What to Do When Selling Your Home Results in a Bidding War

What to Do When Selling Your Home Results in a Bidding War

  • Brenda Freeman
  • 09/3/22

Having multiple bids on the home you’re selling may seem like a dream come true, but it can be overwhelming when it actually happens. When buyers jump on homes for sale in Granby CO, here’s what you should do to lock in the best offer of a bidding war.

Weigh all of your offers


The first thing to do as a seller when a bidding war on Winter Park homes for sale begins is to weigh all of your offers. Organize multiple offers on a piece of paper or digitally through a spreadsheet, and review their pros and cons. Pay attention to factors like if a buyer needs time to sell their home before purchase, how much over the asking price a buyer is offering, and if there are any other contingencies connected to home inspections, financing, and closing costs.

Also, look at what type of buyers are making offers on your Grand Lake real estate. For example, evaluate their debt-to-income ratio, consider how they’re paying for the home, and figure out if they have pre-approval letters if they are financing through a mortgage. Not only are you looking for the best price for your home, but the best chance that the offer will go through.

Know what to prioritize

Once you’ve weighed your offers, select what’s important to you to prioritize. Usually, those selling homes for sale in Granby CO are most interested in completing the sale quickly, which is why early closing dates are a big deal. Prioritizing early closing dates while you have the upper hand is also helpful in negotiating out of any contingencies that would take time to complete.

Even though selecting the highest offer can be tantalizing, it may not be the best move. In addition to checking how a buyer is financing the offer and what types of contingencies they include, also vet them for things like their current debt, their credit score, and if they already have any unstable assets. If a buyer adds a contingency related to home inspections, understand how the costs of any potential repairs would affect the final offer. Also, keep your eye on cash offers on your Grand Lake real estate. Even if it is slightly lower, cash offers are usually less hassle financially and come with fewer contingencies.

Get help from your agent


If you aren’t well-versed in navigating bidding wars for Winter Park homes for sale, the experience of a real estate agent is valuable. A real estate agent will help you research the offers made on your home and weigh the risks and rewards of each one. They can also act as a middleman between the buyer and seller, making getting information like a buyer’s finances less stressful.

A real estate agent will help you as the seller figure out if a buyer is able to follow through on their offer, how to weigh the local market trends if a buyer’s option includes a selling contingency, and how to deal with other financial contingencies if there are any. They will have gone through the bidding war process more times than you have, and they’ll know what red flags to avoid or green lights to act on.

Have backup options available

When deliberating and choosing which offer to take, make sure to have backup options available to act on if an offer falls through. A buyer may realize after making a high bid that they’ve offered more than they can afford, and back out of the offer. Or after a few days, they may have buyer’s remorse and decide to rescind their offer. You never know when or why a bidder may change their mind about homes for sale in Granby CO, which is why it’s important to have more than one offer on the table.

Update the buyers of losing bids on your property in case your current option falls through. This helps keep the door open for a backup plan, and buyers informed. Also make it clear that if something does go sideways, you would reconsider their offer. Keeping your options open, and letting the competition know about the details of the best offer, also gives you the leverage to negotiate a better deal for buyers in a bidding war. If the competition knows what the highest bidder is offering, they may change their own to match or surpass the offer.

Keep a level head

The busyness of a bidding war can be full of highs and lows, which is why it’s important to keep a level head when navigating through all the different offers. Don’t let your expectations get ahead of the reality of the situation, and keep an eye on the big picture when selling Winter Park homes for sale. Remember that all the offers come from possible buyers and that selling your home isn’t complete until the contract is signed.

It’s also important to keep your emotions in check, as they can cloud your judgment on a good or bad deal. It’s possible that in a bidding war, a buyer will appeal to your connection to the home by writing you a personal letter. Weigh what they say about their plans for the home with the math and numbers of the deal. Try not to let the allure of a large dollar sign, emotional attachment to the property, or a buyer’s promise sway you away from the best offer.

Ready to sell your Grand Lake real estate?

There’s plenty that makes navigating through a bidding war on your home complicated, whether that be organizing and weighing the different offers or setting aside your own feelings about your home. With these steps, you’re prepared for what to expect if a bidding war occurs in the selling process. When you’re ready to buy or sell your home, contact local agent Brenda Freeman to guide you through the process.



Work With Brenda

Brenda’s clients appreciate her high attention to detail, strong market analysis, and proven price and appraisal training. Her professionalism and dedication are yet another benefit.