Evaluating Offers

This is the moment you’ve been waiting for. You have an offer on your Hilton Head Island home.

So. How do you know if it’s the right offer, if you’ll accept?

If you’re working with a Realtor from the Dunes Marketing Group, you’ll be prepared for this moment.

An offer is rarely, “I’ll pay you X dollars for your property.” If only it were that simple.

Your typical offer will have the following:

• The sales offer, the dollar figure. This is the starting point.
• The contingencies. These can include:
  • Additional things the buyer wants, including appliances, fixtures, anything not nailed down and many things that are.
  • Requirements for inspections.
  • Special requests.
  • The buyer qualifying for financing.
• The proposed close date, often with a list of contingencies of its own.

All of this makes for a complicated start of negotiations.

That’s the first thing you need to remember: this is a negotiation. Unless someone offers you your exact asking price (or above!) with no contingencies or qualifications, you’ll be negotiating. Be prepared to receive offers and evaluate them coolly.

Don’t be insulted. This isn’t personal. House hunters will start the negotiating by trying to see how willing you are to negotiate, to discover how good of a bargain they can get. Your job is to respond thoughtfully in a good faith manner. Read and consider their proposal. And be prepared to offer a response.

You may, at times, receive unreasonable requests. Those are easy to reject. But you’ll need to work hard with a seemingly good offer comes through with some tough contingencies. That’s what we’re here for. The Realtors at the Dunes Marketing Group have years of experience in negotiating sales contracts. You’ll be able to work with us closely, to understand what the buyer is asking for, and to respond in a way that not only get you to closing, but puts the most dollars in your pocket.