If you want to list your home, offers that lead to a successful transaction are the goal. Offers tell you that your home has caught a buyer's eye, and that can be extremely encouraging for a seller. Whether the offer is considered a good offer depends on several factors, so read on and learn more about accepting offers.
Set the Price Based On Good Advice
List prices are not just based on how much you believe your home is worth. A consultation with a real estate agent will get you some facts about the local housing market and what to expect in terms of your own listing price. The agent may perform some research of recently sold homes that are just like your home and relatively nearby. This is known as comps and can help you understand how homes just like your own have sold. You might know, for example, that a home very much like your home sold a few weeks ago for a certain sum and was listed for a certain time period. You should also take into consideration your current mortgage balance. Once you have a selling price in mind, set the listing price a bit higher to allow room for negotiating downward.
Setting an Offer Deadline
Consult with your agent about offer deadlines. An offer deadline opens a limited time window when you are accepting offers. All offers submitted within the time frame may be considered. Doing it this way ensures that you can review several offers at the same time and compare the offers along with other factors. Just be aware that some buyers don't like limited time offer deadlines and may move on to sellers that are more open to offers at all times.
Evaluating Buyers
Along with the offer price, you might want to understand a bit about the buyer, particularly their ability to get lending. Some buyers come ready to go, with a lending preapproval in hand. You might want to consider those buyers ahead of others. You don't want to take your home off the market and be deprived of a viable buyer if the buyer cannot get financing.
Evaluating Contingencies
Some contingencies are to be expected. A home inspection, appraisal, and approved lending are two common contingencies. If a contingency is not met, from either the buyer or seller's perspective, the sale could be in jeopardy. If issues crop up after an offer is accepted, work with your real estate agent to resolve them and to save the deal.
To find out more about what goes into accepting an offer, or other questions about residential reality, speak to a real estate agent.
