Modern Problems Require Modern Solutions: Creative Offers that Sealed the Deal

When COVID-19 struck the United States in March 2020, everyone was certain the housing market would tank; instead, it thrived. Mortgage rates hit record-lows, high-income earners were less impacted than low-income earners, and COVID-related concerns paired with various other market conditions resulted in record-low inventory of homes for sale; conditions were ripe for housing prices to skyrocket and skyrocket they did. Today, multiple offers well over asking price have become the norm, and people are becoming increasingly creative in getting the homes they want. To quote the now meme-ified Dave Chapelle skit: “modern problems require modern solutions.” This article will briefly discuss a few of the more outlandish offers buyers have made to “sweeten the pot,” and get their dream home.
In one instance, there were two competing offers of $15k and $25k over asking price. However, the $15k over asking offer included 10 Ethereum coins (about $40k at the time, and $25k now). Naturally, the seller took the $15k + Ethereum coin offer. The takeaway here is that sellers are open to offers that have a component of risk (e.g., if the sellers held onto those coins, they’ve made less money than they could have).
In another instance, a buyer took advantage of the massive difference in median housing price between San Francisco, California and Austin, Texas. To seal the deal, the buyer offered to purchase the seller’s home and buy the home the seller was moving into. As an initial matter, the Buyer didn’t want to offer the full amount he spent on a single home out of concern that this would cause property taxes to skyrocket, so this offer was a way to keep costs down and still give the Seller the same amount of money. Some people may think the Buyer made an ill-advised deal, but those people are probably unaware of just how much property costs in San Francisco. From the Buyer’s perspective, they spent $700k for two homes, after selling their own home for well over $1M; the home they wanted was worth the $700k expense, and they still had money left over.
There are other instances where a would-be buyer offered another potential buyer $100k to walk away from the house; as long as everything is above-board, this can be an effective method of getting the house you want. Ultimately, getting creative with your offers can have a serious impact on the process.
At the Chernov Team we understand that knowledge is power, and knowledge of out-there-but-successful offers is powerful knowledge indeed. At the Chernov Team we know that whoever comes to the table most prepared leaves with the most, and the Chernov Team always leaves the table with the most.