Getting your house on the market takes a lot of work, and it can be exciting when buyers start taking an interest in your home. With that in mind, properly responding to incoming offers will be an important part of your home sale. 

Whether an initial offer fails to live up to your expectations or completely exceeds your desired outcome, it’s important to handle the ensuing negotiation process with care and consideration. 

In this blog post, we’ll look at how to handle incoming offers when selling your house. 

How Long Will it Take for Offers to Come In?

Once your house is officially listed, buyers can discover your home and request showings. But how long will it take for this interest to turn into offers? It depends. 

Every home is unique. Some properties get offers within 24 hours, others take a few days or even a few weeks. What matters most isn’t how fast your offers come in, but how strong they are. 

Patience can pay off for home sellers. However, if your house has been on the market for longer than you expected without a single offer, it may be time to reduce your asking price or adjust your strategy in some other way. 

Thinking about selling your Calgary home? Explore these related blogs for more advice.

Define Your Goals and Expectations 

Like other aspects of your home sale, a little preparation can go a long way when it comes to effectively handling offers. 

Before your house hits the market, take time to define your ideal outcomes. Start by setting a goal price, then decide on how low you’re willing to go. Doing this beforehand can help you make calm, well-thought-out decisions when offers require urgent responses. 

Don’t forget, offers include more details than just the price. Buyers will propose a specific possession date, and they may also attach certain conditions to their offer, like financing or a home inspection. It’s also important to consider these details when determining your deal breakers. 

What Happens After You Receive an Offer

When an offer comes in, you have three options: Accept, negotiate, or decline. Each of these moves have their own implications, so it’s important to think carefully before making your decision. 

Accept 

If you receive an offer that matches or exceeds your expectations, you can decide to accept it right then and there. However, if it’s the buyer’s first offer, you shouldn’t sign on the dotted line without talking to your agent first. Depending on the specifics of the offer, they may recommend lightly negotiating on the buyer’s price or terms to get you the absolute best deal possible. 

Negotiate

Sometimes an offer comes close to meeting your ideal result, but it’s not quite there yet. When this happens, you can choose to negotiate with the buyer by submitting a counteroffer. After some back and forth, you’ll hopefully arrive at a price and terms that align with your goals. 

Decline 

If an offer is simply too far off the mark to negotiate, or you receive a better one from another buyer, you can outright decline it. 

Prepare For Quick Decision-Making

Offers expire quickly. That’s one of the reasons why it’s so important to outline your boundaries before they come in. In some cases, you may need to make a major decision on little notice. The more time you’ve had to think about your goals in advance, the better. 

If you’re selling your house with someone else, like a spouse or partner, it’s a good idea to plan for fast communication and decision-making between everyone involved. If one person is unreachable, your real estate agent may communicate with the other to talk about next steps. 

Searching for more advice on selling your Calgary home? Check out these blogs next!

Trust Your Gut (And Your Realtor)

Making major decisions (like accepting or rejecting an offer) can be overwhelming. But if you have a clear understanding of your boundaries and goals, it makes the process much easier. 

You shouldn’t completely ignore your emotions either. If you have a gut feeling about a particular offer (good or bad), follow your heart. 

Along with trusting your gut, it’s important to listen to your agent’s advice too. As a professional who understands the local market, their guidance is based on their personal experience and expertise. If they feel strongly about accepting, negotiating on, or declining an offer, it’s worth hearing them out. 

Make the Most of Your Home Sale 

Looking for a Calgary real estate team that can help you secure the best price and terms on your home? Look no further than Dolce Real Estate. 

With close to fifteen years of on-the-ground experience, we’ve guided thousands of sellers through all types of market fluctuations, industry changes, and economic conditions. Our industry-leading selling strategies can help reach your preferred result. 

Want to get a great return on your Calgary home? We can help! Call 403.999.5882 to get in touch or send us an email at info@dolcerealestate.ca.

Meet with Us

Planning your next Calgary home purchase or sale? Book a consultation with us today and see the Dolce Difference.

Book a Call