OIEO- the worst tactic still being used...

OIEO – the worst tactic still being used…

“Well, what price do they want?” Asks an educated & frustrated buyer who knows what it stands for…

“Do you think it will work?” Asks a hopeful seller who has been told it’s the best tactic to achieve them over their (already inflated) asking price.

“What does it mean?” Asks a confused first-time buyer still wet behind the ears.

Offline Interest Equals Opportunity?

Open Inside England Only?

Obviously It’s Elephants and Ostriches

Sound ridiculous? Well, “Offers In Excess Of” is what it actually stands for, and it sort of is ridiculous.

Don’t get me wrong, it can work it the right circumstances. I often give sellers my “eBay analogy” – I have a good-as-new handbag worth £600 that I want to sell on eBay and am only expecting to break even if at all. I put it on at 99p, set the closing date of the bids for 2 weeks’ time and watch the bids steadily increase until the final few seconds when someone slips in with a final bic of £601. Win.

Put the same handbag on with an asking price of £500 and you’ll be lucky to get even close to that. There’s no eye-catching headline price to get people’s interest peaked.

The same can work in the property world – properties where there is BIG opportunity for a buyer  to extend, completely renovate, the worse house in the best road kind of thing. Properties where, our experience as agents tells us, demand is going to be HUGE. Afterall, everybody loves watching Grand Designs.

So, let’s say we have one of those – a do‘er upper. As it stands worth £500,000. Once renovated, could be anything from £600,000 - £900,000. We market it at “OIEO” £450,000 and book an open house for 2 weeks’ time  for the 30+ enquiries with a 48hr deadline for all best & final bids. We make sure every single potential purchaser has been qualified, and understands the house, the vision, and the process. In all likelihood, someone with the means to take on a project will see the long-term value, will have done their research, and will come in slightly over the real market value of £500,000 to make sure it’s theirs. Win.

 When is it not so successful? … there are two other (wrong!) ways to use it.

1.    When it’s plonked in front of an already over inflated asking price.

2.    When it’s plonked in front of price that has just been reduced (see point 1 above) You see, It was easier for the agent to get the price reduction this way, with promises that it will sell over and above the reduced price this way. It won’t.

Buyers either don’t understand the acronym, or don’t understand what the seller is looking to achieve, so are intimidated to view, let alone make an offer. It makes them question the seller’s motivations. “Why don’t they just say what price they want?”

With an abundance of buyers and a shortage of properties right now, play it clever – you want to find the right, committed buyer. Not one panicking to buy, who may pull out 6 weeks down the line when they realise they overpaid because of the tagline your agent convinced you to use.

"Only If Everyone Offers" is how it should be used… think Grand Designs opportunities only.