Chandler Arizona Real Estate - Should you reject that low-ball offer?
It's a fact of life in Arizona Real Estate today, low-ball offers are as common as triple digit temps in the summer time. When you're a seller, what should you do when you're presented with an offer that's considerably less than your list price?
1..Get your blood pressure under control. Take a few deep breaths and now you're ready to examine the offer rationally, right?
2. With your Realtor, examine the comps in your neighborhood. If your home has been on the market for over a month, it's safe to assume the market may have changed and prices may have come down. Hopefully, your Realtor has been keeping you updated on your neighborhood market conditions and you have monitored your competition and your pricing.
3. If your home is priced competitively taking into consideration its condition (does it need any repairs or updating?) and location (does it back to anything that could be keeping it from selling?) then you will likely be drafting a counter offer with your Realtor. Rejecting an offer in today's market is not wise. Buyers are testing the waters. There are a lot of desperate sellers out there and they may just be trying to see if you're one of them. It doesn't mean they won't pay more for your home...but they're going to try to get it for less.
4. Analyze the terms of the contract and have your Realtor put together a net proceeds worksheet that will tell you what you will end up with in your pocket after costs of sale (commissions, title fees, etc) and mortgage payoff. How does this number feel to you?
If you are drafting a counter offer there are a few things to keep in mind.
~The longer you have your home on the market, the lower the offer will likely be. Today's low-ball offer may be an offer you wished you'd have taken 3 months from now.
~Determine the carrying costs of staying in your home until you get another offer. Add together your mortgage payment, taxes, insurance, HOA fee, utilities, etc. For every month you stay in your home, you are deducting this monthly amount from your net proceeds.
~There are some things you can't put a dollar amount on. What does it mean to you to sell your home now. Is there some place you'd rather be? A mortgage you would like to get rid of? That may just be the determining factor in how low you will go on your sales price.
There are a lot of things to take into consideration when you determine exactly what price you will take for your home. Remember that knee-jerk reaction of rejecting a low-ball offer may not be in your best interest in the long run. Put together a counter offer you can live with and don't look back.