To receive an offer is a mixed blessing. There are only two choices to make here, accept the offer or reject it (a counter-offer is actually a rejection). There are a number of reasons your agent may be reluctant to recommend a counter-offer. One may be because by taking their advice only to have the buyer bolt, a home seller could blame them. In reality, most buyers are expecting a counter-offer.
This is a crucial point in a real estate transaction. The market itself suggests what to do. Some agents will not analyze an offer unless they are asked directly. Some agents do not know how to analyze an offer. Other agents make their job easier and your decisions more confident by demonstrating what the market suggests. Between your circumstances, the market’s input, agent experience and your own perceptions, the answer will appear. Click here to learn the details. Click here to learn the details.
Read more Q&A articles about the “Receiving Offers” stage of the Home Selling process:
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Multiple offers on your for-sale-by-owner home
Reader Question: We are selling our home on our own. We have had little activity for over two months, and now we are expecting multiple offers on our for sale by owner home. Please help! Monty’s Answer: When you are selling your home without a real estate agent, the possibility of two or more parties…
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Should my real estate agent also represent a buyer?
Reader Question: If my listing agent has a potential buyer, can he represent a buyer as well as the seller? Michelle G. Monty’s Answer: The agent that listed your home contracts with the broker who is your agent in the sale. You have representation, so the question is; will the buyer seek representation, and if…
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Right-of-first-refusal complicates negotiations
Reader Question: My wife and I own a large tract of land. We want to sell off a one hundred acre parcel. We have a written offer-to-purchase that has been in negotiation for over ninety days. The buyer wants a “right-of-first-refusal (ROFR) should we sell off more land in the future. The offer contains…
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Listing tactics of real estate agent under fire
Reader Question: Hi Monty, I read your articles regularly and find them very helpful and now have a query myself. Our Realtor called us for permission not to present offers below asking price; we agreed, but I don’t understand it. Who does this help? Thank you for your assistance. Jan P. Monty’s Answer: A listing tactic…
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Four great tips to negotiate home offer
Reader Question: Monty, the same buyer has made several offers on our home but none acceptable to us. This has been going on for two months! What can be done to get them to be more reasonable? Josh and Sarah G. Monty’s Answer: The success to negotiate a home purchase contract involves circumstances like motivation,…
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The best method to receive an offer on your home
The saying “Luck is when preparedness and opportunity meet” is a very appropriate thought for this occasion. For most of us, to receive an offer on our home rarely happens during our lifetime. Most often, your agent will not suggest a method of how to handle this meeting, but we want you to have all…