If you’re selling your home in South Central Pennsylvania and you receive a lowball offer on it from a potential buyer, you may be wondering whether it’s still possible to get a great deal on your home. Today I’d like to share five steps you should take that will help you turn that lowball offer into a home run:

  1. Don’t be insulted by a lowball offer. Your first instinct when receiving a low offer on your home may be to get defensive. This is the most unproductive thing you can do. Try not to get emotional, keep an objective perspective, and realize that this buyer may not be doing this solely to make a personal attack on you or your home. It’s possible that they’ve been misinformed about starting with a low offer, and many times these people are expecting a counteroffer.
  2. Respond gracefully. Grace can go a long way. Put yourself in the buyer’s shoes: if a seller launches a personal attack on you after making an offer, are you likely to come up on your price? The odds of the buyer coming up on their offer are much stronger when you respond with a graceful offer because you’re approaching them in a collaborative and positive way.
  3. Write a strategic counteroffer. Don’t feel pressured to come down and meet the buyer halfway just because they lowballed you. It’s okay to give a little bit in good faith, but if your home is priced reasonably, there’s no reason you should slash your price.
  4. Expect a counter to your counteroffer. It’s natural for this negotiation to feel a bit like a chess game, and you may counter back and forth a few different times. This is okay; just try your best to be patient.
  5. Focus on things other than price. Get creative with terms like the settlement date, included appliances, and financing or inspection contingencies. One thing that you can rest assured in knowing is that if there are a lot of inspection contingencies, there may be repair requests later on. If this is the case, you could potentially turn a lowball offer into an as-is sale.

If you have any questions about lowball offers or real estate in general, don’t hesitate to give me a call or send me an email. I’d be happy to point you in the right direction!