Three offers in one week: why we won two and walked away from one

Last week I negotiated on three properties for three different clients at the same time. We secured two of them and deliberately walked away from the third. The interesting part is not the scoreboard, it's what the two wins had in common, and why walking away from the third was still the right call.

Win one: timing the offer, not just making it

The first was a two-bedroom apartment for a client searching around Newtown and Alexandria, listed with an agent who typically runs everything to auction. Our strategy was to find out whether the owner would consider an offer before auction, and critically, when in the campaign that moment would arrive. For most owners and agents, it comes after the second Saturday open. Offering before then rarely works in a buyer's favour.

So we did our inspections, completed our due diligence, and waited for that point. I knew one other party was interested, but the agent mentioned they were also considering a cheaper property. That told me their budget likely topped out below ours. I also let the agent know in advance when to expect our offer and roughly where it would sit against the guide, and asked him to get his vendor ready to accept it. You do not want your offer floating in the universe for 48 hours while the owners think about it.

The other party lodged a low offer the same day, which was rejected outright. That gave us a clear floor. We came in just above it, pitched at the level where the owner was seriously considering selling. They made one counter, we closed it down quickly with a small increase, and secured the property within an hour of our offer going in.

The walk-away: when the value stops stacking up

The second client engaged me to negotiate on two properties. The first fell over quickly. Another party was too far advanced, and the strata report revealed a scheme that had just spent $1.7 million on a purely aesthetic facade uplift while multiple balconies with failed waterproofing, previously quoted at around $3 million to fix, sat unresolved. That is not a well-run or well-prioritised strata, and I told my client I would not buy it.

The second was a Redfern house sold as a deceased estate with four vendors. It presented well online but needed extensive renovation in person, and the numbers backed that up: 55 groups through, only three back for a second look. We again worked with the agent on timing. Another buyer offered just over the guide five days out from auction. We sat on it for eight hours, then countered at a level designed to get the owners to a yes without overpaying.

A third party emerged with a strong offer. We ping-ponged a couple of bids, but with a heritage conservation area requiring DA approval for any renovation, difficult site access, and a small upstairs needing an extension, the value simply ran out. On paper my clients could have kept going. Our comparable sales research said the price no longer stacked up, so we walked away. That discipline is as much a part of my job as the wins.

Win two: certainty is a currency

The third was a house my clients had already identified. Their solicitor had no regard for time being of the essence, so I moved fast: an independent building inspector through on the Saturday with a same-day report, and one of my regular solicitors brought in to review what was not a straightforward contract. It was Torrens title with a shared driveway under a neighbourhood association, not a strata.

The vendors were motivated but had not yet bought elsewhere, and the agent was firm on the asking price. We did not see value there. Our first offer was strategically low without being offensive, purely to draw out feedback on how far under asking they would genuinely go. We adjusted, then went best and final at $50,000 under asking. They knocked it back four times. I stood firm.

What got it done was certainty. We had the independent building report, a 66W to waive cooling-off, and a 90-day settlement so the vendors could find their next home. I had also been upfront the entire time that this was one of three properties we were pursuing in parallel. When the vendors were finally ready to say yes, we were the offer they could act on immediately.

The lesson: your goal is not to put in an offer

Your goal is to get your offer accepted. Before you put anything in writing, ask the agent: is the owner in the headspace to accept an offer? When in the campaign are they most likely to say yes? And if they would not accept my offer today, why not? The two properties we secured were the two where our price landed at the owner's appetite to sell and we avoided a bidding war entirely. The one we lost went to a bidding war, and the moment value disappeared, so did we.

Ready to make a move?

If you want someone running this strategy for you, timing, positioning, due diligence and all, book a call with me here: https://calendly.com/purchasewithpenny/buyer. I would love to help.