What is a Preemptive Offer?

A “preemptive offer” in real estate is a strategy used by a buyer to make an offer on a property before the scheduled offer date. In a typical home buying process, the seller sets a specific date for accepting offers from potential buyers. However, if a buyer is very interested in a property, they may make a preemptive offer to the seller before the scheduled offer date. The purpose of a preemptive offer is to try and secure the property before other potential buyers have the chance to make an offer, potentially resulting in a bidding war and driving up the price.

Preemptive offers can be attractive to sellers because they provide the opportunity to sell the property quickly and avoid uncertainty in a market that is changing daily. Sellers are not obligated to accept a preemptive offer, and may choose to wait until the scheduled offer date to consider all potential offers.

Benefits to a buyer include: securing the property, not being in a bidding war, saving time and effort, they feel empowered if their strategy is successful, and they have a great story to tell! There are risks though, which include: their offer being rejected, “showing your hand”, limited time to do due-diligence, and they might overpay, but will never really know it.

It’s important to have a Realtor partner that can advise you on if/when a preemptive offer is a good strategy. It’s most successful when a person LOVES a home and feels deeply inspired to own it and they listened to their Realtor about how much $$ it would take to inspire the seller to take it off the market. Your agent needs to be savvy and creative to pull this off with you. When it comes together, it can be a beautiful win-win for both buyers and sellers!