First thing is don’t get mad! These may be the buyers (in disguise) you have been waiting for!

Here are some helpful things home sellers should know about “low-ball” offers:

1. First, understand that, in this market, you should be prepared for the possibility of an unacceptably low offer.

Your agent will help you be ready and work with you to agree ahead of time what constitutes a “low-ball” offer on your house. If you have an understanding and a plan ahead of time, it will ease the process.

2. Don’t automatically assume that buyers are trying to be insulting. There are many reasons a buyer might submit a low offer.

A lowball may be all the buyers can afford; it could be an investor looking to steal the property, or a buyer who really likes your property and is just taking a shot at it, never knowing if you're going to say yes or no.

3. If the initial offer seems out of the question, should the seller just ignore it or make a counter?

Even if the offer is so low, you wouldn’t consider selling at that price, make a counter-offer. Keep the negotiation lines open. You never know where it will take you.

4. In such a case, the next move will be revealing.

The smaller the move, the closer the buyer likely is to his goal. A big jump could mean that there is hope of reaching agreement. And you may have found yourself a buyer!

Based, in part, on an article written by Mary Umberger, a freelance writer in Chicago, which appeared in the September 8, 2020, issue of Inman News online.