February 18, 2025 The Best Source of News, Culture, Lifestyle for Culver City, Mar Vista, Del Rey, Palms and West Los Angeles

Real Estate Report: Why your purchase offer was not accepted

For the past 28 years Michael Edlen has tracked local statistics and trends, and has provided real estate counseling services to thousands of prospective buyers and sellers.
For the past 28 years Michael Edlen has tracked local statistics and trends, and has provided real estate counseling services to thousands of prospective buyers and sellers.

There are a variety of reasons that buyers’ home purchase offers are not successful. The price, of course, is most commonly why a seller does not accept a buyer’s offer.

However, it may be worthwhile considering other factors that may be involved. Perhaps another rejection could be avoided, or at least the odds of success increased. Many of the other factors relate to the seller’s emotional reaction to their interpretation of the offer(s) they receive from the buyer(s).

For example, often a buyer will include a family photo or personal letter explaining how much they love the home and the reasons why it’s such a good fit for their family.

Many sellers are influenced by the emotional connection they sense the buyer has made with the property, and can envision them making it their home.

Often a potential buyer inadvertently raises an uneasy feeling of uncertainty in the seller’s minds when they ask for customary periods of time for removing various contingencies in their purchase process.

Of course, nearly all buyers are encouraged by their agents to include certain contingency time periods for their own protection.

However, in the current market environment investors or developers have been making a significant number of purchases every month and their offers generally have either no inspection contingency period or at most a very short period, and usually their proposals are on an all-cash basis with relatively fast escrows.

Thus the average buyer is at an inherent disadvantage when contingencies are included in their offers, especially if they are not offering to pay at least as much as the all-cash buyer. In fact, more than 25 percent of the local purchases of homes have been to investortype buyers since 2013.

For buyers who need to compete with the all-cash bidders, it may be essential to have done their homework and obtained lender pre-approval of the financing that will be necessary.

Full pre-approval is much more certain than the most typical “pre-qualification” that most buyers receive in order to present an offer to purchase.

The full process requires that the potential borrower gives the lender copies of two years tax returns, has their credit(s) checked, verifies current income and available liquid assets, and answers any specific questions the underwriter may ask in order to be given pre-approval of the loan. Then the lender will wait to receive a copy of the accepted purchase contract (hopefully soon) and the preliminary title report on the property, so they can schedule an appraisal and be ready to issue loan documents shortly thereafter.

The absence of any financial issues in the purchase contract is a great comfort to the seller. I have often seen perfectly well-qualified and capable buyers lose out to an investor’s all-cash bid simply because the “regular” buyer had not obtained full loan approval and asked for 17-30 days for that as a contingency.

A higher price that a potential buyer is willing to pay will in most cases trump emotional appeals such as family photos or personal letters.

However, sometimes a buyer with a totally “clean” offer will feel safer to a seller than will another buyer who offers more money but has longer contingency periods or perhaps a more difficult loan to obtain. Michael Edlen has been involved in nearly 3,000 contract negotiations and counseled nearly 400 buyers in their successful purchases of homes.

Having been ranked among the top 100 agents in the country, he and his team are available for buyer consultation appointments and glad to share lessons and tips that may be helpful to buyers achieving their goal. He can be reached at 310.230.7373 or michael@michaeledlen.com.

in News
Related Posts

Metro LA to Begin Ticketing Bus Lane Violators with Camera Enforcement

February 17, 2025

February 17, 2025

Motorists Parked in Bus Lanes Will Face $293 Fines For Each Infraction Drivers who park in bus lanes will soon...

The Department of Public Health to Hold Virtual Town Hall on Post-Fire Air, Soil, and Water Safety

February 17, 2025

February 17, 2025

LA County Officials Will Discuss Environmental Testing, Recovery Efforts The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health will hold a...

Los Angeles County Launches $32.2 Million Relief Grant for Wildfire Victims

February 17, 2025

February 17, 2025

Eligible Households Affected by the Palisades Fires Can Apply Soon The Los Angeles County Department of Consumer and Business Affairs...

Culver City Police Seek Suspect in Weekend Battery Incident

February 17, 2025

February 17, 2025

Man Accused of Assaulting a Victim is Still at Large Authorities are asking for the public’s assistance in identifying a...

(Video) Enjoy Beach Proximity and Prime Amenities at Ocean View Hotel

February 17, 2025

February 17, 2025

For More Info, Go To Oceanviewsantamonica.com For More Info, Go To https://t.co/RmxV3mgYCs pic.twitter.com/30oSvl7Zvf — Westside Today (@WestsideLAToday) February 17, 2025

Deadly Stabbing Outside Popular Santa Monica Bar on Saturday

February 16, 2025

February 16, 2025

One Man Killed, Another Injured in Early Morning Attack The Bungalow, a popular restaurant and bar in Santa Monica, was...

Iconic Gloria Vanderbilt Estate Hits the Market for the First Time in 72 Years

February 16, 2025

February 16, 2025

Historic Beverly Hills Mansion With Star-Studded Past Listed at $16.5 Million For the first time in 72 years, the historic...

Melrose Avenue Businesses Forced to Close After Floodwaters Inundate Stores

February 16, 2025

February 16, 2025

Heavy Rains Turned Melrose Avenue Into a River, Causing Severe Damage  Heavy rainfall in the Fairfax District caused flooding on...

State Farm Faces Scrutiny Over Emergency Rate Hike Request From State Official

February 16, 2025

February 16, 2025

Commissioner Lara Demands Answers on Financial Stability and Consumer Impact California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara has responded to State Farm’s...

UCLA Suspends Pro-Palestinian Student Groups Following Protest at UC Regent’s Home

February 13, 2025

February 13, 2025

Chancellor Cites Potential Student Code Violations; Student Groups Reject Allegations UCLA has suspended two pro-Palestinian student organizations following a protest...

Flash Flood Warning Issued for Burn Areas, LAFD Officer Swept off Road by Debris

February 13, 2025

February 13, 2025

Storm Damage Closes Pacific Coast Highway, Officials Urge Caution Not even members of the LAFD are being spared from the...

Culver City Police Investigate Disturbing Incident in Culver City Park

February 13, 2025

February 13, 2025

Police Secure Area as Investigation Unfolds on Thursday Morning The Culver City Police Department received a call around 7:23 a.m....

Here are Your Last Minute Ideas if You Still Haven’t Planned Your Valentine’s Day Date

February 13, 2025

February 13, 2025

Luscious Cookies, Delightful Drinks, Full Dinners at Home or In House, We’ve Got Them Okay, maybe you have been a...

Beloved Baldwin Hills Family-Owned Restaurant Post & Beam to Close After 13 Years

February 12, 2025

February 12, 2025

Community Icon Shuts Doors as Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza Redevelopment  In yet another loss for the Los Angeles culinary community,...

Santa Monica Hotel Event Space Offers Affordability, Accessibility

February 12, 2025

February 12, 2025

Elevate Your Events with Versatile Venues and Exceptional Service Coastal stays and eclectic event spaces don’t have to be expensive....