Your house is on the market and the offers are rolling in. The excitement and the nerves bundle all into one which often makes deciding which offer to take a stressful one.
Here, we'll go over what to consider when negotiating the best offer when selling your house, while still keeping the buyer interested.
Market Value
This one might be obvious to consider, but you'd be surprised how many people overvalue their property. Keep in mind that the sentimental value of your home doesn't always equate to how the market values your home.
If you get an offer that seems low, don't dismiss it right away. Talk to your real estate agent about the true state of the market and be honest about what your home is worth.
We know your home holds many special memories, but turning down an offer that reflects what the market says can cause you trouble in the long run.
In general, base your response to an offer on comparable completed sales, not on asking prices of other unsold homes.
Type of Offer
Offers can be made in three main ways: verbally, written, and with a contract. Your real estate agent will present you with offers made in all three of these ways, but they're not all created equal.
It might go without saying that a contractual offer is the most trustworthy but you might be tempted to turn it down for a verbal or written offer if it's higher. Still, you'll want to consider the fact that verbal and written offers can fall through just as easily as they were made.
Do your best to base your final decision on only the contracted offers on the table.
Timing
If you get a "good enough" offer in the first three weeks that your house is on the market, it could be a good idea to grab it. If there's a "for sale" sign in your lawn for weeks or months, interest dies down as buyers start to think something must be wrong with it.
Your real estate agent, again, will likely strategize the best time to put your home on the market and from there, you'll want to consider taking the best offer that comes in during those first few weeks.
Competition
When you have multiple offers on the table, this can make the negotiation process that much easier. You'll have a bit more leeway since your property is then deemed more valuable after multiple interested parties have become involved.
Still, you'll want to keep the actual offer values confidential since a bidding war can often leave you with a less than ideal offer. Good real estate agents can help you with this process but overall, competition for your property will help you decide which offer to take.
That means, make your property as competitive as possible by doing the renovations or staging the home if you've already moved out.
Potential Complications
Sometimes, the best offer isn't necessarily the highest offer, but instead the one with the path of least resistance.
For example, almost a quarter of home sales don't close on time. That is the reason why we started UpEquity in the first place and decided to back our mortgages with cash. You want to avoid potential complications, as do buyers, and we are willing to prove we can do that.
Whether you work with us to secure your own mortgage when deciding to move, or you want to pick an offer that has to go through fewer hoops, it's important to consider which offers have an easier route to closing.
Have You Already Bought Your Next House?
If you've secured a quick closing with UpEquity, there's a chance you'll own your next property far sooner than you planned for. Most often, it's not financially possible to maintain two mortgages for long and it might be necessary to take an early offer.
Of course, you'll want to consider all of the things we've mentioned above in deciding if the offer makes sense and is the best for all parties involved, but when you have a time crunch on your hands, it could be a good idea to bite the bullet, even if it's your very first offer.
With UpEquity, we move things along faster and more efficiently to benefit both buyers and sellers. By making the process of selling a home more competitive for sellers and making the process of closing on a home safer for buyers, it's a win-win for everyone.
