What to Do When You Receive a Lowball Offer

If someone writes you a lowball offer for your home, how should you handle it? Today I’ll give you my advice. Want to sell your home?&nbsp;Get a FREE home value report Want to buy a home?&nbsp;Search all homes for sale I know that getting a lowball offer for your home feels painful, frustrating, discouraging, and even offensive. I also know all the terrible—yet justifiable—things that you’d like me to pass onto the buyer who wrote you such a low and insulting offer. It’s very common for both sellers and their listing agents to get so wrapped up in their righteous indignation after receiving a lowball offer that they refuse all communication from the offender. However, the only winner here is ego-gratification, which has a monetary value of precisely zero. Today, I’ll give you a few suggestions for how to respond to lowball offers other than letting your anger get the best of you. I primarily encourage you to always be gracious and to respond with a counteroffer. The fact that someone liked your home enough to take the time to write an official offer on it is already a promising start. There might be various reasons why some buyers choose to send a low offer. Some simply want to test your willingness to negotiate—some sellers have been known to accept discounted offers for strictly personal reasons.&nbsp; Other buyers might send a low offer because they feel that your home is overpriced; if you’ve recently upgraded your home, the buyer might send a lower offer because they think the asking price was meant to compensate for the costs of those projects.&nbsp; There might be various reasons why some buyers choose to send a low offer. ” But guess what? It’s not their job to know the value of your home. Most buyers don’t sit and study the market like we agents do when we appraise a for-sale home. It’s our job as agents and sellers to educate buyers on home values. After all, negotiation is how selling a home works, and to tell you the truth, negotiating an offer is the most fun we have in our workday as Realtors. If you are looking for a strong negotiator on your side as you sell your home, or if you have any real estate questions, feel free to reach out to me. Let’s talk. * {box-sizing: border-box;} body {font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;} .mySlides {display: none;} img {vertical-align: middle;} /* Slideshow container */ .slideshow-container { max-width: 1000px; position: relative; margin: auto; } /* Caption text */ .text { color: #333333; font-size: 15px; padding: 8px 12px; position: absolute; bottom: 8px; width: 100%; text-align: center; background-color: #ffffff } /* Number text (1/3 etc) */ .numbertext { color: #f2f2f2; font-size: 12px; padding: 8px 128px; position: absolute; top: 0; } /* The dots/bullets/indicators */ .dot { height: 15px; width: 15px; margin: 0 2px; background-color: #bbb; border-radius: 50%; display: inline-block; transition: background-color 0.6s ease; } .active { background-color: #717171; } /* Fading animation */ .fade { -webkit-animation-name: fade; -webkit-animation-duration: 1s; animation-name: fade; animation-duration: 1s; } @-webkit-keyframes fade { from {opacity: .4} to {opacity: 1} } @keyframes fade { from {opacity: .4} to {opacity: 1} } /* On smaller screens, decrease text size */ @media only screen and (max-width: 300px) { .text {font-size: 11px} } Featured Listings Available near you: 1 / 3 4520 Acacia Pkwy 2 / 3 4316 Stonecrest 3 / 3 845 Underwood var slideIndex = 0; showSlides(); function showSlides() { var i; var slides = document.getElementsByClassName("mySlides"); var dots = document.getElementsByClassName("dot"); for (i = 0; i < slides.length; i++) { slides[i].style.display = "none"; } slideIndex++; if (slideIndex > slides.length) {slideIndex = 1} for (i = 0; i < dots.length; i++) { dots[i].className = dots[i].className.replace(" active", ""); } slides[slideIndex-1].style.display = "block"; dots[slideIndex-1].className += " active"; setTimeout(showSlides, 3000); // Change image every 3 seconds }