Great job! You presented your home in great fashion and priced it correctly, so now you have multiple offers on your home. But how do you decide which contract to ratify? Obviously, price is a major factor, but it’s not the only factor you should consider. Financing, contingencies, rent backs, settlement dates and conveyances are other items you need to consider before deciding on which offer to work with.
Your Real Estate Agent will guide you through negotiating the best terms and conditions possible. At JS Realty we use a spreadsheet that lists all the important, negotiable components of the offers side-by-side to make it easier to compare offers. Start with your highest offer and work your way through the other elements of the contract. This is the time you have the most leverage in your negotiations, so use it wisely!
Following is a list of the other components of the contract that you should review closely with your Real Estate Agent:
Buyer’s Financing – is the offer a conventional loan or is it a government backed 
loan such as an FHA or VA? Conventional loans tend to have less stringent home inspection and appraisal requirements.
Home Inspection Contingency – if an offer has no home inspection or if the home inspection is for informational purposes only, that could save you (the Seller) money on repair costs.
Settlement Date – if you would benefit from a rent-back now is the time to put 
that in place. Sometimes we are able to negotiate a free rent back in multiple offer scenarios, which gives you the freedom to make your move easier and less stressful.
Appraisal Contingency – this can be the hardest contingency to get waived, but in some multiple contract situations we have been successful in getting the appraisal contingency waived.
Contingency Timelines – you will want to shorten the timelines for home 
inspections and any other inspections to as short as possible. The job of your Real Estate Agent is to get all of the contingencies in the contract released as soon as possible. Appraisal & financing contingencies are difficult to shorten too much, because you are relying on 3rd parties to do their job, so therefore you have less control.
Down Payment – how much a buyer is putting down for down payment and 
earnest money deposit also plays a part in your decision for which contract to choose. The more money a buyer has invested in the transaction, the more committed they are.
Remember: this is when you hold the most leverage of any time during your transaction, so make it work for you!
Feel free to reach out to the JS Realty Team with any questions about multiple contracts or any other Real Estate related questions!
The JS Realty Team – not only serving Brambleton, serving all of Northern Virginia.
remember sitting in my Real Estate class, thinking “I am learning a whole new language!” It was a bit overwhelming, even though I had the desire to understand each and every word, along with its definition. Not everyone understands Real Estate terms, especially if this is your first time working with a Realtor. Over the next couple of months, the JS Realty Team will work towards enlightening you and helping you learn our “Real Estate Language.”
An Earnest Money Deposit is an important part of the home buying process. It is an amount of money that you will deposit (in escrow) that tells the Seller you are committed to the purchase of the home. It’s important to know that this earnest money deposit is not an extra cost of buying a home. It will be credited towards the down payment at closing, and in case it exceeds your mortgage down payment, and settlement cost, you will receive the balance at closing.
whether or not there are multiple offers on the property. If you feel that you are not in competition, you can expect to pay around 1-2% of the sales price in most markets. For example: a $300,000.00 sales price x 1% = $3,000.00 EMD. If you are in competition with other offers, you may want to offer more, as this will tell the Seller you are more serious about their home and could help you win the offer. This is where a good Realtor can really help you structure the correct offer with the right amount of EMD.
In most cases you will write the check to your Realtors, Real Estate Brokerage Company or the company that will be assisting you in the settlement (Title Company). Never write the check to the Seller or the Realtor directly. The money is usually due very shortly after the contract is fully accepted by all parties (ratified) and will be placed in an escrow account. Shortly before you go to settlement, it will be released so it can be applied towards your settlement cost and down payment on the day you purchase the home. In the event the amount you put down exceeds the amount needed for these cost, you will get a check refunding you the balance. As you can see, this is your money, and it is treated as such. It is only applied to your cost.
home and really want to buy it.” In most cases the money remains yours and is applied to your cost in regards to the purchase. It can also be a great way to leverage your offer in the event you find yourself in competition with another Buyer. A great Realtor can guide you in the offer process and help you structure a deal that is more than just about a sales price.
Keith Harris is a Lender at 
To apply online, 
contracts need to be carefully reviewed to ensure you know exactly what the potential buyer is proposing. Only after you have reviewed and researched all offers will you be able to proceed to choose the contract that works best for you.
In this 2-part series, we’re walking you through everything to consider when reviewing an offer to purchase your home for a successful and smooth transaction. If you missed PART 1, you can find it 
you need to give them time. Financing is typically 3-4 weeks and it is the weakest of the contingencies. The buyer has control over the home inspection and HOA disclosure contingencies; however they do not have as much control over the appraisal and financing. That is why we want the Home Inspection completed and HOA documents reviewed as early on in the process as possible.