What Do I Do With a Low Offer?

Besides roast marshmallows and make s?mores? Come on. The market isn?t good enough to look any kind of horse in the mouth. We never know which one is a gift in disguise.

First, have your agent call the other agent and find out the motivation behind the offer. Some simple and non-confrontational questions might tell you if they are fishing way outside of their price range or whether they can afford to be reasonable and are just fishing for a deal. Maybe they are actually more knowledgeable about the market condition than you are?consider that buyers in this market have over 5,000 homes to look at and they are looking. By the time they write the first offer, they have usually seen almost 20 homes. What if they have seen your competition and you are overpriced or simply don?t stack up? Put your pride in the drawer and look at what they have to say.

Second, before you counter the offer, have your agent run a new market analysis for you. Have you stayed at the wrong price too long? Is the offer reasonable just not close to your particular asking price? If you have time, ask your realtor to take you to your top three competitive listings. Look at them with a buyer?s eye. Now go home and be just as tough about your own home, then write the counter offer.

Most important?don?t get emotional. You have had years to turn your home into an emotional investment but someone that is writing an offer after having spend less than ten minutes in it is still considering it to be a financial investment and is writing an offer to that end. The second you receive your first offer is the perfect time to actually let go of the personal ties you have to your home and sell it like a savvy investor?it is a financial transaction and the buyers had no intention of hurting your feelings.