What you should know before selling your home
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Negotiating
If you keep your goals in focus at all times, you will be better able to respond to offers. You will have three choices when an offer comes in: you can accept the offer, reject the offer, or make a counter-offer. (You should know, however, that a counter-offer is technically a rejected offer.) The buyer has no legal tie or obligation to the contract once any minor changes are made on it. Although the price will be the main element in the offer, you need to review every detail closely.
These details include down payment, earnest money deposit, possession date, interest rate, loan costs, inspections (what type and who pays), the home warranty plan, personal property items included in the deal such as washer/dryer, refrigerator, and more. Remember that any minor change of the original contract is technically a rejection, so only make changes if you are absolutely positive that you cannot or will not go along with what was offered. Contingencies, for example, are conditions that must or must not happen in order for the transaction to be valid. These in particular must be spelled out very clearly to prevent the contract from falling apart.
Again, keep your goals clear throughout negotiations so that your decisions remain objective. Put yourself in the buyer's shoes and try not to see them as an enemy or rival, but rather as someone who wants to purchase your home—it has been said that imitation is the highest form of compliment.
Once an offer is accepted, the escrow process begins. The escrow period is an important part of the home-selling process and one of the final steps leading to closing.
