On occasion, we will be blogging to share some of the experiences our clients have had over the years in hopes of giving our readers insight into different elements of the real estate market—after all, learning from other’s experiences helps us understand how we can best meet the needs of our clients. We hope these entries will help our clients navigate the sometimes turbulent, tricky, exciting East Bay real estate market.
This one features Dakin Ferris and his family and focuses on the buying side of real estate. Here is how the purchase of a home unfolded for them:
One gorgeous Rockridge afternoon, my wife and I got an email from the Motley Team forwarding another broker's new "for sale" listing. We didn't know Simon and Saraya, but liked their newsletter because of its local coverage. Something intrigued us about the listing, so on a lark, we decided to put in a low-ball offer. After losing some heartbreaking deals primarily because we weren't using a broker, we decided it was time to take the plunge and get help. We felt it was only fair to use Simon on this one because the Motley Team had brought the house to our attention.
Later the next day Simon called and said our offer was one of the finalists, but that there were higher bidders. We offered to increase our bid, but much to our surprise, Simon turned us down and said he thought he could win the deal without having to pay more. He then recited the specific flaws of the other broker’s approaches to the bids they were offering—comments which, at the time, I took with a grain of salt.
It wasn't until after we won the bid that I realized how good Simon was. He called it perfectly. He didn't increase our bid and we likely got it for the lowest possible price. But it was more than that. It was very clear that we won the deal because the bids were all close enough that the seller wasn't choosing us....they were choosing our broker and his approach to the bid. In addition to Simon helping us give a strategically smart offer, he also helped us because he had a great relationship with their broker!
Our territory is the greater East Bay and we would be happy to chat with you if you are interested in buying or selling a home. Please get in touch!
