It’s finally happened, you’ve received an offer on your home in Minnesota! While this is exciting, it doesn’t mean your house is sold just yet. Here’s what happens when you receive an offer, as well as what happens after an offer is accepted on a home.
Review the offer
It would be easy to accept the first offer that comes along, but it’s not always the wisest move. You need to think carefully about the following before you make a decision:
What’s the offered price? - Is it a reasonable offer, i.e., within an acceptable range of your asking price? You may want to consider accepting it if you don’t think you’ll get a higher offer.
Is the buyer financially sound? - has a lender approved the buyer for the purchase price of the property?
What contingencies are there? - Is the offer contingent on selling a home in Twin Cities, or finance approval? Ideally, you want as few contingencies as possible for a clean sale.
The outcomes of reviewing an offer is usually one of three things:
- You make a counteroffer
- You reject the offer
- You accept the offer
Making a counteroffer and adding contingencies
If the price isn’t high enough you can make a counteroffer to close the gap. You may also want to add contingencies to protect yourself. Such as the buyer being approved for a loan within a specific period, or the maximum amount you’re prepared to pay for repairs.
You reject the offer outright.
In general, it’s not helpful to reject an offer outright. You don’t know how much a buyer is prepared to move on his or her initial price. Though if a buyer makes a meager offer they may be bargain hunting. Rejecting the offer outright can show you mean business to other buyers.
I accepted an offer on my home now what?
First of all, congratulations! You just took a big step towards selling your home in Minnesota. But you’re not quite there yet. There are a few further steps you need to go through to process the sale of your home promptly.
- Property appraisal - the buyer’s lender will need to appraise the property’s value to make sure it matches the sale price or higher.
- Property inspection - a licensed property inspector, will need to examine your property to make sure it has no severe defects.
- Property disclosure - in Minnesota law requires you disclosure in writing about the condition of your property, and if you know of anything that could affect the buyer’s use or enjoyment of it.
- Title records - for a clear sale to take place there must be no issues with the title records, such as a mortgage by a former owner, or a lien by an ex-spouse. Any problems need to be addressed before the closing date, or the sale could be deemed null and void.
As you can see accepting an offer on your home in Minnesota doesn’t mean you’ve sold your house just yet. If everything runs smoothly, you’ll be handing your keys over before you know it. But if there are hold-ups at any stage, it can be a trying time for both seller and buyer.
An experienced real estate agent can help guide you through any choppy waters, and provide reassurance that the sale of your home is progressing as it should for the closing date.