Every home seller in Chetek wants top dollar for their property— but how do you know what that offer comes along? Especially if you have more than one offer on the table, it’s important to consider a variety of factors from the contingencies to the earnest money to ensure you’re making the best possible decision. As your local real estate experts in the City of Lakes, we have included four areas you should research further before accepting—or rejecting—an offer on your Chetek WI home.
Earnest Money
Before you can accept an offer on your home, look closely at the amount of earnest money the buyer is including. This is the amount that the buyer is willing to include with their offer that shows how serious they are about making the sale. The typical amount of earnest money is between $500 and $2000 in our market and if the buyer should decide to walk away, the seller has a good chance to receive the earnest money deposit as damages. One way to look at this deposit is the higher the earnest money amount, the stronger the offer.
Contingencies
This is one of the most important areas to inspect on any offer that comes in for your Chetek home. For instance, you may have a buyer that offers a lesser amount with no contingencies, but another that offers asking or higher with a home sale or home inspection contingency. Before you can determine which is best, you’ll need to note the different types:
- Home Sale Contingency
When a buyer needs to sell their current home before they can purchase yours. - Home Inspection Contingency
Allows the buyer to have the home inspected and request repairs made before a certain date. - Home Appraisal Contingency
The property’s value must be assessed by a third party before the sale to determine the home is worth enough to cover the cost of the mortgage. - Financing Contingency
Allows the buyer time to obtain financing through a lender and protection in case their loan isn’t approved.
Cash Offers
If a homebuyer is making an all cash offer, you immediately jump over the hurdle of financing— which can take time to obtain and slow down the overall process if the buyer runs into any problems with their lender.
Closing Date
If you have a particular date you need to be out of your Chetek WI home, you may want to focus on the closing date. Some buyers will proceed with the standard 30 day close, but perhaps you would like a 60 day close. Decide which timeline works best for you and then base your decision on which offer’s closing date would align well. Remember, even if you have a strong offer, but this date is off for you, you can always counter!
Give Six Lakes Realty a call today for more information about selling your home in Chetek or for helpful tips on preparing your property for the market.
We look forward to hearing from you!
John Flor
Managing Broker
Six Lakes Realty
Office: (715) 924-4806
Email: john@sixlakesrealty.com