How Selling Works, Part 7 : Reviewing Offers
What Actually Matters Beyond the Price
It’s usually every real estate agent’s favorite call to make to a seller client:
“We’ve got an offer.”
This is the moment everything’s been building toward. Weeks (or months) of prepping, packing, repairing, staging, photos, launching, showings, feedback... and now there’s finally something to react to.
The instinct, when an offer arrives, is to look at one number first.
The price.
But after reviewing (and writing) offers on more than a thousand homes, I can tell you the price is just one line on a document that’s usually 15 to 20 pages long.
And that number by itself rarely tells you which offer actually serves you best.
More Than a Number
Let me walk you through what I’m actually looking at when an offer lands on the table, because it’s a lot more than just the top line.
Financing
How is this buyer paying for your home?
Cash. Conventional loan. FHA. VA. Seller financing. Each comes with its own risk profile.
A cash offer doesn’t need an appraisal to satisfy a bank, and that alone removes one of the most common ways deals fall apart.
A financed offer is only as strong as the buyer’s loan approval, and a pre-approval letter from a local lender who actually underwrites in this market carries more weight than a generic pre-qualification from a call center three states away.
If it’s financed, what’s their down payment amount?
On page 2 of the financing addendum, did they request Seller-paid closing costs? If so, how much?
Is there a Form 22AD – additional down payment, in case of low appraisal?
These are all material terms we look closely at and factor in.
Earnest Money
Here in Whatcom County, earnest money is typically 1 to 3 percent of the purchase price, held in escrow as a sign the buyer is serious and willing to meet the dates and deadlines in the offer.
A buyer offering only $1000 on a $700,000 home is telling you something different than a buyer offering earnest money of $20,000.
In a hyper-competitive, multi-offer situation, a strong buyer might add a clause that makes their earnest money non-refundable, payable to the seller upon deposit (within 1 or 2 days of mutual acceptance.) That’s strong.
Earnest Money is not the whole story. But it’s a data point.
Contingencies
Every contingency is a door the buyer can potentially walk through to exit the contract.
Inspection contingency. Financing contingency. Appraisal contingency. Title contingenc. Well contingency. Septic contingency. Lead paint contingency. Neighborhood review contingency. Information verification contingency. Sale-of-home contingency.
None of these are inherently bad. They protect buyers. But they inherently leave you, the seller, sort of holding your breath as we wait for them to clear.
Whether or not we agree to them up front is a matter of what’s reasonable in that particular situation, and how much strength we have (or not) in the negotiation.
Each contingency is a question you have to answer: how much risk am I willing to carry between now and closing… and how much choice do I really have?
Closing Timeline
Does the buyer need 45 days? Do they want to close in two weeks?
Can you accommodate those?
Can the buyer close early but let you remain in the home for a period of time after closing?
If so, do they offer that for free, or are they charging you?
Your own timeline matters here too. If you need extra time to find your next home, a fast closing from a highly qualified buyer might actually serve you worse than a slightly lower offer with flexible terms.
The Buyer’s Letter
Sometimes a buyer includes a “love letter” about why they love the home.
I have mixed feelings about these. They can be moving. They can also, occasionally, create legal complications under fair housing guidelines, so I always review them carefully before we let them factor into a decision.
When More Than One Buyer Wants Your Home
Multiple offers change the entire conversation, and they change it fast.
When we’re in a multiple-offer situation, my job shifts from “help you evaluate one offer” to “help you compare several offers side by side, on paper, so nothing gets lost in the excitement.”
That usually means building a simple net sheet for each offer: price, estimated closing costs, contingencies, timeline, and the buyer’s likelihood of actually closing.
Sometimes the highest price wins.
Sometimes it doesn’t.
I’ve seen sellers take an offer that was $15,000 lower because it came from a cash buyer with no contingencies and a two-week close, over a higher offer that was contingent on the buyer selling their own home first.
Which one is “better” depends entirely on what matters most to you.
Reading Between the Lines
After reviewing this many offers, you start noticing patterns that have nothing to do with the numbers on the page.
Was the offer submitted quickly, or did it take days to put together?
Is the buyer’s agent responsive, organized, and easy to work with? Or are we already chasing down basic paperwork before you’ve even accepted anything?
A buyer’s agent who’s disorganized during the offer stage rarely becomes more organized once you’re under contract.
That’s not a guarantee. But it’s a pattern worth paying attention to.
Final Thoughts
Reviewing an offer is about more than just finding the biggest number.
It’s about understanding the whole picture: financing, earnest money, contingencies, timeline, and the people behind the paperwork, and deciding which combination actually gets you where you want to go.
That’s the conversation I want to have with you before you sign anything.
In Part 8 of this series, we’ll talk about what happens next: how negotiation actually works once an offer is on the table, what kind of negotiation strength do we have, and what’s the best path forward.
Until then... if an offer lands in your inbox, take a breath before you look past the first line.
