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Selling Your Home: All About Counteroffers
The immediate thought when you receive an offer is should I accept it? You've made all the necessary fix ups, found a great real estate agent, and listed your property. Now you have a buyer willing and able, what should you do?
If the buyer is offering less than your terms, you may want to reject the offer. However, if you think it may be the best offer you're likely to get, you may want to accept it outright, or give a counteroffer. If the offer is for the full asking price, you'll definitely want to accept it. If the market is a seller's market, and you think you'll get higher offers, you may want to reject even above market value offers. Be careful if you do this, depending on some listing agreements, rejecting a full price offer can force you to still pay your agent a commission anyway. Making this important decision requires that you understand decision the offer completely, and the local market.
The offer is presented in written form, usually referred to as a sales or purchase agreement. The document is typically several pages long, and contain lots of fine print. The offer is intended to be a legally funding contract.
It must contain concise language, and no loop-holes for either the buyer or the seller. This contract or boilerplate is so important that its written the agents or the real estate board attorneys. The agent fills in things such as the addresses of the property, the asking price, amount of the deposit, and the amount financed. All the other information is already written on the contract and all an agent does to make them apply is check the correct boxes and sign. Once you have read the contract thoroughly once or twice you can usually make sense of it. Look at all the factors including financing, down payment, deposit, time of occupancy, and any contingencies. If there is anything at all you don't understand, check with your agent or attorney. Remember, once you sign you are legally bound by the terms of the agreement.
A contingency in an offer is when the buyer says the purchase is subject to something. An example of a common contingency is that the purchase is subject to the buyer being able to obtain necessary financing. Most offers actually contain contingencies that protect the buyer. The most common include a professional home inspection contingency and a terminate clearance contingency.
Normally, a counteroffer is accompanied by a time limit. You can give the buyers a month, week, or an hour. Most advise not to give them too much time, though. This forces the buyers to make a decision, and not waste your time if they aren't truly interested.
Once the buyers have established that they are interested in buying with their initial offer, now your ready to negotiate prices and terms.
In times of selling a property, an experienced agent's invaluable advice should have a sense of how much more they may pay or what terms they might agree to. When selling your property, it's always advisable to have an experienced real estate agent backing you through the entire process.
About the Author: Published by Joe and Colleen Lane, Realtors®. The Lane Real Estate Team services Tri City Wa Real Estate, Kennewick Wa Real Estate, Pasco Wa Real Estate, Richland Wa Real Estate, and surrounding Southeastern Washington Communities.
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