Saving a client £25k in under 5 minutes…. And the mistake the agent made?

I wish it were something really clever and my genius, but, it’s not. It’s just because I deal with these things all the time.

A client I sold a home for in Southbourne was moving out of the area. Deal was done on the sale. Now to find.

When out viewing, they found a home they absolutely loved—like REALLY loved. They put in an offer on the spot at £450k…. it was on at £485k, but they did feel it was a bit overpriced compared to the others they’d seen. But it was definitely the best house.

Agent came back to them and said “It’s yours for £475k. Deal done.”. This area wasn’t Southbourne. The home had been on the market for a few weeks so hadn’t flown out. I got a call from my client updating me on the situation. I asked them if they trusted me and could I have 5 minutes before they agreed to the £475k. They were ready to do it.

I gave the agent a call and 3.5 minutes later they called my client back and accepted the offer of £450k.

The giveaway from the agent was that they hadn’t officially rejected the offer of £450k. I call this ‘wanting a free shot’ and is a good giveaway. I simply called the agent to confirm the first offer had been officially rejected as my client was weighing it up against another home now…. they had a bigger decision to make by officially rejecting the offer. No free shot.

Would you have noticed that detail? Would you have saved the £25k or given it away? If you’d have done something different and you’re planning on moving soon, it’s probably worth us having a chat.

There are 100’s of these moments throughout a sale and they’re all worth money in your bank.