What If You Receive a "Low-Ball" Offer
on Your Sarasota Florida Home for Sale

Some Things to Consider

Price and terms
     If you receive what you consider to be a ridiculously low offer on your home,, don't panic or react emotionally. Be objective and cool. I know that sounds hard to do but it pays to stop and consider your options. Go over the offer in detail with your listing agent. Was the price based on an independent appraisal or a broker's market analysis? How long has your property already been on the market? How many written offers have you received before this one? What kind of market are you in -- buyer's or seller's? The Sarasota real estate agent acting as your Listing Realtor can help you consider each of these factors if you give him or her a chance.

     Don't use the ridiculously low price alone as your reason not to make a counter-offer. A first offer may reveal what's most important to this buyer and thereby give you important keys you need to start the negotiating process.

Condition of the home
     Is your home in as good a condition as others with which it is competing. If not, you have only two choices, do the repairs yourself or accept that the prices you'll be offered reflect those deficiencies. Understand that buyers almost always tend to overestimate what any given repair will cost so it is frequently best that you get the repair done yourself removing that pricing issue.

Inspection Contingency
     Most buyers will require an independent professional inspection of the structure and major electrical, heating and other systems of the home as part of their offer regardless of the price they offer. Sometimes, however, a buyer is willing and able to make repairs themselves and therefore, along with the lower price is also offering to forgo a professional inspection. If you believe there may be things about your home that could need attention, you should not reject out-of-hand a low offer. Getting from here to closing day without worrying about repairs being completed to the satisfaction of the buyer is worth something.

     If an inspection is requested, insist in your counteroffer that the person or firm to be used is named in the contract and known to your listing agent to be reputable. Set a time limit for the removal of the inspection contingency -- 5 to 10 working days. Remember that the sale of your home is in limbo until the inspection has been completed and passed.

Financing
     If the contract is contingent on a buyer's ability to obtain an acceptable loan, make sure the contract offer spells out what actions and when are required by the buyer? What interest rate and number of discount points is the buyer willing to accept? Make sure there is a time limit and that you know how you will you be notified when the buyer gets a loan commitment. Your Sarasota listing agent can help you leave the potential buyer as few financing escapes as possible.

Response deadline
     In the offer, you will be required to reject or respond to the offer within a specified period of time, usually with 1 or 2 days. In your counter-offer, you have every right to demand that your response period be longer if you feel other offers may be forthcomng.

Sale of buyer's home Contingency
     Should you cooperate with a prospective purchaser who must sell a home before buying yours? Maybe. But when you accept a contract offer contingent on the sale of the buyer's house, you are linking the sale of your home to the sale of a home you may know nothing about. If you accept the offer with this contingency, you'll take your home off the market until the buyer's house is sold and closed. If things don't go well for the buyer's home sale, you could have your home off the market for an extended period with no closing at the end. So particularly if the price offer is low, you want to be very careful about accepting a buyer's home sale contingency for anything but the shortest possible period.

Nevertheless, if you believe that accepting an offer contingent on the sale of the buyer's home is the best you can do under your circumstances, seek the advice of an experienced broker familiar with the market around the potential buyer's home. Assure yourself that the buyer's property is salable and reasonably priced.

     Consider asking for an up-front non-refundable payment (in lieu of an earnest-money deposit) which you will retain if the deal fails to close within a specified time.

     Have these contingency sale clauses written or at least reviewed by your attorney.

Closing date and occupancy
     "If you're selling your home because you already have another house under contract, seek a settlement date that will allows you to take your proceeds to the next closing," says Connie Belmont, a noted Sarasota waterfront homes expert. Be realistic; the buyer of your home will probably need at least 30 to 45 days to arrange financing before coming to your closing.

     Sold homes are generally turned over to the buyer "broom-clean" and unoccupied on closing day. If you need a temporary place to live after closing, resist the temptation to ask to be allowed to stay in your old home even one night after closing. While it can be done, short-term leases to remain in your old home generally cause more problems than they solve. Avoid them if you have any other possible option.

     If these questions have raised concerns, speak with a licensed and professional real estate listing agent.>