How to Turn Down an Offer on Your Property
When you first put your property on the market, you expect to get lots of great offers that are around or above your asking price.
You may well get these, but you’ll probably also get a few that are below your lower limit and some that are lowball offers and you’ll have to steel yourself to reject them.
You don’t have to accept an offer if you don’t like it
An offer is just that – an offer. You don’t have to take the first one that comes along. Or the second. You don’t have to accept the third, either. If the offers you’re getting don’t cut the mustard with you, either in terms of amount or how quickly the potential buyer can move, then you’re OK to hold out.
You should turn down offers with grace and politeness, though. Here’s how.
Give the potential buyer a deadline for responding
Once your estate agent passes on the offer to you, you either say no outright or that you need to weigh it up. If you need to weigh it up – either against other offers or against your finances – then tell your agent that you aim to have a response within two or three days so the buyer isn’t kept waiting.
You can turn down the offer but suggest a figure you are happy with
Very often, when someone makes an offer on a property, they start with a low figure to see if it sticks. They may well expect you to come back with a counter offer and you could end up sealing a good deal for you both.
On the other hand, coming back with your figure can also be a way of rejecting the offer outright but without seeming harsh. It’s a way of saying no, but one that leaves the door open for future negotiations.
You can say no outright, too
You can reject an offer in no uncertain terms but it’s only polite to give a reason. If the potential buyer isn’t in a position to proceed as quickly as you or if they’ve made a real lowball offer, then it’s not going to work for you and if it won’t work for you then it won’t work full stop.
You should tell the potential buyer if you’ve had a higher offer
This approach works in two ways. It says to the rejected buyer that they haven’t done anything wrong, it’s just that you need to take the higher offer because…money.
It could also prompt them – or other potential buyers – to up their game and bump up their offers a bit.
Sometimes, you may have to return to a rejected offer or ask the person to consider a slightly higher price, so don’t burn your bridges by being abrupt or uncommunicative. Selling a property is as much about people as it is about the process, so make sure you keep everyone on side.
