Home Seller's Guide: Step 5 - Negotiating

Posted by Nicholas Bobenko on Wednesday, January 20, 2021 at 2:22 PM By Nicholas Bobenko / January 20, 2021 Comment

One of the primary reasons you hire an Ocean City real estate agent is to negotiate on your behalf. Your agent should be focused on negotiating the best price possible for your home, along with the most favorable contract terms.

When a Buyer makes an offer on your home you have the option to either accept, reject or counter their offer. While price is the most important factor there are other factors to consider when evaluating a real estate offer:

Are the Buyers financing or paying cash?
If the Buyers are financing, what are their qualifications?
What contingencies are included … inspections, financing, appraisal?
What is the settlement timeframe and proposed closing date?
How much is the good faith deposit?
How are the Buyers proposing to handle closing costs?
Have the Buyers requested any closing cost assistance?

An experienced Ocean City real estate agent will walk you through the entire offer and explain all of the contingencies and details. They should provide you with a Seller Net Sheet that summarizes all of the closing costs and provides you with an estimated net proceeds amount based on the offer.

A couple of useful tips to keep in mind when you are negotiating:

Respond relatively quickly to keep the positive momentum going.
Always counter, even if it is a small counter to a low offer.
Stay calm, patient and focused on the goal of selling your home.
Meet halfway where possible and make a concession to a Buyer concession

The real estate agent you choose to work with will have a considerable impact on the outcome of the sale of your home. Expertise in successful real estate negotiating only comes from real world experience. In my sixteen years in the Ocean City real estate market I have negotiated several hundred successful real estate transactions with favorable terms for my clients. Experience matters ... Put a proven track record of success to work for you. Feel free to contact me directly anytime at 443-614-9179 or via email below.