Should You Accept the Highest Offer for your Home?

 

Imagine a kid running a lemonade stand. He’s selling his product for 25 cents
a cup. He’s doing okay. Sales are good. Then someone comes up to his stand
and says, “I’ll give you 50 cents for a cup. But, I don’t have the money right
now. Give me the lemonade and I’ll pay you later.”

Should he take the deal?

Chances are, you’d advise against it. After all, just because the price is high —
in this case, double — doesn’t mean the offer is a good one. There’s a chance
the customer won’t come back with the promised 50 cents!

That’s a simple example but applicable when considering multiple offers for
your home. Yes, the offer with the highest price is often the one to accept, but
there are situations when that’s not the case.

For example, you should be careful when considering the highest offer if the
buyers’ financial situation is uncertain. Have they attached an appropriate
deposit? Have they secured a prearranged mortgage from a reputable lender?
Has their current home been sold, or is it at least listed for sale?

It may turn out that the offer is fine, but these are questions that should
be considered.

Another scenario involves conditions. The highest offer might have conditions
such as your property passing a home inspection or the buyers selling their
current home. That would make the second-highest offer with no conditions
more attractive — especially if the price isn’t far off that of the highest offer.

Keep in mind that you can ask to have conditions dropped in your
counter-offer.

As you can see, deciding which offer to accept is not as straight-forward as it
may seem, especially if you anticipate getting multiple offers.