Selling Your Home – Choose the Best Offer

By Mark Spain Real Estate

Mark Spain Real Estate aids you in selling your home by getting your the best offer! Your home has seen the prep work, the market and the showings. The closing table is close enough to reach but one step remains, deciding on an offer.

Receiving an offer on your home is undoubtedly exciting, but it can also get tricky when selecting what will close the deal. Careful thought and consideration should be applied when accepting your offer. Mark Spain Real Estate has compiled the most important factors to consider when deciding on the best offer for selling your home.

Pace Yourself

Once you’ve made the decision to sell your home, seeing that first offer can be a euphoric feeling. However, you may get so excited that you’re tempted to accept it without reading it carefully. Resist the immediate urge to bite the bait. Slow down and carefully study the offer with your agent. There is much more to consider than the amount offered. The highest offer doesn’t always mean that it’s the best option for you. Take some time to evaluate what’s important to you.

Understand Your Priorities

Choosing the best offer for you means choosing the offer that aligns the most with your priorities. Do you value timing over money? Are you willing to meet buyer contingencies if it means more money in your pocket? An offer may seem appealing at first glance, but a buyer may attempt to add various contingencies into the contract such as additional repairs or allowances. These are important factors to consider when selling your home. Some offers will lead to a lengthier contract period but yield you a higher return on investment. Others will leave you with less cash but a quick transaction.

Know Who Is Moving In

Ask yourself: do you care about who takes over your home after you move? Whether it was your starter home or it was your forever home, consider if it matters to you who moves in your home after you. Read all the offer letters to have an understanding of the people who made offers on your home.

Maybe you empathize with the family who has been wanting to move into your neighborhood for over a year and have made several offers on other homes with no luck. Or, maybe you feel for the young couple who wants to raise a family in your home. Look over all offer letters and see if any stand out to you in particular. It may make coming to a final decision a lot easier.

Read the Fine Print

A buyer can ask for additional items that will ultimately lower the net proceeds of the sale. Requests for seller concessions, help with covering buyer costs such as closing costs and down payments can result in a reduced sales price. Additionally if the buyers request a home inspection, be prepared for negotiations or repair costs afterwards.

However, you could have a buyer that waives a home inspection and accepts the home as is. A buyer that chooses to skip a home inspection could save you time and money down the road, a huge perk when deciding which offer to accept. Factors such as these are excellent examples of why it’s so important to do your reading and research before making any final decisions.

Earnest Money Matters

If you have multiple offers on the table, it is important to take into account how much each earnest money deposit is. The more earnest money that a buyer puts down, the less likely they will be to back out of their offer. Typically, the earnest money amount is often 5% of the sales price. If you have multiple offers putting down different earnest money deposits, you can discern the buyer’s dispositions. An offer with a 5% deposit is likely a more serious buyer than an offer with a 3% deposit.

Follow Your Agent’s Advice

Above all, remember that your agent is a trained professional. Mark Spain Real Estate agents have the most experience and are highly specialized in their field. Your goals are their goals, they always have your interests at the top of their mind. Keeping your priorities in mind, they will guide you to choose the best offer to meet your goals. 

When it comes to choosing the best offer, the most important thing to remember is what matters most to you when selling your home. Don’t rush when making a decision, and enjoy the excitement that comes with this season of change. Ready to get your home on the market? Click here and start the process today!

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Mark Spain Real Estate is grateful to serve all of Metro Atlanta and Athens in Georgia, Charlotte and Raleigh in North Carolina, Orlando and Tampa in Florida, and Nashville in Tennessee!