Monthly Archives: May 2023

Title: Top 3 Reasons Your Offer Did Not Get Accepted

Making an offer on a property can be an exciting yet nerve-wracking experience for prospective buyers. However, it can be disheartening when your offer is rejected, leaving you wondering why it wasn’t accepted. In this article, we will explore the top three reasons why your offer may not have been accepted. Understanding these factors will help you navigate the real estate market more effectively and increase your chances of securing your dream home.

The certainty of the deal making it to the closing table is just as important, if not MORE important, than the price you are willing to pay for the home.

This seems to be overlooked for new homebuyers making offers for the first time. They think price matters more than anything. However, it doesn’t matter what you claim to be willing to pay for a house if you can’t prove that you can come up with the money when the time comes. Contingencies can also be scary. Contingencies create more potential situations that can force a deal to not close and a seller to waste 30 days or more of their time.

Let’s start with the obvious.

Reason 1: Inadequate Offer Price

One of the most common reasons for an offer rejection is an inadequate offer price. Sellers naturally want to get the best possible price for their property, and if your offer falls significantly below their expectations, they may reject it outright. To avoid this, for gods sake don’t make the rookie mistake of asking your agent “let’s just bounce a lowball offer off of them and see what happens” while sitting in the middle of a competitive seller’s market.

I’ll tell you what happens if you can handle the spoiler alert. Your offer gets rejected, another offer gets picked, and you don’t get an opportunity to counter higher. You’re out. People don’t appreciate their time wasted and will likely gravitate towards offers that feel more respectful of their time and energy. In a buyer’s market you can get away with disrespectful offers but you need to know when you are and when you aren’t in a buyer’s market.

Reason 2: Financing and Contingencies

The certainty of the deal making it to the closing table!

Another factor that can lead to offer rejection is related to financing and contingencies. Sellers often prefer buyers who present solid financing options and have minimal contingencies. If your offer is contingent upon the sale of your current home or if your financing is uncertain, it may make the seller hesitant to accept your offer. Examples of uncertain financing are lenders with little to no reputation or offers being submitted without pre-approval letters.

Yes, your choice of lender matters more than you think and I don’t just mean interest rates. If you pick a lender with a very solid reputation in the real estate community, your offer will have a greater likelihood of being accepted. Why is this you ask? Because you’ve raised the certainty of the deal making it to the closing table.

Reason 3: Poorly Executed Offer/Rookie Mistakes

Believe it or not, this gets overlooked yet it’s so easy to prevent. If you submit an offer with multiple omissions, misspellings, or without any additional proof of funds or pre-approval letter, it will make your offer far less compelling. You need your offer to look professional. Why you ask? Because it raises the certainty of the deal making it to the closing table. Have I gotten that point across yet?

Long story short, make sure to take the extra time to review your offer for mistakes. Correct all your spelling and don’t miss any tax id numbers if the real estate comes with additional parcels. Submit all additional paperwork in the same email and make it easy to find things. These little things also establish some personal connection, and honestly it can really go a long way in improving your chances of acceptance.

Recap

While having your offer rejected can be disappointing, understanding the reasons behind it can help you navigate the real estate market more effectively in the future. Inadequate offer price, financing and contingencies, and the lack of a professional looking offer are three common factors that can lead to offer rejection. By researching the market, ensuring strong financing options, and establishing some authority, you can increase the likelihood of having your offer accepted. Stay persistent and keep searching for the right opportunity, and soon enough, you’ll find the perfect home or investment opportunity.

It’s Got History.

I grew up in Taylor and occasionally ate pizza down the road at a place called Marsico’s Restaurant. That was many years ago, and the place has changed hands a few times since then. Ten years later, it’s now for sale and my curious mind couldn’t help but want to see what the inside looked like.

Admittingly, I don’t have much experience in the commercial real estate space. I’m a business/stock nerd, but unfortunately just haven’t had the opportunity to sell many commercial locations. Interestingly enough, I live down the street from this listing, so I figured it couldn’t hurt to check it out.

At the time of this writing, this is a listing by Bluestone Realty Group, and the listing agent (Margaret Farley) was kind enough to grant me access to take a look at this unique place. It was a tax shop most recently, and the new owners appeared to have moved on to another location.

Two Separate Offices.

These are some pictures I took when I first entered the building. What’s interesting in that there are multiple tanning beds scattered through the building. The place was once a tanning salon, as well as a tax shop I suppose. According to the MLS, the tanning salons do not come with the sale of the place but can be negotiated.

 

Three Separate Meters?

I was a bit confused because I saw three meters when I initially surveyed the place. I was hoping to find an additional unit tucked away somewhere. I found a door on the side of the building but it only led to storage. It’s seen in the video that I’ll include below. I later found out it was servicing a garage out back.

More Property Than What Meets The Eye.

It’s worth mentioning that the house next door is also owned by the same owner of the commercial location and he is open to including it as a package deal. I believe there’s some property in the back as well. Between the offices, storage space, single family residence, and possible acreage behind it all, it could be a nice addition to a portfolio.

