Evaluating the Offer

Your REALTORŽ called and said that you have an offer on your home, now what?The Buyer's REALTORŽ may want to present their offer to you and your REALTORŽ personally. Welcome this. Set a time where the Buyer's REALTORŽ, you and your REALTORŽ can have several hours of uninterrupted time. Your home is the best place to receive a presented offer. If you have children or pets make arrangements for them to be cared for. Please do not act the role of host. Up and down serving drinks and taking care of other things in your home are distracting. When the Buyer's REALTORŽ arrives, your REALTORŽ should be there. If he is not, acknowledge the Buyer's REALTORŽ and ask him to wait, but do not engage in discussing the deal, your plans after your home sells, your needs on selling your home, etc. Once all parties are present, offer drinks and then move into a comfortable location. The kitchen table is a good location because it should have plenty of light and everyone can see what is going on. Let the Buyer's REALTORŽ present the offer at his own pace. Ask only clarifying questions and do not involve the Buyer's REALTORŽ in negotiating the counter. You and your REALTORŽ can cover any particulars after he has completed his presentation. Once the presentation is completed, ask the Buyer's REALTORŽ to step into another room or outside so that you and your REALTORŽ can start evaluating the offer. This is the best time to make a counter.At this point you have one of three options: an offer that you can accept, an offer that you can counter, or an offer that you don't even want to counter. I highly recommend that if you cannot accept the offer as presented, then do a counter offer. Some Buyers will make a ridiculous offer first time out and then get down to a reasonable negotiation on the counter offer. You and your REALTORŽ can look at the offer and can develop a counter. If your REALTORŽ is experienced enough, he can talk to the Buyer's REALTORŽ and see if your counter points might be acceptable. Many times I have been able to have our counter offer accepted by just talking to the other REALTORŽ to find out a better way to word some item.

Evaluating the offer

You and your REALTORŽ will need to look at the offer and determine what the real offered price is, what the terms of the sale are, the Buyer's worthiness and ability to follow through with their offer, and will the offer fulfill your needs.

Offered price

The price offered for your home can be many things. First there will be an absolute price, normally on the first page of the offer. It will be the total dollars offered for your home. But many times that's not all. The terms of the offer might contain some charges, concessions, and/or conditions resulting in money being spent. What are some of the charges? The Buyer may want a home warranty, various inspections, appraisal of the property, not prorating the impounds (tax and insurance), VA and FHA expenses that you must pay if the Buyer is financing with those agencies. Concessions can be discount points for the Buyers' financing, a dollar amount or percentage points towards the Buyers' closing costs, and/or money credited towards the repairs that the Buyers feel they must make to your home.

Terms of the sale

The offer will contain terms or conditions. What they are can affect you. What type of financing is the Buyer getting or is a there financing contingency? Conventional, VA, and FHA all have different amounts of "Seller" contributions and charges that the Buyer cannot pay. Your REALTORŽ should know what they are. When does the Buyer want to close and when does the Buyer want to occupy?

Normally the day you close is not the day the Buyer owns your home. The loan must be funded and the title and deed must be recorded. In Nevada recordings are normally the next business day after closing. Sometimes it is longer because of funding. Why is this? One set of documents that is signed at closing is the Buyer's loan documents. The Buyer's loan cannot be "funded" until these are signed and the originals returned to the loan company. Once that occurs the loan company will cut a check and return it to the escrow company which then pays all parties and then records the deed. Until the title is recorded, it's not the Buyer's home yet.

Are the keys to the house exchanged at closing? They can be, but I do not recommend it. Something, anything might happen and the title cannot be recorded. Until the title is recorded you, the Seller, are responsible and liable for what happens in and to your home. Do things happen to prevent the title from being recorded? Normally not, but once in awhile it does. Then there is a lot of scrambling to correct the problem. What kind of problems occur? Normally they are mortgage related, but not always. Most are correctable, some are not. It's better to be safe than sorry.

Evaluating the Buyer

The Buyer. Once the offer and counter-offers have been signed and accepted it's mostly all up to the Buyer. They need to complete their mortgage application process and come up with their down payment and cash to close. Can the Buyer complete the lenders qualification process to purchase your home? Do they have the money to close? Your REALTORŽ, with the Buyer's permission (this should be in the offer - counter-offer and signed by all), contact the Buyer's lender and be kept informed of the underwriting and funding process.

As you can see selling a home is a lot of work. You must be on top of every detail so that it does not cost you additional money or time or ruin the deal completely. As an experienced REALTORŽ I can help you on each and every step.

Call or e-mail me today and we can get you started on the right path to selling your home.

This page last updated on 3/2009