Negotiating Counter Offers Successfully

“Your offer was chosen out of all the others!”

These are some of the best words you can hear from your real estate agent! 

Now those dreams of living in your new home are one step closer to becoming a reality.

However, it’s important to remember that a seller can provide a counter offer. 

WHAT IS A COUNTEROFFER?

A counteroffer is an offer that the seller sends in response to your offer. This means that the seller liked your offer enough to choose you to move forward in buying their house, but there were specific aspects of the offer they would like to change. Once the counteroffer is sent, your original offer is no longer on the table. This new offer takes its place in the negotiations.

In a counteroffer, the seller might request a higher price than you offered, adjust requested closing costs covered, or a shorter inspection period. Essentially they can request anything that you could have requested when writing your offer.

Usually, the offer will remain relatively the same, but with some specific changes.

Once the offer is relayed to you the decision is in your hands. Counteroffers expire just like regular offers do, but in multiple offer situations, counteroffers will often have an expiration period of less than a day. So make sure you respond quickly and don’t miss the window.

WHAT CAN I DO WITH A COUNTEROFFER?

At this point you have three options:

·      Accept the offer

·      Counter the offer

·      Reject it altogether

By accepting it outright you will now have a binding contract and will move right into the inspection period.

If you send another counteroffer, the decision will now be back in the hands of the seller to accept, reject, or counter.

As the final option, if you do not like the seller’s new offer and you reject it,  you can walk away without any repercussions and start looking for another home.

You could technically go back and forth for as long as you both are willing as you work out the finer details of the contract, but typically this doesn’t need to happen, as you’ll see in a moment.

NEGOTIATIONS ARE A BALANCING ACT

Negotiations are one reason we highly recommend having a trustworthy, supportive real estate agent on your side.

It’s a delicate balance of requesting what you need while also making sure that the seller feels like they are also receiving what they need. If a seller feels like they aren’t getting a good deal, they can become difficult to work with later in the process. However, if they feel they are being treated fairly, they may be more cooperative down the road.

This is why the most successful negotiations are ones where both sides feel like it is a “win/win”.

Negotiations can feel like a difficult process and it can be uncomfortable going back and forth getting requests and sending them in return. It’s important to recognize that this is a normal part of the home buying process and it’s common to enter into negotiations. With that said, back and forth counter offers can often be avoided by a buyer agent communicating with a listing agent prior to submitting the offer in the first place. Whenever possible, an agent should always speak to the listing agent directly on the phone to make sure they understand what the seller is looking for. In hot markets, it’s not uncommon for a seller to just reject an offer they don’t like rather than countering it. Since you might only have one shot, it’s best to try and avoid counter offers by writing an offer that is likely to get accepted right away. 

It can be tricky to balance being direct and firm with your needs as a buyer, while helping the seller feel that their needs are getting met. Remember that your agent has a legal and ethical duty to fight for your needs, so let them know if you feel that they are not negotiating well on your behalf.

Thankfully, it’s possible to get the best deal possible while also not making the seller feel like they are getting ripped off! However, it does require a fair amount of tact and ingenuity.

If you have any questions about navigating successful negotiations feel free to reach out through our many means of contact. We would love to help!