It can feel frustrating to dream about your ideal home and then struggle to actually find this home. This frustration is especially real in places like the Seattle area, where the highly competitive real estate market takes some patience (and amazing real estate agents!) to navigate. Because they understand that, for some individuals, dream homes aren’t always where they expect, Pickett Street is able to help their clients purchase off-market homes.
While you might be thinking that an “off-market” home involves chatting with a trench-coated individual in some dark alley, the actual process is much more straightforward. I was recently able to chat about buying an off-market home with Pickett Street’s wonderful buyers agent Nicole Leong. Here’s what she had to say.
(For more about finding your own off-market home, get in touch with Pickett Street at (425) 502-5397 or info@pickettstreet.com.)
- What exactly is an “off-market” home?
An off-market home is a property that has not been listed anywhere. In an off-market real estate transaction, the seller might consider selling their home if presented with an acceptable offer.
Nicole points out that an off-market home is different from a “for sale by owner,” or FSBO, home, which is a property that the owner is actively trying to sell on sites like Zillow or Craigslist, without the help of a real estate agent.
2. Why is buying an off-market home sometimes helpful?
Nicole says that off market properties are great for buyers because the buyers are competing with a much smaller buyer pool and can often avoid a multiple-offer situation. Additionally, while there is still some negotiation over the price, the buyer will not have to deal with escalation clauses thousands of dollars over the asking price.
Buying off-market also works best for sellers who want flexible time frames and a low stress process; in this kind of transaction, sellers are not locked into a listing time frame with the associated deadlines for details like photographs, cleaning, staging, and open houses.
3. How does Pickett Street help clients find off-market homes?
According to Nicole, to find off-market properties, Pickett Street is constantly networking with other agents and sellers through social media, mail campaigns, and old-fashioned door-knocking. Purchasing an off-market property can occur in the same time frame as purchasing a listed property, and isn’t any more, or less, complex.
Nicole says, “We’ve been able to help clients in many different situations purchase off-market properties from investors, out-of-state buyers, retirees, and others. As the Puget Sound real estate market continues to be competitive, we’re seeing more buyers look for off-market options, so our team is constantly looking for potential properties that may match our buyers’ needs.”
Nicole adds that Pickett Street always encourages everyone to have representation in their real estate transactions. In off-market home purchases, Pickett Street’s buyers’ team will represent the buyer, while their listing team helps the seller, if the seller would like this assistance.
To contact the team and get started finding an off-market home today, contact Pickett Street at (425) 502-5397 or info@pickettstreet.com.