Handling Rejected Offers

Hearing “no” again and again can be really challenging, especially when it comes to trying your hardest to purchase a home in CA. The defeat many buyers feel when it comes to bidding wars is one of the hardest things about buying a home in CA. 

Between increased home prices in CA and decreased home inventory, buyers can find themselves downtrodden in their dreams of becoming homeowners (even if it’s for the second or third time). In fact, many buyers who already own homes get frustrated more quickly because they’ve gone through the process before and are ready to upgrade. 

Homes are often put on multiple websites and by the next day they’re pending sale. This can be heart wrenching for hopeful prospective buyers that weren’t quick enough. There are also the homes that last longer on the market and people have been able to see at showing or open houses, that perhaps buyers get attached to only to enter bidding wars, or see the home sold outright for higher than asking prices. 

What a lot of this comes down to is how quickly you can qualify for a loan, and how “on-it” your real estate team is. In busy markets like so many today, there’s little to no room for biding your time. 

It’s vital to keep perspective when you keep getting turned down. First of all, as hard as it is, try to remain grateful that you’re able to look into purchasing a property in CA in the first place. There are many people who are never able to be homeowners. Secondly, and thankfully, a bit easier, hold onto the perspective that what’s meant to be will work out, and more homes will continue to come available.

If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. This isn’t ideal or very fun, but it truly is the only way that buyers are going to successfully purchase homes in CA.

The good news is that people are moving more than ever right now and also new homes are being built at an exceptional rate, so very rarely will buyers have to wait too, too long to get their sets of keys to their new homes. Continuing to keep an eye out and making offers is the straight and narrow path to escrow. 

It’s important to be flexible in your thinking. Having one’s sights set on an open floor plan, a single story home, or no need to repaint, will get buyers stuck pretty quickly. In any market, but especially competitive ones like we’re seeing so much of currently, there must be room for flexibility. Going into a home with an open mind is crucial to visualizing what the space can be when the owner’s furniture and family photos are long gone. While some factors may be non-negotiable, it’s best to keep that list down to the core needs that you simply cannot live without–3-5 maximum is a good place to start. 

Thinking about what a home could be instead of what it is, maintaining perspective about the realities of the market, and persistence are the three key ingredients to weathering the storm when your offers are not getting accepted time and time again.