Congratulations! You’ve received an offer on your property. But how do you know if it’s the best possible offer for you? Your REALTOR® will be your guide: they’ll take you through it step by step, review all the pros and cons, and make recommendations based on your personal situation. If there are multiple offers, they’ll walk you through each one, highlighting your best options, and negotiating on your behalf to get the best possible result.
Knowing that, there are still things you’ll want to be prepared for when the sale gets to this point, including price, conditions, and even how serious the buyers are.
How much are they offering?
This is the first thing most people look at, and with good reason. Everyone wants to maximize their return on investment, but the amount shouldn’t be the only factor you consider.
Are there conditions?
An offer to purchase will often come with conditions, which can include:
Financing
If a buyer hasn’t been pre-approved (or they aren’t approved for the amount they’re offering), they can make their offer conditional on getting a mortgage. There’s some risk to the seller here: if the buyers don’t qualify, the deal will fall through. A lower offer that’s firm (no conditions) can be a better option for sellers than a higher one with a financing condition.
Inspection
Having an offer that’s conditional on inspection adds risk. If the inspection identifies an issue, the deal could fall through. For that reason, sellers might choose an unconditional offer, even if it’s slightly lower than a conditional one.
If the buyers end up backing out, that will mean your property goes back on the market, and there’s the possibility the listing will get stale and future offers will be impacted as a result.
Closing date
You might get an offer that’s conditional on the sale of the buyers’ previous home, or one that wants to extend or shorten your stated closing date. If you’re willing to accept an offer with a closing date that doesn’t line up with what you want, you have a number of options, all of which your REALTOR® can help you figure out.
Who’s making the offer?
Is it an individual or a corporation? For some sellers, knowing whether the offer is coming from a family or a developer can also make a difference. It can be hard knowing your place might be torn down, and nice to know another family will enjoy the home you’ve loved.
How serious are the buyers?
The offer might come with a higher-than-standard deposit, and even have a deposit cheque attached (especially if there are multiple bidders). There may be a personal letter explaining why they want to buy your home—maybe they’re looking for a backyard for their kiddos, or they’ve been dreaming about living in your building. Both are signs that buyers are serious. This can be advantageous as a seller, because it means you’re dealing with people who are just as eager to get the deal done as you are, and there may be some flexibility or room for negotiation.
Accepting, countering, or rejecting the offer
Once you’ve reviewed an offer with your REALTOR®, you have three options:
Accept. Say yes, ensure any conditions are met, and proceed with the sale.
Counteroffer. You can sign the offer back to say you want more money or request that they waive conditions. They can accept your counter or submit their own counteroffer. This is where a REALTOR® really comes in handy: negotiation continues until one party accepts or rejects without countering.
Reject. You can simply say no to an offer.
When it comes to selecting the best offer for your home, you need to consider a myriad of factors. Your REALTOR® will help provide context to everything you look at, and give guidance based on their expertise.