How to Accept an Offer on Your Home

You've put your home up for sale and now you've got an offer on the table. Here's what to do next.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. Look over the offer and any initialed clauses and contingencies carefully. Keep an eye out for any conditions that may be unacceptable to you, such as excessive repairs or a time frame that doesn't work for you.

2. Evaluate the amount of money the buyer is offering and discuss it with your spouse, agent or attorney.

3. Understand the amount of time you have to respond to the offer. If you don't respond within that time frame, the offer will become void.

4. Talk with the buyer or buyer's representative about the title company that will perform the settlement services. (The buyer usually chooses this company, and you want to be comfortable and confident in the title company's ability to bring the transaction to a successful close.)

5. Negotiate any points by presenting a counteroffer.

6. Sign the contract when you have agreed to the buyer's offer.

Tips & Warnings

• Weigh the buyer's ability to actually buy the property (his or her creditworthiness) first so that you're comfortable as you enter into negotiations.
• Don't let the amount of earnest money the prospective buyer has put down be a large factor in your final decision. (Sellers tend to gauge the seriousness of a buyer's intention on the amount of earnest money.)
• Consider using the offer as a bargaining chip to attract more desirable but slower-moving buyers ("We have another offer on the table and wanted to give you one more opportunity to buy the house.")
• Be careful about stipulations in contracts that bind the seller and not the buyer. Many buyers will put all kinds of escape clauses into a contract that will let them kill the deal easily and walk away.
• Once you accept an offer, the agreement becomes a binding contract. Changing your mind could mean trouble for failing to live up to a contract.
• Determine if the buyer's offer is contingent on the sale of his or her own home.