How to get your offer to purchase a home accepted.

How to get your offer accepted, even when there are several offers on the table, and at the same time accomplish your goals and address your concerns.

Keep in mind that an offer to purchase a home usually addresses more than just price. It can include, the closing date, the possession date, terms, the deposit amount, inspection contingencies such as house, pest, toxic materials, well, septic, roof, soil, and the list can go on.

Here is an example of a seller's perspective: Jack and Jill have an outstanding opportunity, as a matter of fact, this is the dream of a lifetime. However, they need to sell their home within a certain period of time, lets say 60 days, but possibly continue to work in this area for another 60 days. They need to be able to move to a different area of the country with 20 days notice and they have lots of furniture, much more than would fit in a normal apartment. They list their home at market value and receive three offers.

• Buyer # 1 offers $5,000 over list price but the offer is contingent on the sale of his home, financing, inspections, and a long time before the transaction might close.


• Buyer #2 offers full price but they have lots of contingencies and the time periods of their contingencies range from normal to slightly longer than normal.


• Buyer # 3 offers $5,000 less than the list price but prior to making the offer they try to find out what are the most important issues to the seller. After investigating the sellers' needs the offer reads like this: Financing contingency subject only to appraisal, as they are pre approved for the required loan amount. Closing to occur 30 to 60 days from the time of mutual acceptance and the seller can choose the closing date. The seller can rent back the house for up to 60 days and only needs to give 10 days notice of intent to vacate. There are just a few contingencies with short time periods.

Which offer do you think is most appealing to the seller? Will the seller be willing to accept less in exchange for the other benefits? If the seller would not accept less, which offer do you think he would want to work with first? Do you think the seller would be inclined to try and find out what things might be important to the buyer? Is price this seller's hot button?

Some people don't give it a lot of thought but quite often, price is not at the top of the sellers list, sometimes it is not even in the top 3. There are lots of emotions that a seller can feel when offers come in. When they sign the contract they have embraced the next step in their life and if the transaction fails it could have a major effect on that stepping stone.

When writing an offer, try to find out what is important to the seller. Ask their agent when the seller wants to close, do they want to carry a contract or get cashed out, when do they want to give up possession, are there any points that should be covered in the contract that are of particular concern to the seller.

Remember that all parties to the contract have a mutual goal; the buyer wants to buy, the seller want to sell, and the real estate agents want a smooth transaction for everyone concerned.

When a seller sees that you are making a genuine effort to address their concerns they will usually want to work with you in addressing yours. In reference to your contingencies, they are certainly an important part of the contract and should be there, but only use contingencies for the areas you really need to address and keep the time periods as short as possible. The sooner all contingencies to a contract are removed, the sooner the seller feels comfortable that the transaction will close and that allows the seller to move closer to his or her goals. That is worth a lot.

Earnest money deposits are something that a buyer can give "big" to a seller with no cost to the buyer. The earnest money deposit can give the seller a sense of security but there is no risk to the purchaser unless he defaults on the transaction because the deposit is applied to the purchase price. It is important to understand that default (on the purchasing side) occurs after all contingencies have been satisfied or removed and the purchaser will not close the transaction. On the other hand a small earnest money deposit can be interpreted that the purchaser may not be committed to the transaction and might walk away if something better comes along.

When you do something nice for someone they usually try and reciprocate. When you have genuine concern for another person's goals you will find they want to help you as well. Getting your offer accepted is easiest when you avoid the adversarial position and make an earnest effort at creating a partnership; after all you do have a mutual goal.

Mike Esteb
Keller Williams Realty
Gig Harbor, WA
253.851.0744
Mike Esteb has been selling real estate since 1988.