When negotiating to buy or sell a home, at some point you will be in the negotiation process: the offer and the counter offers.
Most people understand what an offer is. As a buyer, you make a decision about what you are willing to pay and make an offer to the seller. As a seller, you receive an offer from your potential buyer, and then you have three options: accept, decline, or counter.
What is a counter offer?
During negotiations, you do not need to reply after receiving an offer. Generally, the buy and sell agreement sets a period of time for your response, after which the offer automatically expires. Most of the time, instead of accepting or rejecting, the salesperson will make an accountant.
Counter offers are a normal part of the buying / selling process and are perfectly acceptable. This is where negotiations really begin and the strength, or lack thereof, of the buyer’s interest in the home is known.
The seller is presented with an offer. Respond with an accountant because the offer was unacceptable. The counter reviews the initial offer. Responding with an accountant is a way to decline a previous offer while negotiations continue.
The seller may counter with a higher price and / or may change some of the terms of the offer. Aside from negotiating prices, they may request a higher down payment, need an earlier closing date, refuse to put down appliances, etc. The counters are considered new offers and the process starts over with each one.
The buyer can accept or can make adjustments and counteract the counter offer (by endorsing a second counter offer, or counter offer number 2). There is no limit to the number of these that can come and go. As with the original offer, no response to a counter is required, so they contain expiration times just like the original offer to buy.
A counter offer is not a total rejection of an offer. The seller and buyer continue the negotiations, which is good! The goal is to keep the counter offers because, as soon as someone stops fighting back without an acceptance, the deal is dead.
The typical response time for an offer or counter offer is twenty-four hours. If you make an offer or counter offer and change your mind, you can back out. You are allowed to withdraw your offer as long as it has not yet been accepted. Once acceptance is communicated to you or your agent, and / or the other party and their agent, you have a contract.
You never have to accept an offer. If you do not agree with what is asked of you, you have the right to end the negotiations.
Don’t be mad at your agent if they offer you a low offer or a counter offer. Agents must present to the seller any legal offer made in writing that is accompanied by a deposit check. An agent can never refuse to submit an offer because they feel it is too low. If the seller receives an offer that seems offensive to him, he can choose to simply end the negotiations.