Put Every Offer in Writing — Even the Low Ones

Buyer Tips  |  Bryan Gold, FT Laud Homes

If you take one thing from this post, take this: a verbal offer is easy to dismiss. A written offer starts a negotiation.

I see it all the time. A buyer floats a number over the phone — maybe a low one — and the seller or their agent puffs their chest out. "No way. Not even close." End of conversation. Nothing was ever really on the table, so nothing had to be taken seriously.

Things change when something is in writing.

A verbal offer isn't really an offer

Here's the part most buyers miss: the price is only one piece of an offer. A real offer also spells out things like:

• Whether you're paying cash or financing
• The financing contingency and what happens if the loan falls through
• The inspection period and your right to walk away
• Deposit, timelines, and closing terms

A number tossed out over the phone conveys none of that. A seller might reject "$450K" verbally but seriously consider $450K cash with a short inspection period and a quick close. They can't weigh what they can't see.

A real example from one of my listings

On one of my current listings, a buyer without an agent came in with a low offer. I could have brushed it off. Instead I said, let's write it up.

I put the low offer in writing and presented it to my seller. My seller countered. The buyer countered back. The seller countered again. The buyer came up. They met in the middle — and we're under contract today.

The psychology behind it

Sellers know what they'd actually accept — but they'll act like they want more, hoping you'll negotiate against yourself or back off because you "don't want to offend them." A written offer cuts through the posturing. It puts a real decision in front of them, and their counter tells you what the other side actually wants.

Worried a low offer will insult someone? It won't kill the deal. Silence kills deals. Paper starts them.

The bottom line

Put every offer in writing — even when it feels low, even when you think it won't go anywhere. That's how I work, on every deal.