What happens if you get multiple offers when selling your home? Which one should you choose? Did you know that just because you received an offer $40,000 over your asking price that that doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s a better offer than the one that was $30,000 over your asking price? Believe me, I want you to pocket the most amount of money from selling your home, so I understand why you’d be confused here. I help sellers choose offers for very specific reasons and sometimes, the offers they choose didn’t have the highest price. Hi, I’m Tanja Odzak, Our East Bay Home brokered by eXp Realty, and I’ve helped so many sellers in the Oakland / Berkeley / East Bay Area to sell their homes and I’ll break down some key things to think about besides that offer price when you find reviewing multiple offers.
First on the list: the closing date. Does that date match up with your desired timeframe? Or will you be homeless for a few weeks while you wait for your next house to close? How important is that date to you? Or what if you already moved out, and need a fast close? What type of financing does the buyer have? Are they offering cash or getting a loan? Did you know the type of loan needs to be taken into account based upon the condition of your home and other contributing factors. Certain loan types have stricter appraisal requirements than others. Imagine if you found yourself in a situation where you’re now required to make a $10,000 repair or replacement or the buyer’s lender says, “Nope! We’re not funding this loan.” Are they offering an additional down payment if the appraisal value does not come in at their offered purchase price? In a hot market, everyone offers over asking price. Does that mean that you will actually receive that price? Not if you potentially accept the wrong offer or don’t counter out certain items in the contract. How about the inspection contingency? Most buyers will want an inspection on their new home before moving in. Truthfully it’s a great way to protect themselves from unforeseen circumstances. However, again, our market can be so hot sometimes that I see plenty of buyers waiving their inspection contingency.
Let’s just use the scenario of receiving an offer that is $40,000 over asking and the buyer is requesting an inspection, but you have another offer that is $30,000 above asking price but they are waiving their inspections (which means they are not having inspections) well, then that’s something to consider. Because on the home that is having inspections, you are open to the possibility of the inspector finding issues that you didn’t know of? And then, you and the buyers would possibly have to re-enter negotiations or worse, they could simply walk away.
Those are only a few things to think about when you’re reviewing multiple offers. Having an experienced agent like myself in your corner to help you comb through the fine print details of multiple contracts will stop your head from spinning number one, and we will get you the most money for your home with a strong confidence that we won’t run into a ton of issues that could cost you time, money and energy later in your transaction. To learn the other reasons that the highest priced offer may not always be the best choice, call me! This is Tanja Odzak, Our East Bay Home brokered by eXp Realty, if you’re thinking about selling, feel free to reach out.
I’m a Top Producing Realtor® in the OAKLAND / BERKELEY / EAST BAY AREA. I’ve been in the San Francisco East Bay Area since I came up to do my undergrad at UC Berkeley (a long time ago!), with a short stint at UC Davis while getting my Master’s. I take my duties as a Realtor® and Fiduciary very seriously, I enjoy educating my sellers and buyers along the way. Putting People, Before Profit.
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