How Small Investors can Craft a Winning Offer Strategy

Small investors like you are competing for deals on Sundae’s marketplace. Crafting a winning offer strategy gives you an advantage over your competitors.

Investors from across the country join Sundae’s marketplace to save time and find more deals. Finding a deal is a great starting point, but that doesn’t guarantee you’ll win. To get the most out of Sundae’s marketplace you need to understand how to place winning offers.

Those who understand the strategies behind placing offers have distinct advantages over other investors. This article highlights three tips that successful investors use on our marketplace.

Offer early

When investors see a property come onto the marketplace, they lack a sense of urgency. In fact, 32% of investors wait until an hour before the deadline to place their offer. This is a losing proposition. More than 25% of sellers accept one of the first few offers they receive. If you want to maximize your opportunity to win deals, you need to make offers early.

This landlord accepted an early offer

A landlord in San Antonio, TX was anxious to sell his property. It had been destroyed by problematic tenants, causing him stress day in and day out. It was time for the headaches to be over.

Shortly after listing the property on Sundae the first offer came in for $30,000. Then, a second for $80,000. The landlord was thrilled to take it, although his Investor Advisor counseled him to wait for more offers. Post-COVID, we are seeing more small landlords sell with urgency. Oftentimes, these are properties with non-performing tenants.

Sellers like this one often have a pressing motivation that causes them to value speed over price-optimization. For some it’s their retirement strategy. For others it’s the fear of 1031 exchanges or other tax benefits going away. In these cases, investors on Sundae win by offering early.

If you wait, you risk forgetting, so here’s a pro-tip: make an offer as soon as you can, even if conservative. You can always increase your offer later when you have more time to underwrite.

Offer often

It’s hard to know whether to stick with one offer or to make multiple. In this competitive real estate market, investors need to be comfortable making offers early and often.

Real estate in 2021 has seen rapid appreciation across the country. Flipping rates increase as home price appreciation rises, meaning that more investors enter the market. With year-to-date appreciation at 19.5%, flipping has become even more competitive. It takes more offers to win properties in this environment.

Related: What Kinds of Homes Get the Most Offers?

Streamline the offer process

Sundae is delivering you more vetted, off-market properties than any source you’ve ever had before. You need to develop your own system to process it efficiently. Here are some pro-tips that you can use to streamline your offer process:

• Use the“Love” button. Save properties you might want to make an offer on later. You can view properties that you love under “saved opportunities.”
• Stay plugged in. Some properties are published real-time throughout the day. Being logged in as often as possible helps catch these.
• Email your Investor Advisor. Send them the details of your “strike zone” so they can send you new listings as they pop up.
• Create a recurring calendar reminder. Other properties are published in batches at 12 a.m. PST (yes, midnight). With a reminder, you’ll remember to check first thing in the morning every weekday to review these new listings. The best way to determine which are new listings is to sort by the “ends” column.
• Review the Daily Digest email. It’s sent twice per day at 9 a.m. PST and 3 p.m. PST. In these emails, we highlight new listings in your primary market. Make sure your Primary Market is set correctly in your account profile.

By leveraging these tips, you’ll be able to systematically review opportunities and place offers when applicable.

Small investors win big

Get an inside look at ways for small investors to win on Sundae’s marketplace. Sundae’s lead economist Polina Ryshakov and CEO Josh Stech talk at length about their offer strategies and ways to streamline the offer process. Watch the “Win Bigger” webinar to get key insights and learn how to employ winning offer strategies to grow your business.