, removed all contingencies, and then had a change of heart and sent cancellation. The property went back on the market and immediately there were 7 offers before the offer deadline, and an 8th offer that came in a few hours later.
All this action tells me that the people in our city are very much alive and they’re engaging. It’s not the regular “one foot in front of the other” way of going through a transaction, but aggressive posturing and trying so hard to push for something with extra conviction. People are offering aggressive prices, including aggressive terms, doing aggressive inspections, trying to take advantage of aggressively low interest rates. There’s so much drive in all these transactions!
Small mom and pop businesses in the area are quietly open because they need to be in order to survive. Some small business owners put film on their windows and locks on their doors but with an appointment they’ll let you in. Some small shops let you in from the back. Some have wood over their windows and fences around their property but they’re quietly working inside. All of these diligent store owners make sure to verify that people don’t have any symptoms, there’s a bottle of sanitizer for hands when you walk in, and everyone is in a mask. But they’re open because they’re alive and they’re driven to keep themselves and their businesses going.
I love our city. In the media, Los Angeles today became the first county in the nation to record 1 million coronavirus cases since the start of the pandemic. In my personal experience, people in Los Angeles are alive and kicking and doing their darndest to take advantage of a good real estate deal and historic low interest rates before we go back to pre pandemic life! Real estate is the only amusement park and sporting event that’s open at the moment in Los Angeles and all are invited to sign a PEAD form, make an appointment, don a mask, and create more excitement!
