If you’re a homeowner who is trying to sell your house, you may find yourself in the middle of a bidding war. A bidding war happens when multiple buyers submit offers on a property. This can be exciting, but it can also be stressful. If you’re not prepared for multiple offers, you may end up accepting an offer that’s lower than what you were hoping for or ending up in a drawn-out bidding war. In this blog post, we will teach you how to professionally handle multiple offers on a house.
Multiple offers is a particularly stressful situation for first-time home sellers. If you find yourself in this situation, the first thing you should do is have a look at your options. The most important thing to remember when multiple offers come in is that you are in control. The decision is ultimately yours to make.
What Makes a Good Offer?
When you’re selling your house, you want to get the best possible offer from the buyer. But what does it mean when an offer is “good”? There are a few things that you should take into consideration when determining whether or not an offer is good for your house.
1. The Amount of the Offer
The first thing to look at is the price that the buyer is offering. If the price is close to your asking price, then the offer is likely to be good. However, if the price is significantly lower than your asking price, you may want to counter-offer or reject the offer outright.
2. Buyer Financing
The second thing to consider is the buyer’s financing. If the buyer has already been approved for a loan or has cash on hand, then they are in a good position to buy your house. However, if the buyer needs to apply for a loan, there could be delays in getting approved and closing on the sale.
3. The Contingencies
The third thing to look at is the buyer’s contingency plans. If the buyer has a backup plan in case they can’t buy your house, then their offer is probably good. However, if they don’t have a backup plan, their offer might not be as good.
4. The Earnest Money Deposit
The fourth thing to consider is whether the buyer has an earnest money deposit. This is a deposit that the buyer puts down to show that they are serious about buying the house. If the buyer has a large earnest money deposit, then their offer is probably good.
5. The Timeline
The fifth, and final, consideration should be the timeline proposed by the buyer. Ideally, it should line up with your own plans. For example, even if the offer amount is the same as your asking price, but the buyer wants to close in 30 days and you want to close in 60 days, a different offer might be better.
You’ve Received Multiple Offers – What Now?
If you receive multiple offers on your house, it can be tough to know what to do. Generally, you will go in one of the following directions:
- Take the best offer.
- Wait for more offers.
- Counter all offers.
Counter the best offer.
This is a really tough situation, but you’ll want to stay calm and think about what will work best for your property. Make sure that the right strategy comes with careful consideration of all aspects including market conditions as well!
Accepting the Best Offer
There are a lot of factors to consider when selling your home, and often the decision comes down to timing. If you need to sell quickly, you may be tempted to just accept the first offer that comes in. However, if you have multiple offers on the table, it’s important to take the time to evaluate each one carefully before making a decision.
In some cases, the “best” offer may not be the highest bid. For example, if you have a job opportunity in another city that starts in a few weeks, you may need to choose the cash offer that promises a quick closing timeline so you can move before your start date. On the other hand, if your top priority is to get the most money possible from the sale of your home, you may choose to go with the highest bidder.
Whichever route you choose, be sure to weigh all of your options carefully before making a final decision.
Pros and Cons of Accepting the Best Offer
There are a few benefits of accepting the best offer, even if it’s not the highest bid.
The first is that you may be able to avoid a bidding war. Bidding wars can be stressful and time-consuming, so if you can find an offer that meets your needs without all of the drama, it may be best if you take the offer that’s on the table.
Another benefit of accepting the best offer is that it may help you to avoid lowball offers in the future. If a potential buyer knows that you’re willing to accept a lower offer, they may be less likely to make their highest and best offer from the start.
By accepting the best offer straight away, you will also be significantly speeding up the process of selling your home. If you’re looking to sell quickly, this may be the best option for you.
Of course, there are also some disadvantages to accepting the highest and best offer. The first is that you may be leaving money on the table. If multiple buyers are interested in your property, you may be able to get a higher price or a better deal by playing them against each other.
Secondly, you never know how that sale is going to pan out. The buyer could get cold feet, or their financing could fall through. By the time you will have dealt with the paperwork and the waiting, you might have already missed out on other opportunities.
