Five Ways to Decide on a Home Offer

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When a buyer puts an offer in on your home, it's important that you don't get too excited. It's wonderful that you're one step closer to selling, but the offer from the buyer may not be so wonderful. That's why today we'll be discussing five different ways that you can evaluate an offer on your home.

1. Make sure that the buyer is pre-approved. The last thing you want to see in an offer is a buyer that hasn't spoken with a lender and can't actually prove their ability to purchase your home. An offer without a letter of pre-approval is really no offer at all. 
2. Look for a good down payment. The more they can put down, the better the buyer is. Occasionally a buyer will not need to put any money down, but that doesn't mean they're not a good buyer. It just means that they're using a different loan program. 
3. Does the buyer have an existing home to sell? If they do, their offer might be contingent upon their home selling. I'm not a fan of contingent offers because it puts the buyer in control of the sale, and you don't want that happening as a seller. Try to avoid contingent offers if at all possible. 
4. It's always better to pick a buyer who can close more quickly. Most times a closing will be within 6-8 weeks, but I've seen buyers propose closing dates that are six months in advance! That is way too long to close on a home. 
5. Cash is king in today's marketplace. Sometimes cash buyers will pay less for a home, but it's nice to know that the money is there and there will not be any fuss with a lender. It makes the transaction easier, and sometimes this makes it worth taking a little less for your home.

If you need help going over an offer on your home, please don't hesitate to contact me. It's not as easy as just taking the highest offer, you have to think about the merits of each one individually and determine which one will benefit you most.

As always, refer to me as your real estate resource in Brainerd!