Responding to a Lowball Offer on Your House

Homeowners put a lot of time, money, and effort into maintaining, updating, and decorating their homes. So, when it’s time to sell it can be frustrating to receive a lowball offer on your home.

Many sellers aren’t sure how to react to a low offer. However, with so much at stake it’s important to go into selling your home with a plan.

In this article, we’re going to talk about how to handle a low offer on your home so that you can capitalize on even the less-than-ideal prospects when selling your house.

Every offer deserves a polite response

So, you’ve gotten an offer on your home that you consider to be way too low. The first thing you need to do is to detach your emotions from the situation so that you can formulate a polite, but appropriate response.

It is the custom of many people around the world to negotiate. And one common practice in negotiation is to start with a low offer. Therefore, don’t be offended if you receive an offer that is low as it likely isn’t meant as an insult to you or your home.

We understand that selling can be frustrating, so if you need to vent, talk it over with your family or agent. Together you’ll be able to get past the initial frustration and come up with a quick, practical response to the offer.

Counter the offer anyway

Even if you think there’s a small chance that the prospective buyer will raise their offer to fit your requirements, it’s still worth providing a counter offer. This will make it clear to the buyer that you have received their offer and considered it.

Failing to provide a counter offer could mean you miss out on a serious offer in some cases, so it’s worth the small amount of time it takes to provide.

Don’t waste too much time negotiating

So, you’ve sent a counter offer and have received a response that still isn’t getting anywhere close to what you’re looking for. Now what?

In this situation, it’s best to send a concise and cordial message to the buyer that you won’t be able to adjust your offering price any further and then thank them for their time. After this point, it likely isn’t worth your time to continue negotiating.

Low offers can be helpful

If you’re getting a lot of low offers and none in the range you hope for, it could be time to reconsider a few things. You might want to try a new approach, such as staging the home or highlighting certain details that you may have missed. If your listing photos aren’t up to par you can upload new ones that are higher quality with better lighting.

Next, see if the comparable listings in your area have gone down in price. A substantial change in the local market since the time you listed your property is, in some cases, enough to influence the offers you receive.