My clients cleaned and painted and staged. Finally, we put a ‘for sale’ sign in the front yard. For weeks, they walked on egg-shells trying to keep the house ready to show at a moment’s notice. And finally we got the call! An offer was coming in.
As soon as I picked up the offer, I knew my clients would not be happy. It was $30,000 off asking and this was not an expensive house. What I didn’t expect was their anger.
“That offer does not deserve a response,” he stormed. “Tell them to go find another house!”
The most important advice in this situation is not to take it personal. In fact, try thinking like a buyer when trying to sell your home. If there was the slightest chance that you could buy a house for $30,000 less than the asking price, wouldn’t you try it? Of course you would. It is only human nature and so don’t hold the low ball offer against the buyer.
It took some time and effort for my sellers to regain their composure. They finally agreed to write a reasonable counter offer that the buyer ended up taking. Today they are living in a new house.
Not all transactions work out this way. Sometimes the buyer walks. Sometime they counter back with another very low offer. But whatever the situation, it is most important to stay calm, focused and not take it personally.
Tomorrow I'll talk a little about low ball offers for buyers.
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