Receiving Offers: Where Your Hard Work Pays Off
All of the preparation, pricing, and marketing you’ve done comes to a head when offers start arriving. This is an exciting moment — but it’s also where careful analysis and skilled negotiation determine how much you actually walk away with. Price alone rarely tells the whole story of an offer.
We’re Susan & Kurt Johnston, REALTORS® with Iron Valley Real Estate of York County. Kurt leads our offer evaluation and negotiation process, reviewing every offer in detail with you and giving you a clear picture of what each one actually means for your net proceeds, your timeline, and your risk.
What Makes a Strong Offer?
A strong offer isn’t simply the highest number. It’s the combination of price, financing strength, contingencies, and terms that together produce the best outcome for you. Here’s what we evaluate in every offer:
| Offer Component | What We Look For |
|---|---|
| Purchase Price | How it compares to your list price and current market comps |
| Financing Type | Cash offers carry no financing risk; conventional loans are stronger than FHA/VA in some situations; each has implications for closing timeline |
| Preapproval Letter | A strong preapproval from a reputable lender signals the buyer can perform |
| Earnest Money Deposit | A larger deposit signals buyer commitment and seriousness |
| Contingencies | Fewer contingencies generally mean less risk — but each one has a legitimate purpose; we’ll explain the implications of each |
| Closing Date | Does the proposed timeline work for your situation? Flexibility here can be a meaningful negotiating point |
| Seller Concessions Requested | Any requested closing cost assistance or buyer agent fee coverage reduces your net proceeds — we’ll calculate the true net for each offer |
| Inclusions / Exclusions | What appliances, fixtures, or personal property is the buyer requesting or waiving? |
A note from Kurt: “We prepare a seller’s net sheet for every offer we receive so you can compare apples to apples. A higher-priced offer with a larger concession request may net you less than a slightly lower offer with no concessions. You need the full picture before you decide.”
Understanding Contingencies
Contingencies are clauses in the Agreement of Sale that allow the buyer (or in some cases the seller) to exit the contract if certain conditions aren’t met. As a seller, understanding each contingency helps you assess the true strength of an offer:
| Contingency | What It Means for You |
|---|---|
| Financing Contingency | If the buyer’s loan falls through, they can exit and recover their deposit. Very common and generally reasonable — the risk is manageable with a strong preapproval. |
| Inspection Contingency | Buyer can request repairs, a price reduction, or exit after the home inspection. A well-prepared home minimizes the risk of significant inspection negotiations. |
| Appraisal Contingency | If the home appraises below the offer price, the buyer can renegotiate or exit. Proper pricing reduces this risk significantly. |
| Sale of Buyer’s Home | The offer is contingent on the buyer selling their current home. This adds uncertainty and timeline risk — we’ll advise you on whether this is worth accepting in your market conditions. |
| Clear Title | Standard in all transactions — closing is contingent on the title company confirming clear ownership. Not a concern in routine transactions. |
Seller Concessions: What You Need to Know
As a result of the August 2024 NAR settlement changes, buyer agent compensation is no longer advertised on the MLS. This means buyers may request that you cover their agent’s fee as a seller concession as part of their offer — in addition to any other closing cost assistance they request.
Here’s how to think about concession requests:
- A concession request is simply a component of the offer — it reduces your net proceeds and should be evaluated alongside the purchase price
- You are never required to accept a concession request — it is fully negotiable
- In some price ranges and market conditions, offering seller concessions proactively can attract a broader pool of buyers
- We’ll help you weigh the strategic value of concessions against your net proceeds goals for each specific offer you receive
Multiple Offers: Creating and Managing Competition
When our marketing strategy works as intended, you may receive multiple offers — sometimes within the first days of listing. This is the ideal scenario: it gives you choices, leverage, and the ability to select the combination of price and terms that works best for you.
In a multiple-offer situation, we typically:
- Notify all interested buyers that multiple offers have been received
- Set a deadline for all parties to submit their best and final offer
- Present all offers to you simultaneously with a side-by-side comparison
- Advise you on the relative strengths and risks of each offer
- Negotiate on your behalf to achieve the best overall outcome
Pennsylvania law requires us to present all written offers to you promptly. We will never discourage or delay presenting an offer, regardless of amount or terms. Every offer you receive is yours to evaluate.
Responding to Offers: Your Options
When you receive an offer, you have three choices:
| Response | When It Makes Sense |
|---|---|
| Accept the offer as written | The offer meets or exceeds your goals on price, terms, and timeline |
| Counter the offer | The offer is close but needs adjustments — price, concessions, closing date, or contingencies |
| Reject the offer | The offer is too far from your goals to warrant negotiation — we’ll advise when this is the right call |
Counter-offers are extremely common and a normal part of the process. We’ll help you craft a counter that moves toward your goals without unnecessarily pushing a motivated buyer away.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long do I have to respond to an offer?
The Agreement of Sale specifies a response deadline — typically 24–72 hours. We’ll walk you through the timeline on every offer so you never miss a deadline or feel pressured to decide too quickly.
What if the offer is insultingly low?
It happens. A low offer doesn’t mean the buyer isn’t motivated — it may just mean they’re testing the market. We’ll help you determine whether a counter-offer makes strategic sense or whether the gap is simply too large to bridge productively.
Can I accept an offer and still receive backup offers?
Yes. In Pennsylvania, you can accept an offer while continuing to show the home and accept backup offers in case the primary contract falls through. This is a smart strategy in situations where the primary offer has higher-risk contingencies.
What happens after an offer is accepted?
Once both parties have signed the Agreement of Sale, the transaction moves into the inspection, appraisal, and closing phase — which we cover in detail on the next page.