Evaluating an Offer When Selling Your Home
You’ve received an offer on your home, now what? Remember once you accept an offer, that offer quickly becomes a legal binding contract to sell. So, before you accept any offer there are a few steps you should take to make sure the deal is in your best interest.
- First find out if the buyer has been pre-approved for the mortgage loan. Many deals are either held up or get canceled because the buyer can’t obtain financing – thus wasting valuable time.
- Find out if the buyers is expecting you to pay for repairs or agent commissions. Add these together and subtract that number from the offer they are proposing. This number represents the actual offer they are making.
- Ascertain is what your absolute bottom line is. Make certain that you research your costs and do the math.
- Once you obtain the balance of your mortgage, ask your real estate attorney to estimate closing and escrow costs you will be responsible for.
- These numbers will determine whether you are going to profit or pay out of pocket to close the deal.
- The offer will have an expiration date. Most buyers will give you enough time to consider the offer carefully. However, If the deadline you have been given is short, find out why. Most of the time, if the buyer feels there are other interested parties, the deadline will be shortened in hopes of getting their offer accepted first.
- Alert any other serious, interested parties that you have an offer on the table. Multiple offers can lead to a bidding war and reward you with the best possible deal.
- Above all, consult with the experts. Be sure to have your attorney review the contract prior to accepting it. He can fine tune it and make suggestions you may have overlooked.