How to Respectfully Refuse an Offer

This is a question that continuously pops up into the conversation when selling your home: how exactly can you respectfully refuse an offer? With the current market, it can be extremely hard to make an offer on a home, and it seems as if you have to make an offer of at least asking price to even be considered. In current times, bidding wars have caused houses to go up immensely! So, if your home is currently in a bidding war, how can you let potential buyers know that their offer is not accepted? I mean, we all know that buying a home is a lengthy process, and the current market does not help the matter. If this is a question that has made its way into your brain, listen carefully as we explain how to easily refuse an offer in today’s market! 

Like stated before, the market has made it hard for home buyers to make a decent offer on a home due to increased demand for housing. Yes, the housing market is crazy, but if you are thinking about selling your home, now is the perfect time. Due to the increased demand, home values have increased; what exactly does this mean? It makes it possible to sell your home for more with the possibility of getting wrapped up in a bidding war. Recently, our team has witnessed homes going over $20K-$40K over asking price. We all know that getting rejected and having to start over is hard to do, but you may have to make yourself comfortable with refusing an offer. 

Some reasons to reject an offer is as follows: 

Lowball Offer: 

Your listing agent works for you, and they should know all of the ‘ins and outs’ of the market. They should know how to price your home correctly according specifically to the market, and any offer 30% off from your listing price is considered a lowball. Many buyers will try negotiating a price to enter with a low offer, simply because they are curious if it will be accepted. These offers are strategically placed as a negotiating tactic and be sure to communicate with your agent before accepting these offers. I mean, no one is telling you to accept or not, but your real estate expert can help guide you through the process before accepting a lowball offer. 

Receiving a Better Offer

With your agent’s help, you can decide whether an offer is good or bad. By having an agent on your side through the selling process, it can make it easier to understand the market. Trust us, the agent will be able to help decide with you on the obtained offers and help dictate which to decline. In a competitive market, similar to the current market, sellers will usually wait until several offers are received before accepting one. In these situations, homeowners will not usually offer much of an explanation on why the offer was rejected. 

If you are curious on the proper etiquette to refuse an offer, here are a few to remember: 

1. Get back to them in a timely manner. 
   Whether you want to make a counter or not, promptly call, write, or send a message to the agent thanking them for the offer. ‘Ghosting’ a potential buyer and letting their offer expire is considered to be rude and unethical through the home-buying process. So, be sure to stay in touch! 

2. Be nice. 
   Politely explain that you have accepted an offer. By explaining the amount of offers received will be useful information to pass along to the buyers who had lost out. 

3. Don’t give away too many details. 

4. Refrain from being overly critical of the offer. 
   Do not be condescending with your words. Try to refrain from saying anything like, “better luck next time.”

5. Let your listing agent handle the majority of your decisions.