Don't Get Mad, Get Even More For Your Home

First, you're shocked. Then you get angry. "They offered WHAT?"

As you glare at your REALTOR, all you can think of is how insulted you are. How could buyers offer you so little for your home? Don't they know what you paid for it? All you've put into to it? Don't they know how much the house down the street sold for?

Before you throw the offer in the trash, take a deep breath, cool down, and get some perspective.

You want to sell your home.
You want to sell it fast.
You want what your home is worth.

Here's the other side:

The buyer wants your home.
The buyer wants to pay a fair price.
The buyer has the same market data you do.

You and your buyer aren't as far apart as you think. You just need to work through your differences.

Don't get mad at the one person who made an offer on your home. Get mad at all the other buyers who walked through your home and didn't make an offer.

Find out the negatives where your buyers are focused. Deferred maintenance or dated decor are expensive to correct. You didn't want to put in the money; why should the buyer?

Look for where you can compromise. Are you willing to make the repairs and updates buyers want? If not, are you willing to lower the price? And if you don't lower the price, can you afford to wait for another offer that may never come?

Think back to when you and your Realtor first discussed pricing for your home. She pointed out that buyers want as close to new as possible, didn't she? Now you're seeing your home through the buyer's eyes and their offer.

The support for the buyer's side is that others saw your home and didn't like it well enough to make an offer. You have to accept that condition is a bigger factor than you thought it would be.

Think about how you'll feel when you become the buyer. Would you pay full asking price for a home that needs work if there are others in better condition?

Set your pride aside and rework the numbers to something that's fair to you and the buyers. When they see you're making the effort, they'll either improve their offer or accept your counteroffer.

Keep your eye on the prize - getting your home sold, not beating the buyer.