Multiple Offers Are Exciting. Choosing Between Them Requires Strategy.
Receiving multiple offers on your home can be exciting, especially after all the work that goes into preparing a property for sale.
But it can also be overwhelming.
What happens when one buyer offers more money but has financing contingencies? What if another offers cash but wants a substantial discount? What if the strongest-looking offer requires a closing date that doesn’t work for you?
And how do you decide whether to accept an offer immediately, negotiate, or give other interested buyers an opportunity to submit their best terms?
I’m Erin McCormick, a Realtor with Keller Williams Vermont, and I believe that evaluating multiple offers requires more than lining up purchase prices and choosing the highest number.
It requires understanding the terms, the buyers’ documented qualifications, the potential risks, and, most importantly, your priorities as the seller.
My job is to organize that information, explain the tradeoffs, and help you make a decision you feel confident about.
We Establish Your Priorities Before the Offers Arrive
One of the most important conversations I have with sellers happens before we put their home on the market.
I want to know what matters most to them.
Of course, price is important. But is maximizing the sale price your only priority?
Do you need to close by a particular date? Are you purchasing another property and depending on the proceeds? Would you benefit from extra time to move? Is minimizing uncertainty especially important?
These details influence how we evaluate offers.
For example, if you’ve already relocated and your Vermont property is sitting vacant, you may prioritize a reasonably quick closing.
If you’re selling a home you’ve lived in for decades, you may need additional flexibility to coordinate your next move.
Neither priority is right or wrong.
What matters is that I understand your goals before we’re making decisions under pressure.
I Organize the Offers So You Can Compare Them Clearly
When multiple offers arrive, I don’t want sellers sorting through several contracts and trying to remember which buyer proposed which terms.
I want to present the information in a way that’s easy to understand.
That means reviewing the purchase price, financing, deposits, contingencies, proposed closing dates, seller concessions, and other material terms.
I’ll often use a side-by-side comparison to help identify the differences.
But a comparison is only useful if we also discuss what those differences mean.
An offer with a higher purchase price may include substantial seller concessions.
A cash offer may eliminate mortgage financing risk but still have an inspection contingency.
A buyer offering a flexible closing date may be particularly attractive if you’re coordinating another move.
I want to make sure we’re comparing the actual terms of the agreements rather than relying on first impressions.
We Look at Estimated Net Proceeds
One of the first things I want sellers to understand is how much they may actually receive from each offer.
Purchase price is only one part of that calculation.
We also need to account for requested seller concessions, agreed compensation or transaction expenses, applicable transfer taxes, prorations, and other estimated closing costs.
Let’s say we receive two offers on a Vermont home.
One buyer offers $650,000 but requests $20,000 in closing cost assistance.
Another offers $640,000 without requesting seller concessions.
Before considering other expenses and terms, the second offer provides $10,000 more to the seller.
That doesn’t automatically make it the better offer, but it’s an important distinction.
I want to help sellers understand the estimated financial outcome of each option rather than assuming the highest purchase price produces the highest net proceeds.
I Review Financing Without Making Assumptions
A buyer’s financing is another important consideration.
Has the buyer provided a preapproval letter? What loan program are they using? What financing deadlines are included? Is there evidence that the lender has reviewed the buyer’s financial qualifications?
If an offer is cash, has the buyer provided appropriate proof of funds?
I may also communicate with a buyer’s lender, with appropriate authorization, to better understand the status of the preapproval and the anticipated financing process.
But I don’t believe in making assumptions based solely on the type of loan.
A VA-backed offer shouldn’t automatically be viewed as less desirable than a conventional offer.
And a buyer using a smaller down payment isn’t necessarily less qualified or less committed.
I want to evaluate the actual financing terms, lender preparation, and property-related requirements.
The goal is to understand the transaction, not make judgments about the buyer.
Appraisal Considerations Can Be Especially Important in Vermont
Vermont has a lot of properties that don’t fit neatly into a standard comparison.
A historic farmhouse with multiple additions, a lakefront property, or a rural home on substantial acreage may have relatively few comparable sales.
That can create appraisal uncertainty.
If an offer is significantly above what recent sales appear to support, I want us to discuss how the buyer plans to address a potential appraisal shortfall.
Does the contract include an appraisal-related contingency?
Has the buyer offered to contribute additional funds if the appraisal comes in low?
Are there limitations or conditions attached to that commitment?
A buyer may be enthusiastic about paying a particular price, but the lender’s appraisal can still affect the financing.
I don’t want sellers to discover that risk only after they’ve accepted an offer and taken the property off the market.
