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Columbia Missouri Real Estate ~ House Hunt Form
Use this form to tell us about the home you are looking for. We'll perform a search for you and contact you with a list of properties that match your requirements.
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Your Host Agent:
Getting a Counter Offer
A seller may present a counter offer to fine-tune the price, terms, and conditions of offers they receive.
- Suppose, for example, that you offer $175,000 for a home that you like and you ask to close 30 days after the sellers accept your offer. Because they had the house listed at $189,500, the sellers think that your offering price is low and they need six weeks to relocate.
- Instead of rewriting your entire offer, they give you a counteroffer. It states that they're willing to accept all the terms and conditions of your offer except that they want $185,000 and six weeks after acceptance to close.
- You don't mind a six-week closing, but you don't want to pay more than $180,000, so you give the sellers a counter-counter offer to that effect.
- The sellers come back to you with a firm $184,000. You respond at $181,000 and ask your agent to make it clear to the sellers that you won't go any higher.
- If you really want the home, this phase of the game can be nerve-racking. You worry about another buyer making the sellers a better offer and stealing the house away while you're trying to get the price down that last $3,000. The sellers are equally concerned that they'll lose you by pushing too hard for the final $3,000.
- You and the sellers are close to agreement on price. Your offering price and the sellers' asking price are both factually based upon recent sales of comparable houses in the neighborhood. An equitable way to resolve this type of impasse is to split the difference 50-50. The mutual $1,500 concession equals less than 1 percent of the home's fair market value based on a $182,500 sale price.
- Splitting the difference won't work in all situations. It is, however, a fair way to quickly resolve relatively small differences of opinion so you can make a deal and get on with your life.
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