No response to a deadline

I made a written offer yesterday, with a 24 hour deadline.

The deadline came and I phoned the agent, no answer, with an SMS about half an hour later saying he would let me know asap.

2.5 hours later, here we are! I've never not had a response before, from vendor or agent!

I have no problem walking. It's strange. My mother is an agent and is flabbergasted that I've heard nothing.

I suspect the agent didn't convey the deadline.

 

Several reasons on top of my head
- offers too low that vendor doesn't want to bother to even respond
- vendor is very busy and hard to reach, I.e. Deadline too short for their circumstances
- agent dealing with several offers and totally forgot

Note that I did the 24 hours deadline before. Somehow they only responded after the deadline. So I changed it into 48 hours and usually receive a response.

 

They were not able to give you a concrete answer within that deadline. Agents will not usually push a vendor because someone has put a timeline on an offer, they will usually respond when they have made a descision.

I have never been able to see a reason for a deadline on an offer so have never really taken them seriously, but perhaps there is one???

Why 24 hours?

 

They can be calling your bluff - I've known agents to do this on purpose just to break the purchaser.

If I put in a deadline for an offer, I send through a retraction of offer if it's past deadline. If it has any chance of being accepted, you'll hear back quickly from the agent.

No point calling/asking how it's being reviewed, that just shows your hand as being a keen buyer.

 

I have used deadlines in a few instances:

1. Made offers on multiple deals and 1 has already indicated acceptance so I need to see the other hands from other deals asap to choose the best. No pressure on me, possibly more pressure on the vendor which is always a good thing.

2. Too many good deals around and don't want to waste my time on an undecided vendor. Usually its in a soft market and the balance of power is for the purchaser as well.

3. When I know the vendor is on the chopping block and needs that extra pressure to make them go the last step. Extra pressure could help my position or perhaps not, but I don't see it as being harmful to my position. Especially as I am never, ever under pressure for any purchase. I always have multiple acceptable deals at the same time and just play the numbers hard and wait for acceptance more or less. I love when agents at auctions come whisper in my ears to try and get me to up my offer even if I am in the lead. I usually say something like " i'll be ok thanks. If im not successful here i have quite a few more auctions to attend." Gotta love their efforts. I have seen them on many occasions actually add so much pressure to FHO buyers that they started to break down and cry.

 

I guess it's easier being an investor. Either get the property or move on.

 

Agree with you.

Also, auctions are a whole different beast as well. It's a show, high pressure tactics and completely an attack on the buyers emotions and anxieties and often pride. Anyone going into an auction without understanding the game and how to counter their tactics is going to be possibly paying a lot more than necessary.

 

This is why I did, plus:

4. I'm not prepared to buy it at auction

5. I don't sleep if I think it's a winner. I can bear this for 48 hours then I become impossible to live with

 

For what it's worth, I have successfully used deadlines on half my purchases, buying under value at the start of the campaign before many buyers had a chance to get involved. One was a ridiculous "I need to know by COB today" while making an unconditional offer at the first open for an apartment about 11am that day.

I was BENT on ensuring no one else had a shot. The open conflicted with a few other very similar properties (also open for the first time but presented much better in the listings) and the agent didn't seem to have an idea about the local market–he was from another area. Hardly anyone turned up and I engaged the agent in conversation for the entire open so no one got to speak with him.

Sure enough, we had a deal that afternoon and I secured a place well under market value in piping hot Marrickville (early 2014), thanks very much.

May not always work but deadlines can produce good results.

 

Another reason for using a deadline can be your finance pre-approval is about to expire.. so you don't have time for slowness by the agent or vendor. You just need to get under contract and get that contract to your lender.

 

Why would you bother following up after your deadline has passed? Kind of makes your bluff, seem just as it is. If a deadline I set passes, I just move on to the next property.

Agent: 1
Bran:0

 

I agree with you, although the game isn't over. The Agent is just about to lose his vendor's buyer, with no negotiation.
This is why I have made NO contact since BEFORE the deadline.
Hard to lose what I never had

 

I always put a deadline on my offers, just to ensure I get a timely response and my offer is not used to leverage other buyers.
Also I hate being strung along, either it's a deal we can negotiate or it isn't.

 

So what if the agent losers you as a buyer? It's beyond your control. Go out there and find another place, this agent doesn't seem remotely interested in playing YOUR game.

 

Fair enough.
I did just miss his call though

 

couldnt agree with you more

if its a cold market and desperate seller, the agent would hve had an answer or be pushing hard,

they know that you are keen if you are following it up, or your deadline is a bluff or just a formality

if you send a withdrawal notice, and your offer is close, you'll hear back from the agent within 0.0000000001 milliseconds

 

how can any of us offer advice like this without knowing intimate details of the deal?

perhaps it's a screaming bargain but @Bran 's offer was too low, there's no shame in trying again if the first plan of attack doesnt work, providing the deal still works at the new offer of course.

ive been both successful and failed with offers with deadlines, you cant win them all. put a 16 hour deadline (12 noon on saturday) on an offer at 8pm friday night for a property that had hit the market only hours before, told the agent openly it is because i didnt want it to go to the home open. it worked.

last month did one for the same client, didnt work. we went back a few weeks later to try and work something out, still didnt work, the owner is on another planet price wise.

ultimately i think people take things too personally, just because something bran tried didnt work doesnt automatically mean he should walk away, no one knows if it is still worth it at a higher price or with different conditions.

btw not specifically targeting you here btw, just a general comment

 

I agree. Many people take it personally and let their emotions get in the way of a business deal. I wouldn't give up on the negotiation until I know its breached my bottom line. Until I know that and still think its a good deal, I won't let it go.

 

From reading the OP, he set a deadline, then went over it himself chasing an answer from the agent. A few weeks later, as per your example, no problems if you haven't found anything else by then. But chasing it up after the deadline you set, has been breached, why waste the time? I think people tend to get caught up in the one purchase, so that they stop looking at others, like an emotional attachment. I just saw parts of that in the OP's post. Having other options, or potential purchases works for me so I don't caught getting attached to a particular property.

 

I wouldn't show I am full of BS and play games, he will never be taken seriously by that agent again or be given the opportunity to take first bite of the next cherry the agent has.