Read the whole offer before you answer the price
Credits, dates, and contingencies change the money more than the headline price.
Find the purchase price, the seller credits, the Money the buyer puts down to show the offer is serious. The contract says who holds it and when it is due., the financing terms, and every date before you react to the price. Credits, dates, and A condition in the offer. If it is not met, the buyer may be able to step back. The contract says which ones apply. change the money more than the headline. Read with a pen. Highlight every dollar that leaves your side and every deadline. If a number is in an addendum and not on the first page, it still counts. The first page is not the offer.
A higher price with a large credit can leave you with less than a lower price with no credit. Type both sets into the proceeds calculator before you reply. Use your payoff and the costs you already listed. Write the two nets under the two headlines. The better-looking price may lose. Do this even when you like the buyer. Liking the buyer is not a line on the statement.
A repair request is a request. It is not a promise you already made. List what you will do, what you will credit, and what you will decline. If the request has no dollar amount, do not answer yes. Ask for the amount or get a bid, then rerun the net. Ask your agent or attorney what each A condition in the offer. If it is not met, the buyer may be able to step back. The contract says which ones apply. lets the buyer do, and write that answer in the margin. A word you do not understand is a reason to ask, not a reason to sign.
Check the expiration before you finish the reading. If the offer dies tonight, you still read the credits first. A fast yes to a number you did not run is more expensive than a written request for another day, if the form allows you to ask. Save a copy of what you received, with your highlights, in the offer file. The reply you send later should match the margins, not a version of the deal you remember.
What to do
- Highlight every dollar that leaves your side and every deadline, including addenda.
- Run the high price with its credit and the lower price without one through the calculator.
- List what you will repair, credit, or decline, and ask what each A condition in the offer. If it is not met, the buyer may be able to step back. The contract says which ones apply. allows.
- Save the marked copy in the offer file before you answer.