Receiving an Offer :

The Buyer may have reviewed comparable active, pending, closed sales and generally will make an initial offer that allows them room to negotiate. Remain patient, as there may be several back and forth counter-offers.

You may want a real estate attorney to review the contract before you finalize the terms and conditions. Just remember, that until both the Buyer and Seller have initialed and dated all the terms of the contract, we do not have “a deal”.

Ernest Money: Everything is negotiable; however it is customary in our market for the buyer to deposit $1000 or more at the time of offer, and an additional deposit within 7 calendar days of the “effective date”, to bring the total deposits to 10% of the purchase price. These deposits are held in an escrow account and may or may not earn interest for the buyer.
 

Waiting to get “your price” may not be best.

All terms and conditions are important to consider. The following chart demonstrates how waiting for a higher sale price (using a condominium for the example) can sometimes net almost the same amount as a lower sale price with a quicker closing. A single family home would not have the condominium fee, but would have lawn, pool, security etc. and other monthly expenses. Loss of income on the proceeds from a quicker sale is included in the example below. Keep in mind that having a property on the market longer does not guarantee there will be a future buyer willing to pay more than the buyer you are negotiating with right now.

Note: Commission to Listing and Selling Broker may vary depending upon List Price
Does not include expenses for paying off financing, prorations for taxes etc.
Other expenses such as lawn, pool, house check, cleaning are not included.