- All homes listed on the Final Offer platform must be listed with a licensed real estate agent or broker. Sellers and their agents execute the Final Offer Seller Agreement, committing upfront to sell the home to a buyer that makes an offer that meets or exceeds their listed pricing and terms.
- Listings can include a seller’s Minimum Committed Offer, a seller’s Final Offer, or both. The Minimum Committed Offer is comprised of both the minimum price and terms that the seller has committed to accept so long as it is the highest offer that has been made when the Offer Window expires. The seller’s Final Offer is comprised of the price and terms that the seller has committed to accept immediately. It gives buyers the option to make the Final Offer and take the home off the market instantly. Neither of these prices need to match the MLS List Price.
- If the Minimum Committed Offer is enabled, the seller’s agent sets the duration of the Offer Window. The Offer Window clock will start counting down when either an offer is made that meets or exceeds the Minimum Committed Offer OR the seller’s agent sets it to end on a certain date and time. Whenever a Committed Offer is made within 20 minutes of the Offer Window ending, the clock will reset to 20 minutes.
- All buyers must have their Buying Power approved prior to making offers on a property by either uploading an existing pre-approval letter or proof of funds, or by being approved by one of Final Offer’s lending partners.
- Buyers and their agent must execute the Final Offer Buyer Agreement, committing upfront to purchase the home if they make the Winning Offer.
- All offers are visible online and users can save homes and searches to receive offer notifications in real-time.
- An offer made that meets or exceeds the seller’s Minimum Committed Offer Price and is accompanied by acceptance of the seller’s Offer Terms is known as a Committed Offer, where both the seller and buyer have committed upfront to sell/purchase the home if the offer ultimately becomes the Winning Offer. The price and terms of Committed Offers are always displayed publicly.
- Prior to a Committed Offer being made, negotiation can occur. Buyers can propose an offer with a different price and terms than the seller’s Minimum Committed Offer. This Proposed Offer will be reviewed by the seller and seller’s agent, and can be accepted, countered, or declined. All interested parties are alerted in real-time that an offer has been proposed, but the price and terms are not displayed publicly by default.
- When negotiating, sellers can accept a buyer’s Proposed Offer outright, making it the Winning Offer immediately. The seller can also counter and present the buyer with one or two options: “option A” being an updated Minimum Committed Offer that if the buyer accepts, will start an offer window counting down until the specified date and time, and “option B” being a price and terms that if the buyer accepts will immediately make it the Winning Offer.
- If the buyer accepts “option A”, the public listing will be updated with the buyer’s Minimum Committed Offer price and terms. Any interested buyers will be alerted and can make higher offers for the duration of the Offer Window.
- The seller’s agent can change the Offer Terms during the Offer Window. Any interested buyers will be alerted in real-time and must accept the new Offer Terms when making a Committed Offer from that point forward. If the Offer Terms are changed within 20 minutes of the Offer Window ending, the clock will reset to 20 minutes and the Offer Terms cannot be changed again until a higher offer is made.
- The seller’s agent has full control to add, remove, or change the Final Offer Price, and to change the Final Offer Terms prior to the Offer Window ending.
- Once the first Committed Offer is made, the Total Offer Value of subsequent offers must be at least 0.5% higher than the last offer.
- The Total Offer Value is what is used to compare buyers’ offers. It is calculated by adding or subtracting the value of a buyer’s Accepted Terms with their Offer Price.
- The Offer Price is what the buyer will pay to the seller if their offer becomes the Winning Offer. The Value of Accepted Terms is used to compare offers on a level playing field based on what terms the seller cares about most.
- The Winning Offer can be made in one of three ways: (i) buyer’s acceptance of the seller’s Final Offer; (ii) if no buyer accepts the seller’s Final Offer, an Offer that meets, exceeds, or is otherwise deemed by the seller to satisfy the seller’s Minimum Committed Offer and has the highest Total Offer Value at the expiration of an Offer Window; or (iii) buyer’s submission of a Proposed Offer that is accepted by the seller. The Winning Offer Agreement is generated and accepted automatically by the seller and buyer, based on the price and terms of the Winning Offer.
- If applicable, the winning buyer and their agent must submit a sales contract, within the agreed upon timeframe, to the seller’s agent for ratification. From here, the seller’s and buyer’s agents proceed to finalize the transaction as they normally would. The Final Offer platform has completed its role making the process simple and transparent for the seller, buyer, and agents.
- If applicable, the winning buyer is required to submit payment for their Deposit as specified in the Winning Offer Agreement.
Effective Date: March 31, 2023