Offer Options
When you receive one or more offers to purchase your home it is in your own best interest to give considerable time and attention to reviewing each offer carefully. Your REALTOR® will assist you to understand the terms and conditions contained in the offer, and will provide you with any advice you request, but ultimately the decision is yours.
You have three options:
1. Accept an offer exactly as it stands
If you decide that you would like to accept an offer, be sure you know the precise meaning of each term in the written offer before you sign the document.
Once you, the seller, sign a Contract of Purchase and Sale agreeing to its terms, and your acceptance has been conveyed to the buyer, it becomes a legally binding contract.
Legally binding means both you and the buyer will be bound by the terms of the contract and must perform your prospective obligations as stated. Your performance can be enforced in a court of law.
If you are uncertain about any of the clauses contained in the offer, you may wish to consult a lawyer before signing the contract; however, keep the expiry date of the offer in mind if you decide to postpone acceptance.
2. Make a counter-offer
If you changed anything at all in the original offer, you are considered to have rejected that offer and to be making a new offer from you to the buyer. This new offer is usually referred to as a "counter offer"
The risk in making a counter-offer is that if the buyer has changed his or her mind and rejects the counter-offer, you do not have the option to return to the original offer and accept it.
The buyer may decide to make another counter-offer back to you and the process of counter-offers could continue until an agreement is reached.
If, after making a written counter-offer you decide you don’t want to sell the property, it may be possible to revoke the counter-offer. Legal problems could potentially result from the revocation of a counter-offer, so you should seek professional advice about the correct procedure to follow.
3. Reject the offer
You are under no obligation to accept any offer or to make a counter-offer. If, however, you reject an offer which exactly meets all the terms you agreed to in the Listing Contract which you signed with your listing agent, you could be/are legally obligated to pay the commission.