“Now is the time to buy!” 

We have a great client who is ready to buy;  she has a pre-approved loan; 20% down payment which is a rarity in this market; nothing to sell — so she is a non-contingent buyer; she can be flexible on her closing time.  A slam-dunk buyer. 

Lets back up a bit before we continue.  The average days on the market in Camarillo for the past six months has been 85 days.  Plus we had been told, per the listing agent, that the seller had secured a replacement property and was motivated to sell.

So, wouldn’t you think receiving an offer after less than 10 days on the market would excite the seller?  Apparently not. 

Without giving the details of the very solid offer with no contingencies, I get a call telling us that the seller “has decided to counter full price.  She does not want to negotiate.  She wants to give it more time on the market.”

MORE time on the market?  Does she not know that usually your first offer is your best offer?  Doesn’t she want to ‘play ball’?  Give us something to work with?  The longer a property sits on the market, the seller’s bottom line goes down.    

We can understand that the sellers are not in a hurry to sell.  When we are the listing agents, we always encourage a seller to make a counter offer.  You never know how things will eventually play out.  An offer is much more than a purchase price as evidenced by the multiple pages of a purchase offer.  It is called negotiation. 

Just checked the MLS, the house is still setting there un-sold……….