{"id":2396,"date":"2026-04-06T11:04:58","date_gmt":"2026-04-06T15:04:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.chrisanncleland.com\/?p=2396"},"modified":"2026-04-06T11:04:58","modified_gmt":"2026-04-06T15:04:58","slug":"3-offer-strategies-that-can-backfire-on-buyers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.chrisanncleland.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/06\/3-offer-strategies-that-can-backfire-on-buyers\/","title":{"rendered":"3 Offer Strategies that Can Backfire on Buyers"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Image Courtesy of Long & Foster<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

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3 Offer Strategies that Can Backfire on Buyers<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When buyers have found a home they wish to purchase, the next step is making an offer. Buyer agents take a look at the most recent comparable sales and let their clients know what the most likely sold price range will be for that home of interest. Buyer agents will also let their buyer-clients know any strategies they may advise in making that offer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unfortunately, while all strategies that have been employed over the years have their upsides, they also have their downsides. The three strategies outlined below, I have personally seen used in making offers on my listings, only to backfire on the buyers in seller favored markets. While they are used to keep costs low and pressure buyers into a quick decision to avoid multiple offers, many sellers and their listing agents can see through them when they are not used properly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Image Courtesy of Home Visit<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

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#1 – STATING INTEREST IN ANOTHER HOME<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many a time as a listing agent, I have received an offer from a buyer’s agent with the message, “They are also interested in another home. Please let us know as soon as possible if this will work so we can move on to that one.”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

On its surface, and being a completely honest statement, that is effective at letting the listing agent and seller know you don’t want your time wasted and would like a yes or no so you can move on. If a buyer is not going to be competitive in a multiple offer situation, I let the buyer’s agent know when this has been expressed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When this tactic backfires is when it is being used to make a seller feel pressured to accept the offer. Typically, you can spot the less than honest usage, when it is coupled with a buyer’s agent that badgers the listing agent over and over for a response. The other property of interest will also become the reason the buyers offer can’t be higher. “They like your home, but if it were like the home listed down the street, they would offer more. If you don’t accept our offer, they are going to make an offer there.” <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maybe there is too much smart a** in me, but my brain always wonders, “Why aren’t you making the offer on the home they really love, then?”<\/em> When I listed my own home for sale and this tactic was deployed on my husband and me. We did not like the feeling that a buyer was having to have their arm twisted to love our home. When working on behalf of a seller, I pass along the message along with a professional decoding of its most likely meaning. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Image Courtesy of Long & Foster<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

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#2 OFFER DEADLINES<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If there is one strategy I have seen used more widely in the seller favored market conditions since 2020 in Northern Virginia, it is the use of the offer deadline. Buyers often request if they can put in a deadline into an offer when I am helping them draft one. I give them the wisdom of my real estate experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For deadlines to be taken seriously, they must not be so short that the seller has no time to even consider the offer. Just because a buyer makes an offer at 2pm does not mean that the seller will be able to view it within an hour or two, or even the same day. Furthermore, offers with deadlines really should have something tempting for the seller to accept vs. waiting for more offers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just like buyers with agents working on their behalf, sellers with listing agents are informed of the market conditions and are made aware if multiple offers are a possibility for their property. Deadlines are typically used strictly to attempt a quick take down at what is sure to be a home that attracts multiple offers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a listing agent, when I have a seller that receives offers with deadlines, the first question typically asked of the buyer’s agent is, “Will the buyer still be interested in purchasing the home after the deadline if it is available?”<\/em> The answer is usually yes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The worst example of a backfire here is when this strategy was used by a buyer agent and their buyer on my listing who also pitted another property against my listing. When another offer threatened to come in, I made sure that offer came in before the offer deadline of the first offer. The second offer was better and sellers accepted it. Buyer’s agent was furious and insisted to know why didn’t we call them? Answer was that they made it crystal clear the reason they had a deadline was to act on another property if we hadn’t responded, so with five minutes to spare before the first offer expired, my seller clients ratified a better offer. That scenario described above also used strategy #3.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Image Courtesy of Long & Foster<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

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#3 BUYER CAN NOT GO ANY HIGHER<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If there is one strategy that I can not stand, it is the strategy of pushing the idea that a buyer can not go any higher in negotiations. When a buyer’s agent says this to me and it isn’t true, they have lied. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A fresh example of this is on my own listing. My husband and I had one offer in hand. When the second offer called to inquire if we had any, we were told it was the highest the buyers could go. The agent calling ahead to see if writing it up was a waste of time gave us the impression it was 100% true. At the time, submitting that offer was not a waste of time, until a third offer came in and beat that second offer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the second buyer’s agent was informed they had lost to a higher offer, he lost his ever-loving mind. His buyer, in fact, could go higher. How dare I not call him. His client was now going to fire him and you know whose fault it was? According to the buyer’s agent, it was mine. Since I was only going on the information I was given, I fail to see how it was my fault, but the buyer’s agent was angry, as was his buyer, that they can had been caught misusing a tactic that backfired on them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you tell me that your buyer can not go any higher and stress it in our conversations, I am going to believe you. I am also going to pass it along to my sellers. Why on earth would you counter offer a buyer who has maxed out with what they can offer?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo Taken by Chris Ann Cleland<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

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Making offers on homes is stressful, but I know first hand you do not have to lie or misrepresent what a buyer can do to get them under contract. Be honest with your buyers about market conditions. Be up front with listing agents. And here’s an idea, make a great offer! Don’t wait to tell the listing agent what your better terms could have been when they are calling to inform you another offer was chosen. If a buyer wants a home and is competing to get it, using tactics to manipulate a desired outcome that assumes that the seller is ill informed that their home will be attractive and receive multiple offers, is not a good idea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When you are ready to buy a home, I don’t advise playing games with sellers or their listing agent. Let’s talk about what works to get my buyers the homes they love, and keeps them from flailing angrily because chasing the unlikely outcome that a lower offer would work in a seller favored market blew up on them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Great outcomes start with excellent representation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

3 Offer Strategies that Can Backfire on Buyers When buyers have found a home they wish to purchase, the next step is making an offer. Buyer agents take a look at the most recent comparable sales and let their clients know what the most likely sold price range will be for that home of interest. Read More …<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,19,20,33,542],"tags":[21,50,23,51,156,157,229,239],"class_list":["post-2396","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-home-buying","category-bristow","category-gainesville","category-haymarket","category-prince-william-county","tag-bristow-va-buyers-agent","tag-bristow-va-listing-agent","tag-gainesville-va-buyers-agent","tag-gainesville-va-listing-agent","tag-haymarket-va-buyers-agent","tag-haymarket-va-listing-agent","tag-manassas-va-buyers-agent","tag-manassas-va-listing-agent"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chrisanncleland.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2396","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chrisanncleland.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chrisanncleland.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chrisanncleland.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chrisanncleland.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2396"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.chrisanncleland.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2396\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2406,"href":"https:\/\/www.chrisanncleland.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2396\/revisions\/2406"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chrisanncleland.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2396"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chrisanncleland.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2396"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chrisanncleland.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2396"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}