Accepting A Preemptive Provide vs. Itemizing On The Open Market
If you resolve to promote a home, you may encounter a preemptive provide—a bid that arrives earlier than you listing publicly on the open market or attain your set provide due date. This situation usually unfolds in a sturdy market or when your property is very wanted.
It’s a tempting but difficult state of affairs: Do you settle for the early provide or forged a wider internet and maintain out for one thing higher? You see this dilemma play out in skilled sports activities on a regular basis. Some gamers guess on themselves and reject assured life-changing cash for hopefully extra. However it would not all the time work out as.
This text dives into that call, drawing from my very own expertise, that will help you weigh your choices. In the end, your purpose is to promote your property for the best worth doable on the time with the least quantity of complications.
My Journey: Choosing a Preemptive Provide
In 2025, I made the decision to promote my previous home after renting it out for a 12 months. I’d bought a bigger dwelling a couple of years again and had an attachment to the previous place.
However life was pulling me in too many instructions: managing a number of rental properties, elevating children, writing on Monetary Samurai, and ending my USA TODAY bestseller, Millionaire Milestones. Promoting the house to somebody who’d like it as a lot as I did felt like the proper transfer. Plus, renting out single-family properties at that worth level wasn’t delivering an attractive-enough internet rental yield.
In the end, I accepted a preemptive provide earlier than itemizing on the A number of Itemizing Service (MLS). It wasn’t a simple selection. The choice gnawed at me as a result of I used to be dying to see how the home would fare within the open market.
Settle for A Preemptive Provide Or Listing On The Open Market
Right here’s the detailed thought course of that led me to simply accept the preemptive provide, damaged down into seven steps to assist information your personal choice.
Frankly, to get the best worth, most sellers ought to listing on the open market—however solely if they’ve a reliable agent, a strong advertising plan, and a sexy listing worth. Opening up your property for the world to see can backfire. The very last thing you wish to do is worth too excessive and have your property sit for months.
Accepting a preemptive provide, like going the twin company route when shopping for, could profit extra skilled sellers. Nevertheless, even for those who’ve offered a number of properties earlier than, accepting a preemptive provide is playing that may lead to leaving cash on the desk.
Let me evaluate the steps I took to resolve on which path to take.
1. Select a High-Tier Agent To Enhance Your Probabilities Of Getting A Preemptive Provide
Our first transfer was hiring a high agent—one rating within the high 10% of our native market based mostly on gross sales quantity. Why? We needed somebody with a deep community, a stellar observe document, and the flexibility to maneuver a property quick. That experience got here at a price: We paid a fee 0.25% larger than a competing mid-tier agent.
A key perk of going with a top-tier agent was their entry to the High Agent Community (TAN), a personal group connecting elite realtors.
Our technique hinged on leveraging TAN. Earlier than exposing the home to the open market, we’d broadcast it to this unique community of over 500 of the highest brokers. It was a approach to dip our toes in, testing demand with out committing absolutely.
Right here’s why that mattered: When you listing on the MLS, the clock begins ticking. Day-after-day previous two weeks in the marketplace chips away at your last gross sales worth as consumers begin questioning what’s unsuitable with the place. By utilizing TAN, we might market the property discreetly with out beginning the official clock.
In addition to, the highest 10% of brokers deal with 80–90% of all dwelling gross sales in our space. Meaning you’re getting in entrance of the vast majority of severe consumers whereas avoiding many of the looky-loos and tire kickers.
When you’re aiming for a preemptive bid, I like to recommend partnering with a top-tier agent who’s plugged into TAN or an identical community. It’s like having an inside observe earlier than the race even begins.
2. Simpler To Experiment With Pricing Technique Off Market
Pricing a house is an artwork kind, and there are three broad approaches:
- Listing means under market to ignite intense demand and spark a bidding battle.
- Listing slightly below or at truthful market worth as an in between
- Listing above market, hoping to snag somebody so enamored they overlook the premium.
With 22 years of shopping for and promoting actual property beneath my belt, I consider pricing 5% to 10% under truthful market worth usually works finest. It’s a magnet for hopeful consumers, creating competitors. In the event that they fall in love—and plenty of do—paying an additional 10% to twenty% doesn’t really feel like a stretch.
We toyed with itemizing our dwelling at $1.99 million, roughly 15% under the $2.3 million I believed it might doubtlessly fetch in a public sale. The purpose? Draw a crowd and let the bids climb. However there’s a danger: Worth too low, and a few consumers balk at leaping far above asking, which is why we did not go for choice #1.
We constructed a modern web site for the property—full with images, a digital tour, and a narrative about its attraction—and listed it on TAN at $2.095 million, 8.8% under that $2.3 million goal. This softened the leap to $2.3 million in comparison with a $1.99 million begin. Nevertheless, it additionally filtered out consumers capped at $2 million, which reduces potential demand.
