What To Do When the Offer Comes In
Ok, so a buyer has seen your home and likes what he sees and decides he’d like to purchase it. Now what? When you’re represented by a professional real estate agent, they represent you and negotiate on your behalf by handling counter offers, legal issues, disclosures, earnest money, etc. However, as a FSBO homeowner, you’ll need to take care of these things on your own. Check other areas of this website for additional resources to help.
What is a Counter Offer?
What if the buyer offers you a lower amount than your asking price or asks for additional concessions on your part? You have the option of countering their counter offer or accepting it. The two of you continue this process until an acceptable offer is reached between both parties. This is where it’s very helpful to have a skilled negotiator on your side to help you get the best deal for your property.
Are You a Legal Eagle? Neither am I
Since a selling contract is a legally binding agreement, it must be written so as to avoid any areas of uncertainty. There are FSBO contracts available on the Internet; however, be diligent in your research and have a legal professional review it. I placed links to some in the Resources section.
What You Need to Know About Required Disclosures About Your Home
When selling your home, you are probably obligated to disclose problems that could affect the property's value. In most states, it is illegal to fraudulently conceal major physical defects in your property such as a basement that floods in heavy rains. And many states now require sellers to take a proactive role by making written disclosures on the condition of the property.
Remember, full disclosure of any property defects will help increase the buyer's confidence that you're dealing fairly. And it will protect you from legal problems later on. You aren’t required to fix the defects, only to report them. Fixing them can be part of the negotiation process. Click here to access the required State of Oregon form for this.
Back up Offers
Just because you accept an offer doesn't mean you cannot accept another offer, in a back-up position. If you can make this happen, it gives you great leverage for keeping the original buyer in a reasonable attitude. Once again, I recommend legal counsel to set up a sales contract for a back-up offer. You do not want to get into the position of being accused of selling your property to more than one buyer!
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Not having clear Terms = Disputes
Disputes can arise at any stage of the home selling process but are usually due to the terms not beinjg clearly spelled out during the offer negotiation. In order to minimize these disputes, I’ve provided a few scenarios and how to handle them. ... (Read More)
Buyer Financing Problems
It can be extremely frustrating to find a buyer that wants to purchase your home and you go through all the steps for them to take ownership only to find out that they can’t get financing. That’s why it’s a good idea to pre-qualify buyers prior to forging through the selling process. This can best be accomplished by 'making friends' with a good mortgage lender... (Read More) |
