The Winning Offer Is Built Before It's Written

First, I investigate the property.

I want to know considerably more than what's in the listing.

How long have the sellers owned it? What do they owe on their mortgage, if that information is available? How much equity might they have? Does the listing information match the public records?

And here's a big one: What permits have been issued?

I also look for costs, problems, and circumstances that aren't obvious from the photographs or listing description.

Sometimes the most important information about a house is what isn't in the listing.

Next, I investigate the sellers.

What might be motivating this sale? What's important to them besides the price?

Some of that information comes from public records and other lawful sources. Some comes from casual conversations with the listing agent, sometimes long before an offer is contemplated.

Even an ordinary phone call to arrange a showing or preview a property can reveal something useful.

I'm listening, asking questions, and trying to understand the circumstances behind the sale.

Because the best offer for one seller might be completely different from the best offer for another.

Then I investigate the listing agent. This is a big one.

The listing agent is the person who will present our offer to the seller, explain its strengths and weaknesses, and help the seller decide what to do.

Having that agent understand, respect, and support our offer can make an enormous difference.

I start with their real estate license history. Then I look through MLS records: closed sales, active listings, canceled listings, withdrawn listings, and how they've handled previous properties.

Are they experienced? New to the business? Active and successful? Or have they handled only a handful of transactions?

I want to understand their experience, working style, and how best to communicate with them.

A newer agent and a seasoned veteran may respond to very different approaches.

I also pay attention to publicly available information that helps me understand the people involved. The point isn't to judge anyone's lifestyle. It's to recognize personalities, priorities, and circumstances that might influence a negotiation.

And here's something buyers may not realize:

I don't want the listing agent to see me as an adversary. I want that agent to feel confident recommending my clients' offer.

Professional respect, preparation, credibility, and the right approach can accomplish things that another few thousand dollars sometimes cannot.

Now we're ready to build the offer.

After the research—which can take several hours—I develop a strategy based on what I've learned.

The price matters, of course. But so do the terms, timing, presentation, and how the offer addresses what the seller actually wants.

This is where experience comes in.

Not a standard formula. Not automatically offering over asking. Not automatically starting low.

The right offer for this house, these sellers, this agent, and my clients.

And that's when the negotiating begins.

A seller's market and a buyer's market require different strategies.

In a seller's market, the challenge may be getting your offer selected over several competing offers, some possibly higher than yours.

Getting into escrow is an important first victory. Depending on the contract and what we discover during the transaction, there may be opportunities for further negotiation. But those opportunities are never guaranteed.

In a buyer's market, the opportunity may be to negotiate a better purchase price and more favorable terms.

But here's a mistake I never want my clients to make:

It's ALWAYS a seller's market for a really awesome home.

A truly exceptional property can attract serious competition regardless of what the broader market statistics say.

If you love a house and it's exactly what you've been looking for, don't automatically assume you should offer substantially less just because someone told you it's a buyer's market.

You could lose the house you really wanted while trying to win a negotiation that never had a chance.

The objective is to find the right offer—one that gives the seller a reason to say yes while protecting my client's interests.

Does all this preparation actually make a difference?

Ask Liang and her husband, Scott.

They were first-time homebuyers who had spent seven frustrating months trying to buy a home in an extraordinarily competitive seller's market.

Liang found me after discovering I'd helped another buyer purchase an excellent East Sacramento home for substantially less than the asking price.

Four days after we met, their offer was accepted.

Liang wrote:

"His amazing research and negotiation skills made us stand out among competitors. We couldn't believe it when our offer was accepted 4 days after we met Steve."

And her husband, Scott McColl, wrote:

"We struggled to secure a house for a long time with another agent and then we were able to find a house with Steve within a week of starting to work."

Scott went on to describe how I helped them plan their remodel, find trusted contractors, and make decisions intended to turn their first home into a financial success.

That's the part I especially like.

Winning the house was important. Helping them make it a great home and a smart investment was just as important.

No strategy guarantees an accepted offer. But preparation, experience, and knowing how to approach the people on the other side can make an enormous difference.

My bottom line

Writing the offer is the easy part.

Understanding the property, the people, the circumstances, and the opportunity—and then knowing what to do with that information—is where the real work happens.

And for my clients, it's worth every minute.