Observe: These numbers are illustrative, not my precise sale figures, to make the instance concrete.
3. Negotiating To Push The Preemptive Provide Increased
Negotiation is the place offers are gained or misplaced, and a actual property love letter can tip the scales. When you’re promoting, write a heartfelt word about what you like about the home and why it’ll swimsuit the client. When you’re shopping for, clarify why it’s your dream dwelling and also you’re the right match. These letters forge emotional connections—essential in a numbers-driven recreation.
Your purpose as the vendor is to lock in your potential purchaser and make them negotiate with you.
I’ve been writing on-line since 2009 and have three bestselling books to my identify, so I do know the facility of phrases. As the vendor, I crafted a seven-page love letter, pouring in all the pieces: the house’s finest options, my favourite recollections, even my tackle robust native financial tendencies.
The consumers—a pair anticipating their first youngster—responded with their very own letter. As mother and father who’d upsized after our second child, we immediately related over that shared milestone.
Preliminary Provide And A Counter
Their preliminary provide was $2.2 million, 4.8% above asking, however under my $2.3 million purpose. I countered at $2.36 million—7.2% larger—bundling it with a two-page letter thanking them, reinforcing our household bond, and justifying the value with market information.
They got here again at $2.25 million a day later. Progress! It was so near my attain goal of $2.3 million, and I used to be tempted to simply accept. I had 24 hours to reply earlier than deciding whether or not to go on the open market or not. Throughout this time, I agonized within the scorching tub whether or not it was value pushing for one final counter or danger having the consumers balk and stroll away.
The Ultimate Counter
The following night, whereas having fun with some tacos in Lake Tahoe after an epic day of snowboarding, I felt assured that the connection we’d constructed by way of our letters would maintain the potential consumers engaged, even when I made one last counteroffer. Extra importantly, I knew I’d remorse not a minimum of asking.
So I responded by way of my agent with a “finest and last” provide of $2.315 million, $15,000 above my unique stretch worth. Simply half-hour later, my agent known as: they’d accepted. I ordered a margarita to rejoice.
Had they held agency at $2.25 million, I might’ve walked and gone to market. However $2.315 million nudged simply previous my $2.3 million purpose, and that was sufficient to seal the deal. In a means, I felt like $15,000 was like free bonus cash I might use to assist pay for closing prices or spend money on the markets.
Negotiation isn’t simply concerning the numbers, it’s about making a connection. That private contact might be the tipping level when {dollars} alone gained’t transfer the needle. Personally, I really feel significantly better realizing I’m promoting the house to somebody who will really profit from it and admire it. If I had sensed the client was an investor simply trying to flip it, their provide wouldn’t have carried the identical weight.
4. Setting a Minimal Preemptive Provide Worth
Earlier than you skip the open market or forsake a proposal deadline, set up your must-have worth. If the preemptive provide doesn’t hit or exceed it, listing publicly. It’s that straightforward. For me, that quantity was $2.3 million (sticking with the instance). When the preliminary provide of $2.1 million got here in, I used to be happy to have a bid however not thrilled.
A talented agent can steer negotiations, however ours was skeptical. She doubted we’d clear $2.2 million, not to mention $2.3 million, estimating $1.95 million (solely 6.6% above our 2020 buy). She pegged 2020 because the market peak, however I strongly disagreed. This disagreement made me query whether or not to rent her. I’d been deep within the 2020 trenches—touring properties, submitting affords, monitoring comps. I had to determine whether or not she was simply managing expectations or actually believed in her pricing thesis. I hoped for the previous.
I knew values had continued to extend from 2020 till 2022, light from 2022 till 2H 2023 after the Fed elevated charges 11 occasions, then rebounded aggressively in Spring 2024. So, I took the reins, utilizing my letters and pricing technique to push us to $2.315 million.
In case your agent would not combat aggressively for you, you have to achieve this your self or discover a new agent. After all, you may be unsuitable, and finally pay the value by way of wasted time and promoting for a cheaper price. Mine was just a little stunned concerning the preliminary 7-page letter I wrote, as she’s by no means had a consumer write one like this earlier than. However I believed in my technique. As a possible purchaser, I wish to know all the pieces there’s concerning the property, together with what was mounted and upgraded. So I knew the client would admire the main points I supplied.
Your minimal is your anchor. Set it thoughtfully, and don’t budge until the provide aligns together with your targets.
5. Analyzing Latest Comparable Gross sales
I didn’t pluck my aspirational promoting worth of $2.3 million out of skinny air. It got here from poring over comparable gross sales (comps) from the previous 12 months—properties offered, listed, and in escrow. The brisker the info, the higher. The trickiest half? Estimating what properties nonetheless in escrow will shut at, since brokers guard these figures till the ink dries. An skilled agent with a powerful repute can pry out that intel, supplying you with an edge.