Waiting for More Offers
The most passive option is to wait for more offers to come in. Receiving a lot of offers at the same time can make it feel like you’re in the driver’s seat, but multiple offers can also create a bidding war.
When there is more than one interested party, each offer puts pressure on the others to bid higher. In a sense, you are letting the market dictate the price of your home.
Plus, you never know – new players may join the game. If you’re in no rush to sell, then this might be the best option for you.
Pros and Cons of Waiting for More Offers
Choosing this strategy is perfect for those who do not enjoy the pressure of having to make a choice quickly. It also allows you to play multiple offers against each other in order to drive up the price.
The main downside of this tactic is that it could backfire. You might end up with no buyers if they all get cold feet or better offers come in for other properties.
Plus, the longer your property is on the market, the more people will start to wonder what’s wrong with it. You also run the risk of buyers getting impatient and going elsewhere.
If you do choose to wait for multiple offers, be sure to keep your home in tip-top shape. This means regularly cleaning, decluttering, and making any necessary adjustments.
Countering All Offers
This is a more proactive approach to multiple offers. With this strategy, you name your price and then wait for buyers to come to you. If multiple people want your home, you can counter their offers until you get the highest and best offer.
This way you can keep your options open and avoid any low-ball offers.When multiple buyers are interested in your home, it’s important to stay calm and levelheaded. This can be a stressful time, but remember that you are in control. With the right approach, you can get the best possible outcome for your home sale.
If you’re considering countering all offers, be sure to:
- Do your research: Have a clear understanding of the market and what buyers are willing to pay for your home.
- Be prepared for a bidding war: If multiple buyers are interested in your home, they may start a bidding war. Be prepared for this by setting your priorities in advance.
- Know your bottom line: Have a clear idea of how much you are willing to accept for your home. This will help you avoid getting caught up in the heat of the moment and accepting an offer that is too low.
Pros and Cons of Countering All Offers
There are pros and cons to countering all offers. On the pro side, this strategy gives you more control over the sale of your home. Instead of chasing the perfect buyer, you can let the buyers come to you. This is especially helpful if you’re not in a hurry to sell your home.
On the con side, countering all offers can be time-consuming and stressful. It’s important to have a clear understanding of the market before you start counter-offering. Otherwise, you can turn the potential buyers off and lose out on a sale.
Countering the Best Offer
Making a decision between multiple offers can be tough, especially when they’re all equally appealing. In cases like this, it’s often best to counter the offer that you’re leaning towards the most. This way, you can try to get the specific terms that you want while also keeping the other offers on the table in case negotiations fall through. Just be sure to be clear and concise about what you’re asking for, as well as what your bottom line is. With a bit of careful maneuvering, you should be able to come to an agreement that works for everyone involved.
Pros and Cons of Countering the Best Offer
There are many reasons to focus on the best offer from the get-go. For one, choosing and sticking with a single potential buyer will save you on the headache of dealing with lots of people, countering various offers, and looking into a myriad of conditions.
You can save a few lower or slightly less favorable offers up your sleeve, and concentrate on ironing out the best deal possible with your chosen best offer. This will also give you more negotiating power and increase the likelihood of getting a better counter-offer from the chosen buyer.
On the other hand, this way you have to keep a keen eye on other offers as those buyers will not hang around forever while you negotiate with your top choice!
Streamlining The Selling Process With Simple Sell Homebuyers
There is nothing simple about selling a home. From the paperwork, to the repairs, to showings and then what seems like an eternity of waiting for the perfect buyer- it can be a daunting task. When you finally receive an offer (or multiple offers!) on your home, it can be tempting to just accept the first one that comes in.
If you follow the strategies above, you can make the process a bit more pleasant but if you want to completely avoid the hassle of multiple offers and selling your home the traditional way, give Simple Sell Homebuyers a call. We will make you a fair cash offer on your home as-is and close on the date of your choice! We take care of everything so you can move on with your life stress free.
