Receiving an offer to purchase is one of the most emotionally charged events in the entire selling process. Sellers should try to bear this in mind, and make a conscious effort to stand back and take an objective view of the situation. Most real estate professionals have seen sellers who let their personal attachment to their home cloud their judgment. Their emotional reaction makes them lose sight of the importance of working with an offer, even if it's a low one.

Sometimes when an offer comes in that is quite low, homeowners take it as a personal insult. They react so strongly that they just refuse the offer out of hand. If you let this happen to you, then you could be missing out.

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Even if it looks like you and the potential buyer are very far apart, the important thing to keep in mind is that a serious buyer has made an offer that has opened negotiations. Your goal is to keep them open until you get the results you want.

When considering an offer, bear in mind that prospective buyers usually don't expect their first offer to be accepted outright. Don't let your emotions drive your decision. Look at it as a purely business proposition. There are several positive aspects to receiving an offer, even if it's not what you hoped for. First of all, you've made contact with a serious buyer who's ready to purchase. Secondly, you know the buyer prefers your property over any other in your price range. You can keep negotiations going with a counter-offer (or "sign back"). When coming up with a counter offer, it's important to keep in mind that other aspects of an offer have value besides price. Even if you can't move very far from your list price, you may be able to offer other concessions such as including fixtures (lighting, appliances, draperies) or changing your preferred closing date to accommodate the buyer.

Keeping the lines of communication open gives your sales representative a chance to do their job.