An Offer For Your Home in Lakeland Florida is the starting point in negotiations
Yeah! After weeks of making sure the house in Lakeland Florida you are selling is tidy and clean for showings after showings. You received an offer. How do you evaluate and respond to each one of them in a way that benefits you but won’t turn off your buyers?
First of all, always keep in mind that all offers are good ones. Getting an offer means the buyer has chosen your home over the many of other listings competing in the market, so no matter how low, high, or crazy the offer may be, take it as a compliment that they chose your home. The hard decision is whether or not to accept the offer.
A seller always has three options once an offer is received. Either accept the offer, reject it, or counter the offer. While it may be tempting to just counter all the offers, make sure you think twice before doing so.
Keep in mind an offer is the starting point of the communication with the buyer no matter how low the offer is.
While most sellers think that countering an offer is a normal part of the home selling process, what they are actually doing is rejecting the buyer’s offer and making another offer. If you do this, and you give the buyer a moment to pause and rethink their offer even for just a small moment, you might end up losing the buyer.
So before you make that decision, ask yourself if it is really worth the counter-offer. If the risk outweighs the reward, then forget about making a counter-offer.
But in cases where you have weighed your decision and really need to make a counter-offer, bear in mind these tips:
1. Learn about the buyer. Since negotiation is a two-way street where both parties must get a good value, you have to understand your buyer. Whenever possible, learn about the buyer’s background and the reasons why they made their initial offer. Doing this will help you find common ground with the buyer and lead to a successful sale.
2. Give and take. When making your counter-offer, think of not only what you want, but also what you would be willing to give to make the sale successful. If you are asking for a higher price from the buyer, perhaps you could offer to help pay for the buyer’s closing costs or pay points to help them get lower payments.
3. Accentuate the positive. While writing your counter-offer, make sure you emphasize those points you agree with before you start requesting for changes. Point out all the acceptable areas of the offer which may include the down payment, closing date, financing type, inclusions and exclusions, specific contingencies, or even something as small as the earnest money deposit.
When evaluating an offer, it is important to not get too emotional. Take your time in evaluating each offer. Ask your Lakeland Florida real agent for help. He or she will be able to give you an unbiased, educated and professional opinion based on an analysis of the current market as well as your needs.