Lowball Offer on Your Home?

Here’s a few things to consider before you ignore or reject a very low purchase offer for your home. A counteroffer and negotiation could turn that low purchase offer into a sale.

Check your emotions

A purchase offer, even a very low one, means someone wants to purchase your home.  Unless it is rediculously low, it deserves a cordial business- like response, whether that’s a counteroffer or an outright rejection letter. As a seller, it’s important to remain calm and discuss with your real estate agent the many ways you can respond to a lowball offer.

Counter the purchase offer

The best response is to counter the lowball offer with a price and terms you’re willing to accept.  A lot of times, buyers  make a low offer because they think that’s customary or possibly they are afraid they’ll overpay. Sometimes they are just trying to be aggressive and want to test your price limits.

When you respond with a counteroffer, it signals to the buyer that you’re willing to negotiate. One strategy for your counteroffer is to lower your price, but remove any concessions you had acutally offered as part of the deal.  This can included items such as seller financing, seller paying all closing costs  or eliminating items such as appliances that you were originally thinking of including.

Consider the term

Here in Sun Valley, Ketchum and Hailey, usually price is the most important deal point for buyers and sellers, but it’s not the only point.  If  the contingencies are reasonable, the closing date meets your needs, and the buyer is preapproved for a mortgage then these deal points can sweeten the deal for you.  What terms in a counteroffer would make the deal work for you?

Review your comps

Ask your real estate agent or Realtor whether any property for sale that are comparable to yours (known as “comps”) have sold or put on the market since your home was listed for sale.  Look realistically at those deals and  if those new comparable properties are at lower prices, a price reduction may be necessary to make the deal if you really want your home for sale to sell.

Consider the buyer’s comps

Sometimes in Sun Valley,  buyers will attach comps to a low offer as a way of justifying to the seller why they have presented a lower offer.  Again, realistically look at those comps.  Are the homes for sale equivilant to yours?  If so, your asking price might need to be adjusted.  By the same token, you might want to include your own real estate comps in your counteroffer information to help justify your asking price.If they don’t include comps to support their offer, sometimes its a good idea to have your real estate agent ask the buyer’s realtor for comps to explain the basis of thier offer.

Get the agents together

If the purchase offer on your property is just too low, but you don’t have a better option, ask your Realtor to call the buyer’s agent in an attempt to narrow the price gap so the negotiations can continue. Also, ask your Realtor whether the buyer’s agent has a reputation for writing lowball purchase offers on other homes for sale in Sun Valley. If that’s the case, it might just be the agents style and a good indication that you should continue negotiating.  

Don’t signal desperation

Buyers are acutely aware of signals that sellers may be receptive to a low purchase offer.  For example, if your home is vacant, or has been on the market for many days or your home’s listing describes you as a “motivated” seller, you’re signaling you’re open to a low offer.  Sometimes you can remedy the situation, possibly by staging your home with furniture or asking your agent not to mention in your home listing that you’re motivated, the next purchase offer you get might be more to your liking.

For more information on these and other topics, contact Coulter Properties today.