How to Choose Between Multiple Home Offers
It is not uncommon to receive several offers from interested buyers on your home. The seller’s market has been going on for over a year now and many sellers are faced with several interested buyers all putting in an offer to purchase their home. While it’s a good problem to have, it could be a little bit of a stressful one, and how do you know which offer really is the best?
Here are some tips to help you prepare to choose what offer to accept should you get into a multiple offer situation with your home sale.
Start with the price, but don’t just pick the highest number
Of course, the offer that has the highest amount of money is going to grab your attention the most. After all, you are hoping to make as much money off of your home as possible to be able to turn around and invest it in a home you really love or maybe to downsize and stash away for other important things. The highest bidder however might not be the sweetest offer of them all. Maybe the person offering the most money is mortgaging all or a portion of the home and they may not be able to qualify for the amount needed that they have offered.
In addition to looking at the amount offered, make sure to review the terms of the entire contract with your real estate agent or another real estate professional like an attorney. You will want to look at details like how much cash they plan to put down on the home or how much earnest money they’re offering.
Look over the contingencies
Many times, when a buyer puts an offer on a home, they will include a few conditions that need to be met in order for the deal to finalize. These conditions are known as contingencies in a contract and can include receiving approval for a mortgage, the home passing a professional inspection, the home appraisal, or even being able to sell the home they are currently living in first. Contracts with fewer contingencies are generally better on the sellers’ behalf but make sure that you know the buyer offering has a strong capability of being able to waive any contingencies especially an appraisal.
Synchronizing the closing timetable
If you are in a hurry to move out of the property the best offer for you may be a buyer who is very financially strong and able to close within just a few weeks. However, if you need a longer timetable because maybe you have not found your next home yet you may look for a buyer who favors a longer closing period.
Make sure to look over any extras
In some cases, a buyer may look to add in some extra things to help their offer stand out amongst the many. For example, some buyers may offer to pay some or all of the closing costs where this is traditionally shared between both the buyer and the seller. Maybe in a rare case, a buyer might offer to help with some of the real estate agent commission. In some cases, a buyer will offer more than the standard amount of earnest money trying to communicate that if you accept their offer they are very serious and much less likely to just walk away from the home sale as you will end up with more cash in your pocket if they do.
When receiving multiple offers it is always best to go over every detail of each offer with a real estate professional to decide what is truly best for your personal home selling situation.
Post a Comment