Signing On The Dotted Line

Content of Presentation
Seller's Net Sheet
Seller's Action
Multiple Offers
Questions and Answers

• Date, name and address of the buyer and seller, and the legal description of the property.
  
• Amount of earnest money deposit, which will be held in an escrow account by the broker, unless otherwise noted.
  
• Sales price.
  
• Size of down payment, and how the remainder of purchase price is to be financed. The offer should indicate the maximum interest rate the buyer is willing to pay, and the right to cancel without penalty if such financing proves unavailable. 
  
• Proposed settlement and occupancy date, and daily rent provision for “post-settlement occupancy” if the seller cannot vacate and becomes the temporary tenant of the buyer. 
  
• Contingencies, if any, such as satisfactory review by attorney, structural inspection, appraisal, or sale of the buyer’s present house.
  
• Other important provisions, including a list of items that convey with the sale, stipulation that title must be insured, and who is to pay various settlement costs..

Taken all together, this offer is reduced to dollars and cents on a sample net sheet, similar to the exercise during the listing appointment. The estimated outcome is determined, which allows the home seller to consider the “bottom line”. 

1. Accept the offer as written.
   
2. Make a “counter offer” on unacceptable aspects. Counters are written in the margin of the contract or in addenda, and initialed by the home seller. A purchase offer with counters is not a ratified contract until the home buyer accepts and initials the counters. Buyers can withdraw, accept or counter the counter offer.
   
3. Reject the offer, if it is totally unacceptable. (Outright rejection, without a counter, should be the last resort.)

A contract exists when all terms including changes are ratified by initials of all principals. When the contingencies are satisfied, the contract becomes enforceable.

All offers registered must be presented to the home seller. They will be presented in the order registered. The home seller should hear each offer completely and ask questions. No action is necessary until all offers are heard. If more than one offer is accepted or countered, an order of precedence must be established, such as primary, first backup, second backup. Be careful not to sell the home twice.
 

Is it best to turn down the first offers?

If the buyer fails to make full settlement, the deposited earnest money may be forfeited only after a release is signed by all parties. In the event of forfeiture, the deposit will be divided equally between the seller and the real estate brokers, but not to exceed the amount of the commission, or according to the sales contract.