I realized a similar-sized dwelling close by fetched $2.45 million—effectively over asking. I beloved my place extra, however its location close to the MUNI station in a trendier neighborhood near all the pieces added a premium to individuals who want or wish to work eternally or cannot do business from home. With that comp drawing 12 affords, I figured mine might pull a minimum of three and climb to $2.3 million.
Then got here a curveball: A “scorching dwelling” comp—a full intestine transform—listed at $2 million on Redfin acquired zero affords the day after my $2.2 million bid arrived. Smaller, with inferior views, and fewer outside house, I’d anticipated it to promote for $2.1 million. Its flop rattled me. If it couldn’t fetch even one provide at its $2 million asking worth after two weeks in the marketplace as a “scorching dwelling” on Redfin, perhaps it’d promote for $100,000 much less. Doubt seeped in, and I trimmed my minimal threshold worth from $2.35 million to $2.3 million.
Comps are your compass, however markets can shift quick. One of many best dangers sellers have is being overly biased on how superior they suppose their house is. Identical to the flexibility to purchase the dip requires eradicating emotion, so does promoting a home for the utmost worth.
6. Evaluating the Provide Past Worth
Worth grabs headlines, however a proposal’s “cleanliness” could make or break its enchantment. Past the greenback quantity, you’ve acquired to scrutinize the closing timeline, contingencies, and any circumstances tied to the acquisition. These components decide how seemingly the deal is to shut—and the way a lot stress you’ll endure alongside the way in which. Let’s break it down.
Most dwelling gross sales shut in 30 to 45 days, usually saddled with contingencies: inspection (consumers can again out or demand repairs if points come up), financing (the deal hinges on their mortgage approval), and even dwelling insurance coverage these days.
Some consumers toss in additional wrinkles, like needing to promote their present dwelling first—a domino impact that may delay or derail all the pieces. Every contingency is a possible snag, a thread that might unravel the sale.
The Close to-Excellent Provide
The dream provide? All money, no contingencies, and a lightning-fast shut. Why? It’s as near a certain factor as you get. No financial institution can deny a mortgage; no inspection can spook the client into renegotiating. Money cuts the danger to close zero.
However there’s a catch: Money consumers know their provide’s attract, in order that they usually bid decrease, banking on sellers prioritizing certainty over high greenback. You may face a dilemma—say, a $2.35 million financed provide with contingencies versus a $2.3 million money provide that’s clear and fast. It’s a trade-off between maximizing revenue and minimizing danger.
I’ve purchased properties each methods—money and loans—so I’m much less dazzled by money than some sellers. At closing, the cash hits your account both means; whether or not it’s from the client’s pocket or a financial institution’s doesn’t change the end result.
A financed provide with no financing contingency (which means they waive the mortgage approval escape hatch) can rival money’s reliability. Nonetheless, I get why sellers swoon for money. There’s a psychological consolation in realizing no lender can meddle.
Then there’s the closing timeline. A brief shut—say, 10 or 15 days—slashes your carrying prices: property taxes, mortgage curiosity, or misplaced rental revenue. It additionally shrinks the window for catastrophe. Promoting a home is nerve-wracking—contingencies amplify the anxiousness.
Throughout escrow, chances are you’ll begin imagining worst-case eventualities: a pipe bursts mid-escrow, or, the home burns down earlier than closing, voiding the deal. The shorter the escrow, the much less time you spend sweating these hypotheticals.
Exhausting To Move Up Our Provide
Our provide was a magnificence: all money, no contingencies, and a 10-day shut. After countering twice, I acquired to my aspirational gross sales goal determine, so I accepted.
Was $2.315 the best doable worth? I am going to by no means know for certain. However its cleanliness tipped the scales. Velocity and safety outweighed the prospect of compacting out a bit extra on the open market.
When evaluating your provide, don’t simply chase the quantity. Weigh how “clear” it’s towards your tolerance for danger and delay. Something, from a forest hearth to a burst pipe might occur throughout escrow.
7. Counting Your Affords (Two Or Extra Is Best)
Ideally, you need a preemptive provide so good which might be keen to forgo a a number of provide situation for those who listing on the open market. Even higher is receiving a number of preemptive affords, a uncommon situation. It’s a vendor’s dream, like an public sale unfolding in your favor.
With only one preemptive provide, it is a lot more durable to resolve. It’s important to analyze the chance the preemptive provide, a hen within the hand, might be larger with higher phrases than all different unknown affords sooner or later. You’re the one who has to create competitors, stoking need and concern of lacking out (FOMO) to push the bidder larger. It’s a harder recreation, requiring finesse, salesmanship, and perhaps even a little bit of bluffing.
