When you buy and live in a property, it becomes part of your life. Inevitably, you will strive to make the property better through improvements and many of your life experiences will occur in it. When it comes time to sell, receiving a very low offer for this slice of your life can really set you off. Unconsciously, many homeowners interpret such low offers as a valuation of their time and experiences in the property. This is a mistake.
You list your property for $400,000, but don't receive a sniff for a month. Eventually, a buyer comes along who expresses serious interest in the property. In fact, they tell you an offer will be made. Your spirits rise and it is time to break out the champagne. Then you receive a written offer for $365,000. So much for the champagne.
In such a scenario, the first reaction of most sellers is to consider the offer as an insult. What nerve this idiot buyer must have! Who does he think he is! Normally, a few cusswords are also included. As you can tell, this is an emotional reaction. Alas, the purchase or sale of a property is a BUSINESS transaction, not an emotional event. Should you be insulted by really low offers? NO! Divorce yourself from the emotion. Stick to the facts and try to enjoy the nature of the process.
If you are a FSBO seller, there are two reasons you may get a really low offer. The first applies to all sellers, and is simply the fact the potential buyer is trying to ascertain how desperate you are to move the property. The potential buyer doesn't really think you will sell for $365,000, but you might come back with a counter offer for $385,000 which is still a great deal for the buyer. Simply put, the buyer is trying to identify your bottom line.
There is a second reason a FSBO seller will occasionally get a really lower offer. It is because you are a FSBO seller! A potential buyer may think you will panic or be a dolt and come way down on the price. The offer price is purely a reflection of a hope by the buyer that you are ignorant to the value of your home. Of course, you are not!
If you get a miserably low offer on your property, take a couple of deep breathes and then smile. Make a counter offer for the exact asking price of your home or just above it. When the potential buyer expresses shock, just show them their original offer. That will put a stop to the games and tell the buyer you know what is what.
