Not Every Offer is Real

There’s a moment I see play out more often than sellers expect.

A strong offer comes in. Maybe it’s over asking. Maybe it’s the first week on market. The seller hesitates — for perfectly rational reasons. They want to wait. They want to see what else comes in. They want to feel certain.

And then the buyer disappears. Or the market softens. Or both.

What happens next is painful in a specific way. That number — the one they didn’t take — becomes the price they “could have had.” It anchors everything that follows. Every subsequent offer gets measured against a deal that was never actually done.

Here’s what makes it worse: sometimes that original offer wasn’t real. Not in the way that matters. Not in the way that reaches the closing table.

A High Number Means Nothing if the Buyer Can’t Perform

Sellers are conditioned to focus on price. It makes sense. It’s the biggest number on the page, and it’s the one that shows up in conversations with friends and family. But price is just a starting point. What I’m looking at when an offer comes in is the whole picture — and a lot of that picture has nothing to do with the number at the top.

I’ve watched the highest offer in a multiple-bid situation fall apart completely. Timelines that don't align with the seller.  Financing commitment that couldn’t survive the appraisal. A buyer who was emotionally ready to buy but financially wasn’t quite there yet. High price, good intentions, couldn’t close.

I’ve also watched a slightly lower offer move through a transaction without a single issue. Clean financing. Reasonable timelines. A buyer who had done this before and knew what they were getting into. That’s the offer that actually put money in the seller’s pocket.

The difference between those two outcomes isn’t the number at the top of the contract. It’s everything else.

What I’m Actually Reading When an Offer Comes In

The financing. Not just whether there’s a pre-approval letter — those are easy to get. I want to know the lender, the loan type, how long the buyer has been in the process, and whether the numbers actually work for this property. A pre-qualification and a full underwriting approval are not the same thing. Sellers deserve to know the difference.

The deposit, and when it goes hard. An earnest money deposit tells me something about how serious a buyer is. So does the timeline for it becoming non-refundable. A buyer who’s willing to put meaningful money at risk early is a buyer who’s committed.

The contingencies. Every contingency is a potential exit. That’s not inherently a problem — contingencies exist for real reasons. But I’m reading them carefully. Are the timelines realistic? Are they structured in a way that protects the buyer at every turn while leaving the seller exposed? There’s a difference between a fair inspection contingency and one that’s essentially a 30-day free look.

The agent on the other side. This one surprises people, but it matters. A seasoned buyer’s agent who communicates clearly, sets expectations with their client, and follows through on timelines makes a transaction run. The opposite is also true. I’ve seen deals fall apart not because of the buyer or the terms, but because of poor representation on the other side.

The buyer’s motivation. You can tell a lot about a buyer from how their offer is put together. Are they buying a home or winning a competition? Buyers who are emotionally and logistically ready to own a specific property tend to close. Buyers chasing a deal or stretching past their comfort zone sometimes don’t make it to the finish line.

What This Means for You as a Seller

When you’re sitting across from an offer, the goal isn’t just to find the buyer willing to pay the most. The goal is to find the buyer most likely to close — at a price that works for you.

Sometimes those are the same buyer. Often, they’re not.

A number on paper is a promise. My job is to figure out how solid that promise is before you make a decision based on it. That means asking questions, reading the financing, knowing the other agent’s track record, and giving you a real read on what you’re actually looking at — not just what it says on the surface.

The offer you take should be the one most likely to become a closing. That’s not always the highest one. But with the right guidance, it can absolutely be a very good one.