We listed on TAN for every week, casting a large internet amongst high brokers. I’d hoped for a flurry of curiosity—perhaps two or three affords. However we acquired only one provide. Every week’s a good window; most consumers want extra time to tour, crunch numbers, and commit. Nonetheless, that lone preliminary bid at $2.1 million gave us one thing to work with.
In Search For Extra Affords That Did not Come
With solely 24 hours to reply, we didn’t sit idle. My agent despatched a blast to TAN: “Provide incoming—any takers?” We hosted personal showings for her high shoppers, hoping to drum up a rival bid. Sadly, nothing in writing materialized. The silence was deafening, particularly with that “scorching dwelling” comp worrying me—it listed at $2.04 million and acquired zero affords regardless of its buzz.
Did I actually wish to roll the cube, spend a minimum of two extra weeks advertising the home on the open market, hope that robust affords would are available in, after which cross my fingers that we selected the proper one? Or did I wish to go along with the strong provide in hand and maintain issues easy? I selected the latter.
When you’re caught with one provide, don’t despair. Use your agent’s community, sign urgency, and negotiate laborious. However for those who can’t spark a second bid, you’re betting on that lone horse—be certain it’s a winner. When you do not just like the preemptive provide, then check the open market as an alternative.
Was It the Proper Name To Settle for A Preemptive?
Taking a preemptive provide leaves you questioning: What if I’d gone to market? Perhaps a wild purchaser with an inexperienced agent would’ve inspired their consumer to pay means above market. I’ve seen it occur a number of occasions earlier than.
Put up-deal, I believe I might’ve squeezed $20,000–$40,000 extra, however I feared shedding the deal totally if I squeezed too laborious. The very fact of the matter is, you’ll all the time ponder whether you possibly can have gotten extra after you’ve got agreed on a promoting worth. It is simply human nature.
My mission was simplifying life, and I did. I reached my aspirational gross sales worth purpose and reinvested the home sale proceeds into shares, Treasury bonds, personal AI corporations, and personal actual property. It feels good to earn 100% passive revenue once more and never need to take care of tenants or upkeep points.
Most House Sellers Ought to Listing On The Open Market
In conclusion, until you and your agent know your native market inside and outside—and tips on how to worth accurately—itemizing your property on the open market is the safer guess.
So long as you don’t botch the pricing or advertising, the open market is one of the best ways to find out your property’s true market worth. Even for those who do mess issues up, the market will finally dictate what your property is value.
I’d solely think about accepting a preemptive provide if:
- You’re an skilled vendor who is aware of the market inside and outside
- You’ve a powerful community of actual property brokers and consumers
- You worth privateness and discretion over receiving doubtlessly high greenback
- The provide meets or exceeds your aspirational open market worth
- You’ve doubts about getting a greater provide
- You wish to save time and scale back uncertainty
As I become older (and hopefully wealthier), I place a larger premium on simplicity. I instructed myself that if I might get a minimum of a sure worth, I’d promote—and I did. And keep in mind, I’m an actual property fanatic who visits open homes each weekend for enjoyable and market analysis.
Positive, making extra money is all the time good. However at this stage of life, a clean transaction holds much more worth. And who is aware of, had I handed on the preemptive provide, the consumers may need moved on and by no means submitted a bid as soon as I went to market. I might have ended up with just one provide under what they initially proposed.
I’ll by no means know for certain. However what I do know is that this: locking in a win at your aspirational worth isn’t a loss.
Readers, have you ever ever accepted a preemptive provide when promoting your own home? If that’s the case, how did you identify whether or not the provide was adequate? On the flip facet, have you ever ever made a preemptive provide to purchase a home and felt you secured a greater deal due to it? What different methods ought to sellers and consumers think about to make sure they get the very best final result?
When you’re trying to spend money on actual property passively, try Fundrise—my most well-liked personal actual property platform. Fundrise focuses on high-quality residential and industrial properties within the Sunbelt, the place valuations are decrease and yields are larger. After promoting my home, I invested a portion of the proceeds in Fundrise.
Some industrial actual property valuations have dropped to ranges close to the 2008 monetary disaster lows, regardless of in the present day’s stronger financial system and more healthy family stability sheets. Seeing this as a chance, I’m dollar-cost averaging into the sector with my home-sale proceeds whereas costs stay enticing.
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Deciding On Whether or not To Settle for A Preemptive Provide is a Monetary Samurai unique submit. All rights reserved. Monetary Samurai started in 2009 and is the main independently-owned private finance website in the present day with ~1 million pageviews a month. All the things is written based mostly off firsthand expertise and experience.
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