How to Field Real Estate Offers and Negotiate a Great Home Sale
Selling
Your home is on the market. The listings are up.
It’s time to start fielding real estate offers and make the sale.
All About Selling Your Home and Making a Deal
If you’re already getting offers, that’s great news. If you’re still waiting for a buyer to take the bait, hang tight. Get prepared for dealing with offers so you can make the best home sale possible.
What’s Your Home Sale Timeline?
When you’re patiently waiting for offers, you could be in one of two scenarios.
- You have time to let the offers come in for review because you’re in no hurry.
- You need to get your house sold, fast, and thus need to move quickly once you start getting offers.
If you’re in the latter camp, then it’s smart to set a deadline to push the sale forward. This gives you a cut-off for accepting offers. It means you won’t be wasting time and holding out hope that the next offer that comes along – whether in a few days or a few weeks – will be even better.
This waiting game can stretch out if you keep setting your eyes on a bigger and better deal. A deadline forces you to be realistic.
Understand the Important Elements of an Offer
An offer isn’t just about price. The overall amount includes many components that you need to understand.
Closing Assistance
Sometimes, a buyer can’t afford both a down payment and closing costs. In these instances, especially in the cases of first-time buyers, they may ask you to cover two to three percent of the amount. If you agree, this cuts into the total amount of your sale.
Financing
The buyer needs to have adequate financing, and it needs to be verified. If you accept an offer without assurance of financing, you may find that it falls apart because the buyer can’t come up with the cash.
Closing Date
An offer includes the buyer’s preferred closing date, or when they’ll actually get into the property. Don’t just accept anything when it comes to timelines – especially if you need to be out quickly. Your timeline and the buyer’s timeline need to match up on some level.
Contingencies
Contingencies give the buyer an out if something happens that’s less-than-ideal. For instance, most buyers make an offer with the contingency that the home passes an inspection.
When to Make a Counter Offer
If a buyer comes in with an offer that’s lower than ideal, or they want more help with closing costs than you can afford, you can always counter.
It’s a good idea to counter if the offer isn’t quite what you want, but make sure you don’t get too greedy. Consider the buyer’s offer from their perspective. You can make some concessions on costs if, say, you come back with contingencies that benefit you. For instance, you can ask the buyer to skip the inspection to help move the sale along.
Understand Real Estate Offers to Make a Good Deal
When you understand the components of negotiating a home sale, you can more easily choose an offer that benefits you. Just remember to stay realistic, set a deadline, and be positive. Soon, you’ll be accepting an offer and getting ready to close.
