Choosing the Best Offer for Your Home

The time has come. The preparation leading up to listing your home, all of the showings, and you finally have a purchase offer in hand. If you are lucky enough, you have multiple. Now, it's time to evaluate. Have a plan for reviewing purchase offers so you don't let the best slip through your fingers.

UNDERSTAND THE PROCESS

When an offer is received, there are a number of options available for what to do next:

• Accept it
  • Accept all terms “as is” and move forward with the sale of your home.
• Reject it
  • The offer just wasn’t what you are looking for. This could potentially spark the buyer(s) to bring their best offer to the table next time around. But you’ll also want to review the purchase offer thoroughly to make sure you aren’t passing up on what may be the best offer you receive.
• Counteroffer
  • The offer has peaked your interest. Some terms you like, some terms your dislike. Maybe the purchase price was spot on, but their closing date is too far away. Put together a counteroffer with modified terms.

SET BASELINES

An open discussion with your Realtor is a must. All parties need to be on the same page regarding what is most important to you in the sale of your home. For instance, if you list the home without appliances but know that you can be flexible and potentially include them in the sale, that is a good negotiating tool to be made aware of. Creating a list to rank these things may not be such a bad idea.

DON’T TAKE OFFERS PERSONALLY

Selling your home can be emotional. It’s the place you have lived and made memories in for an extended period of time. But selling your home is a business transaction, and you should treat it that way. Some feedback from buyers may be tough to read, but it’s important you listen to it. Choosing to acknowledge the feedback and understand it can go a long way for negotiating a deal and bringing it together.

REVIEW ALL TERMS

Of course, the purchase price stands out. But how much is the earnest money deposit? How long is their inspection timeframe? When is the targeted closing date? Are they including all of the appliances in their offer? Review. Every. Single. Detail.