Got a Lowball Offer on Your Columbus Home? How to Respond Without Losing the Buyer

Thirty days after one of my listings went live, an offer came in $20,000 under list price. The buyers also wanted $15,000 toward their closing costs, and the offer depended on them selling their own home first. My seller had a decision to make, and so will you if a low offer shows up in your inbox.

Here's the short version. A lowball offer isn't an insult, and it isn't a verdict on your home. It's a buyer starting a conversation. How you respond depends on how long you've been on the market, how much activity you're getting and what the whole offer asks of you, not just the price. And the decision is always yours.

A low offer works the same way whether you're selling in Powell, Dublin, Westerville, Lewis Center, Worthington, Delaware or Galena.

What Counts as a Lowball Offer?

There's no set percentage that makes an offer a lowball. What matters is how the offer compares with what similar homes near you have actually sold for, not just how it compares with your list price.

If your list price is ahead of the market, a low offer may be closer to the real number than it feels. If your home is priced right in line with recent sales, an offer well under it is usually a buyer testing how much room there is.

It also matters what else the buyer is asking for. A price that looks close to list can turn into a low offer once you subtract closing cost help, a repair credit or a long list of contingencies. That's why I look at what an offer would actually put in your pocket, which I walk through in how much you'll net from selling your home.

Should You Counter a Low Offer or Wait?

This is where timing and activity matter most. Here's how I look at it.

Where you are	How I'd look at it
Newly listed, priced in line with recent sales and getting showings	Giving it a little more time can make sense. The right buyer may not have walked through yet.
On the market a while with only a few showings	At least counter. An interested buyer is worth a response.
Several low offers, or low offers plus little traffic	Counter, and take an honest look at the price. The market may be telling you something.

If you're 10 to 15 days in, priced well and getting showings, I'll ask how you feel about the offer first. If you want my opinion, I'll usually say let's give it a little more time.

If the home has been sitting with only a few showings, the answer changes. At that point, you'll want to at least counter. A low offer from an interested buyer is still an interested buyer.

And if low offers keep coming in, the price may be the message. I cover that side of it in what overpricing your home actually costs and what to do when your home isn't selling.

How Do You Respond Without Losing the Buyer?

Most buyers who start low expect a counter. A counteroffer tells them what it would take to make the deal work, and it keeps them engaged.

What tends to end the conversation is silence, or a reply that's really a wall. I see this from the buyer's side too. I'm working with a buyer right now who made an offer well under list on a home that had been on the market for several weeks. The sellers didn't counter. They named a number just under list and said they wouldn't take less. My buyer held firm, and nothing moved.

Some buyers are simply analytical. They run the numbers, offer what the numbers support and wait to see what comes back. A take-it-or-leave-it answer gives them nothing to work with.

A counter doesn't have to meet a buyer in the middle. It can stay close to your price and still show you're willing to talk. You can also counter on terms instead of price alone, like the closing date, how much you'll put toward closing costs or when you'll move out. Sometimes the terms matter more to a buyer than the last few thousand dollars.

One thing to know before you send a counter: in most cases, a counteroffer replaces the buyer's original offer. The buyer can accept your counter, counter back or walk away, and you generally can't go back and accept their first offer unless they make it again. How that works depends on the contract and its deadlines, so ask your agent before you send one.

What Should You Look at Besides the Price?

Back to the offer I mentioned at the top. On paper it was $20,000 under list. Once you took out the $15,000 the buyers wanted toward their closing costs, it was $35,000 under list, and it only worked if they sold their own home first.

My seller decided to decline it. Two days later, a much better offer came in, and he sold for $10,000 under list.

It worked out, and it doesn't always. There's no guarantee the next offer comes in two days, or at all. But that offer shows why the price is only part of the picture. Here's what to look at alongside it:

• Closing cost help. Seller-paid closing costs come straight out of your proceeds, so a strong price with a big request can net you less than a lower, cleaner offer.
• Contingencies. A home sale contingency means the buyer has to sell their own home first. That adds time and uncertainty while your home is tied up.
• Financing. How the buyer is paying, and how solid their pre-approval is, affects how likely the deal is to close.
• Timing. The closing date and when you can move out matter, especially if you're buying your next home at the same time.

If a buyer is asking for help because of their monthly payment, a seller-paid rate buydown can sometimes do more for them than a price cut. I compare the two in rate buydown or price reduction. And if you're weighing more than one offer, the highest number isn't automatically the best one. That's the other side of this question, in should you always accept the highest offer on your home.

What About Investor Offers and Lease Purchase Requests?

Here's what I'm seeing right now. Buyers feel like they have more room to negotiate, and I'm also seeing more low offers from investors and more questions about creative financing, like lease purchase arrangements.

An investor offer can be simpler, sometimes cash with fewer contingencies, but it's usually priced to leave room for the investor's profit. Compare what it would net you with what a well-prepared listing is likely to bring.

Creative financing deserves a closer look. With a lease purchase, you typically stay the owner while the buyer rents, and the sale happens later only if the buyer completes it. That can work for some sellers, but it usually carries more risk than a standard sale, and much of that risk sits with you.

Before you consider an offer like this, make sure you understand when you'd get paid, who's responsible for the home in the meantime and what happens if the buyer doesn't follow through. Have an Ohio real estate attorney review it before you sign anything.

Who Decides How to Respond to an Offer?

You do. Every time.

In Ohio, a listing agent's legal duties include presenting every purchase offer to the seller in a timely manner and helping the seller develop and present a counteroffer. That includes the low ones. I send my sellers every offer, and I don't decide for them which ones deserve an answer.

I also don't speak on my seller's behalf or put my own emotions into it. I'll ask how you feel about the offer first. If you want my advice, I'll give it in a way that helps you think it through, with the numbers in front of you. But it's still your decision in the end.

That matters more than it sounds. A low offer can sting, especially on a home you've lived in for years. Setting the emotion aside and looking at what the offer means for your next move usually leads to a better answer.

Related Reading

• Should You Always Accept the Highest Offer on Your Home?
• How Much Will I Net From Selling My Home?
• Rate Buydown or Price Reduction: Which Gets Your Columbus Home Sold?

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Thinking About Selling in Central Ohio?

The best protection against a lowball offer is a price grounded in recent sales and a home that's ready for its first week on the market. If an offer is already in, I'm happy to help you look at what it really means for your next move.

Frequently Asked Questions About Lowball Offers

This article is general information, not legal advice. How a counteroffer works, and what any offer commits you to, depends on the contract you sign and its deadlines. For a specific legal question, talk with an Ohio real estate attorney. Source: Ohio Revised Code 4735.63, duties of a licensee representing a seller.

Representing Central Ohio Homes with Real of Ohio