Low Ball Offer: A Seller's Perspective

I was networking with some agents from around this great country of ours the other day and one was wondering about lowball offers on our listings and how we react to it. I don't. I'm usually quite confident in my pricing. I have a good history of selling homes at the price range I've told sellers they should sell in. However, a home is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it! Sellers need to realize this. Everyone is out for a deal, now, more than ever.

By law we as REALTORS have to present the offer to the you, the seller. If someone offers 50 bucks on your million dollar estate, I've got to let you know. Here's the deal: it doesn't bother me. If I'm confident on our pricing and the offer is significantly lower, I'm disappointed- but WE'RE ONLY JUST BEGINNING! No one says a seller must take it.

Sellers need to find the positives in an offer. Is the buyer well approved? Does the buyer want to close the property in a time frame that works for you? ETC. Often times, the rest of the contract will be largely agreeable (or easily negotiated)- leaving price as the only hurdle. One thing I'll always tell a disappointed seller, "You are X dollars closer to where you wanted to be than you were an hour ago."

It sounds a little hokey, but it is absolutely true. There's a couple of things going on in a buyers mind when making that low offer.

• Let's just see how motivated/ desperate they are to sell.
• I'll kick myself if I could have got this house cheaper- so let's go in a little low
• They're so overpriced we have to come in somewhere

These are some of the many rationales used for low offer price. They are ALL VALID. So your house is listed at $200,000 and they came in at $160,000. Maybe they only feel that it's worth 180k and just want you each to split the difference. COUNTER THEM!!!!! Worst case scenario is you never get a deal put together- best case; you sell your home= GOAL ACHIEVED!