Offers & negotiation

← The Arizona Seller's Guide

When offers come in, the price is what everyone looks at first — and it's only part of the picture. The strongest offer is the one most likely to actually close, on terms that work for you. Reading past the number is where an agent earns their keep.

Reading an offer beyond the price

Two offers at the same price can be worlds apart. Here's what I'm weighing on each one:

• Financing type. Cash is the surest and fastest — no lender, no appraisal contingency, fewer ways for it to fall through. Among financed offers, a strong conventional loan with a solid down payment is generally sturdier than a low-down-payment FHA or VA loan, though those are perfectly good buyers. What matters most is a real, verified pre-approval behind it.
• Contingencies. Every contingency — inspection, appraisal, loan, sale of the buyer's current home — is a door the buyer can walk back through. Fewer or shorter contingencies mean more certainty for you. A home-sale contingency, in particular, ties your close to a property you don't control.
• Close timeline. Does their timing match yours? If you need time to find your next place, a flexible close or a post-possession arrangement can be worth real money.
• Concessions and terms. Look at requested seller-paid closing costs, home warranty, personal property, and the earnest money amount. A larger earnest deposit signals a serious, committed buyer.

The inspection response — the BINSR

Here's the round many sellers don't see coming: after you're under contract, the buyer inspects, and then uses the BINSR — the Buyer's Inspection Notice and Seller's Response — to tell you what, if anything, they want addressed. This is a genuine second negotiation, and it can matter more than the original price. Your options in response are typically to agree to the requested items, agree to some, offer a credit in lieu of repairs, or decline — each with consequences for whether the buyer proceeds or cancels.

My general approach: focus the response on true safety, structural, and system issues rather than nickel-and-dime cosmetic items, and often a credit is cleaner than doing repairs yourself before closing. This is also where the prep from Chapter 2 pays off — the fewer surprises the inspection turns up, the less leverage the buyer has here.

Appraisal negotiation

If the buyer is financing and the appraisal comes in below the contract price, you're negotiating again. The usual paths: the buyer brings extra cash to cover the gap, you meet somewhere in the middle on price, or, if neither works, the deal unwinds under the appraisal contingency. Pricing that's anchored to solid, recent comps — the whole point of Chapter 1 — is your best defense, because it gives the appraiser the support to hit the number in the first place.

Handling multiple offers

When a well-priced, well-marketed home draws several offers, you have leverage — and choices about how to use it:

• Accept the strongest offer outright if one clearly stands above the rest on price and terms.
• Counter one buyer to improve price, terms, or certainty.
• Ask all parties for their highest and best by a set deadline, then choose.

The temptation is to grab the biggest number. But a slightly lower offer with cash, few contingencies, and a matching timeline is often worth more than a higher one that's shaky on financing or loaded with conditions. I'll lay the offers side by side so you're comparing the whole picture, not just the top line — and so you understand the fair-housing rules that govern how we treat every buyer through the process.