So You Are About to Get an Offer on Your House – Some Important Reminders/Tips

Congratulations! We have or will soon be receiving an offer on your house. We wanted to take a few moments of your time to go over some very important items that could affect the offer and keeping the potential buyer engaged in the process:

1. Time is of the Essence! At no other time in the entire selling process are accurate and fast responses required as they will be now. This is a buyer's market and as such, the buyer may very well have two or three offers out on other properties in addition to yours. If we take our time in responding, we take a very real risk of losing the potential buyer.
   
2. The buyer is probably going to ask for Closing Costs or reduce their offer by the amount of Closing Costs. What you did when you purchased your home is not relevant in 2009. The unfortunate reality is, most buyers today are asking the seller to cover their closing costs. Please expect up to 6% in closing costs to be reflected in the offer.
   
3. Responses must be in writing! While it is legal to negotiate verbally, a verbal response is NOT binding. Let's take the time to make the changes, initial and sign if you have the ability. We understand travel sometimes makes that difficult, if not impossible and for those times we'll gladly negotiate verbally. Just realize – nothing is binding until it is in writing.
   
4. Just because it is a Buyer's Market does not mean we need to give your house away. We'll be sure to include an update Market Analysis with the offer. We want you to make the most money possible.
   
5. Focus on the Bottom Line! Please do not pay too much attention to the offer amount or the amount of closing costs. Focus on the Bottom Line – the amount you will be netting in this sale. After all, isn't that what is most important! If during the time you owned this property you refinanced your property and took cash out – you will need to keep that in mind when looking at your bottom line. You may have already received your profits.
   
6. Lastly, be glad we have received or are about to receive an offer. It is a starting point that many sellers don't even see in today's market.
   

We are on your side but wanted you to remind you of some very real truths. Please do not hesitate to ask questions, etc. as we go through this process. By working together, we can make this a very smooth transaction.