We Evaluate Inspection Terms Carefully
Home inspections are an important part of many real estate transactions, particularly in Vermont, where older homes, private wells, septic systems, and rural infrastructure are common.
When reviewing offers, I want to understand the scope and timing of the buyer’s inspection contingency.
What inspections are permitted? What deadlines apply? What contractual rights does the buyer have if concerns arise?
I don’t believe a buyer requesting a home inspection is necessarily less serious about purchasing the property.
And I don’t automatically recommend choosing an offer simply because it waives inspections.
A buyer who has structured a reasonable, clearly defined inspection contingency may be presenting an offer that’s easier to understand and manage than one with ambiguous language.
The details matter.
And if we’re selling a property with known maintenance needs, I want us to think realistically about how those conditions may affect the transaction.
We Discuss Closing Dates and Other Logistics
Sometimes the terms that make an offer particularly appealing have little to do with the price.
Perhaps a buyer can accommodate your preferred closing date.
Maybe they’re comfortable purchasing certain personal property you’d rather leave behind, provided those arrangements are properly documented.
Or perhaps they can offer flexibility that makes coordinating your next move easier.
I want to understand what each buyer is proposing and how it aligns with your needs.
A transaction that creates unnecessary logistical complications may not be worth a relatively small difference in price.
That’s a decision we’ll make based on your priorities.
Should We Ask for Highest and Best Offers?
When several buyers are interested in a property, sellers sometimes have the option to invite them to submit their strongest terms by a specified deadline.
This is often called a highest-and-best process.
It can be useful when there are multiple interested parties and the seller wants to evaluate offers together.
But I don’t believe it’s automatically the right strategy in every situation.
We need to consider how many offers we have, how strong they are, whether additional offers are expected, and what the seller wants to accomplish.
There may be times when accepting a compelling offer promptly makes sense.
Other times, a structured deadline may help us evaluate available opportunities.
I also want sellers to understand that inviting buyers to improve their offers doesn’t guarantee they’ll do so. Some may hold firm, and others may withdraw.
My role is to explain the available approaches and help you choose a strategy that makes sense.
Sometimes We Negotiate With One Buyer Rather Than Everyone
Multiple offers don’t always mean we need to conduct a bidding process.
There may be one offer that’s particularly well aligned with your priorities but has a few terms we’d like to improve.
In that case, negotiating with that buyer may be a reasonable option.
Perhaps we want to adjust the closing date, clarify a contingency, or address a requested concession.
I don’t believe negotiation should be about extracting every possible advantage simply because we can.
It should be about reaching terms that make sense for the seller while maintaining a realistic path to closing.
And I want sellers to understand that counteroffers and negotiations carry their own risks. A buyer may reject a counterproposal or move on to another property.
Those possibilities are part of the conversation.
Fair Housing Still Matters When Evaluating Offers
This is something I take seriously.
When representing sellers, I want our decisions to be based on legitimate transaction considerations.
Price, financing, contingencies, closing terms, and other objective elements of an offer are appropriate factors to evaluate.
A buyer’s race, religion, familial status, disability, national origin, or other characteristics protected by applicable Fair Housing laws are not.
That’s one reason I don’t encourage personal buyer love letters.
A seller doesn’t need to know what a buyer’s family looks like or why they believe they’re the perfect people to live in the house.
We need to understand the terms of the offer.
I want to help sellers make thoughtful decisions that are both commercially sound and consistent with Fair Housing responsibilities.
I Don’t Make the Decision for You
There may be situations where I have a strong recommendation about which offer appears best suited to your goals.
And I’ll explain my reasoning.
But ultimately, the decision belongs to you.
My job is to provide context, identify concerns, explain the tradeoffs, and help you understand the implications of the terms you’re considering.
I don’t believe in pressuring sellers to accept an offer simply because it’s the highest or because I want to move the transaction forward.
I want you to understand why you’re choosing a particular offer.
And if there are risks, I want those discussed before you sign.
The Goal Isn’t Just to Win a Bidding War
When a home receives multiple offers, it’s easy to focus on the excitement of competition.
But the real goal isn’t to generate the biggest number or announce that the property sold above asking price.
It’s to achieve the best available outcome for the seller based on their priorities and the terms they’re comfortable accepting.
That requires preparation, thoughtful analysis, communication, and good judgment.
My job isn’t to choose the offer that looks most impressive. It’s to help you choose the one that makes the most sense for you.
If you’re thinking about selling your Vermont home, I’d love to help you prepare for the market, evaluate your options, and navigate negotiations with confidence.
Erin McCormick | Realtor, Keller Williams Vermont
Founder, Travel Like a Local® Vermont | Live Local Vermont