I give you a tour of the offices below, as well as the official listing and floor plans. As always, reach out if you have any additional questions. I’ll include some helpful info below as well.

Check out the official listing here.

Floor Plans Here.

Email: Bryan@Blueshieldproperty.com

Video from my visit here: https://youtu.be/TJJ-crC5GZk

Sometimes big risk brings big reward. It’s tough to always predict the outcome. I had an opportunity to check out a large four unit building in Scranton and I couldn’t believe how big it was. It’s got a bit of a history though.

Say Hello To 121 Ferdinand Street, Scranton.

She sure isn’t what she used to be.

We were asked to investigate this place with the hopes that the repairs would be under 100k, making this a fantastic opportunity for the investor who inquired.

It’s currently listed as a four unit property. It’s massive, measuring over 5700+ square feet and it’s listed at a current purchase price of $129,000, as of the date of writing this article. The units are big and would fetch a decent amount in rent.

If you can’t tell from the picture, there’s a yellow sign on the front door that says “Condemned”. That’s right, the city of Scranton officially declared it unlivable and it hasn’t been inhabited in quite some time. It’s currently owned by the bank.

When I was asked to look into the records as to why it was condemned, this is what I found.

When asked to investigate, I coordinated with a group of handymen that we have worked with many times in the past.

We started by going into the basement and looking for the big red flags. We were surprised to find that it was relatively clean and dry, however, it was a literal maze. It seemed way too easy to get lost in there.

 

 

We did eventually find five electric panels in relatively good shape. Not sure why there was five but we suspected there might have been an additional unit. The bad news, most of the copper pipes had been removed and the whole house likely needs new plumbing. It’s unconfirmed what happened to the pipes.

 

We eventually found our way out and investigated the upstairs. It turned out to be cleaner than we expected. Again, the place is enormous and felt too easy to get lost in.

Is it worth it?

It’s currently listed for 130k. In my opinion, It’s got a lot of unknowns and I’d probably want to try and get all the repairs and costs below 250k total. The condemning status seems easy to remove by adding water to the units after renovations.

The place was clean inside and I don’t foresee any issues with making it habitable again. It’s just a matter of how much the rehab will total out to be.

I don’t expect it to be easy regardless. It’s a big project that will likely takes months to complete.

Here is a link to the listing if you want the details. 

Want the MLS sheet? Here you go.

If you think it’s something you’d like to tackle, feel free to reach out for more information.

Email: Bryan@blueshieldproperty.com

Additional Pictures and Video From The Day We Entered:

A Fresh One On The Market.

Curious about investing in real estate? Consider this promising investment opportunity located in Pittston, Pennsylvania. This is your average duplex property that is in relatively good condition, providing a great chance for investors to earn a steady flow of passive income.

Like all other properties in this area, it’s older, however, Pittston is an ideal location for those looking for an investment property in a community that is close knit and thriving. The area has it’s own rich history. In this article, we’ll provide an overview of the investment opportunity and why you should consider investing in this duplex property.

 

See the Official Listing Here

What I like about it:

Pittston is a cool city and it’s easy for me to get and keep tenants. Parades happen there, farmer’s markets, events, all types of things happen on the main road of Pittston. Neighborhood is no issue.

Price is also no issue. At 100k, the numbers look pretty promising. If repairs remain modest over time, the investment opportunity is a no brainer. One initial issue is the utilities. As of now, only the electric is separated into two separate meters.

The water and gas are currently shared and taken care of by the owner. Getting that remedied would be ideal, so I included that in the up front costs. As always, I run my estimates assuming financing with 20% down. Everyone’s situation is different.

 

See the PDF version of the full spreadsheet here.

Total taxes for the year are $1951.02.

I included some rehab to account for splitting up those utilities and doing some cosmetic upgrades (if needed).

Parking tends to be an issue in Pittston but this place is listed as having off street parking. That in itself is also a huge plus.

What I Don’t Like:

I wish the utilities were already split up. Obviously that’s a headache that will need to be addressed. If you don’t mind including it as a monthly expense, you can shave off the rehab cost and include it in your monthly expenses. The numbers should still be pretty good. You can always address it later when the timing is better.

Although one of the units is a three bedroom, the other unit is only a one bedroom and appears to be pretty small (552sqft). It can still rent if it’s updated, but it’s definitely not ideal.

Overall:

It seems pretty hard to lose money on this one in the long run. Especially if you were to somehow get it cheaper than the original listing price. The rents will average out well about $1500. However, it’s likely that it won’t be the best performing property in your portfolio either. Nonetheless, a good deal isn’t as good as a great deal, but it’s better than no deal at all.

Want to know what the owner disclosed? See the Seller’s Disclosure here.

Need to see the listing sheet? Here you go.

Want to see this property in person or get info on any others?

Get in contact.

Email: bryan@blueshieldproperty.com