What To Do When You Have Multiple Offers

If buyer demand has outstripped the supply of houses in your neighborhood, then you might just find yourself in the enviable position of beating buyers back with a stick. But having multiple offers on your property also comes with some stress you may not expect. Which offer should you accept, and how do you even start evaluating them? Here are some tips for how to proceed.

The highest offer isn’t always best.

Occasionally, you run into buyers who will bid way over asking price just to keep the seller from accepting another offer too quickly. Of course, they usually don’t plan to pay that much for your property. They may back out after giving your house a closer look-over, or try to haggle the price down after the inspection comes back. If one of your offers is significantly higher than the others, keep in mind that it may be too good to be true.

Use multiple offers to your advantage.

Having more than one offer puts you in a great position. Just communicating your situation to your potential buyers (through your agents, of course), can increase interest in those who bid on the higher end and lead less serious offers to drop off, all with minimal effort on your part.

Remember that there are plenty of reasons an offer might fall through.

Even if an offer seems perfect, there’s no guarantee that it will go through. It’s not uncommon for buyers to back out if the appraisal comes back too low, since they may not be able to get the financing they need from a lender. They may even back out for reasons that have nothing to do with money. Before you accept an offer, do your due diligence. Make sure your buyers have been pre-approved by a lender, so you know that their credit and work history check out.

Know what a good buyer looks like.

Determining the most interested buyer—and the thus one most likely to pay the asking price and make it to the closing table—is always important. An ideal buyer will have viewed your home multiple times and have expressed their interest to either you or your agent, and their offer won't be significantly under your asking price.

Listen to advice.

Your real estate agent is a valuable resource in this situation. He or she has seen this happen many times before and knows which strategies work.