It’s a problem every listing agent wants to have – receiving multiple offers on listings. And while the final selection will be with the seller, an experienced agent knows to present an objective assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of each offer.

Consider this scenario: a regular listing with an asking price of $400,000 in a market where short sales and regular listings abound, and REOs are (temporarily?) tapering off. Demand is still relatively high despite an oversupply, as buyers are continuing to take advantage of the low prices.

When you receive multiple offers, you can do either of the following:

• Allow buyers to re-submit their “highest and best” offer. This gives buyers a chance to consider improving on their initial offer.

• Send multiple counter offers to the buyers, outlining the minimum requirements for acceptance of their offers. This gives buyers an idea of the minimum terms acceptable to the seller.

• Choose the strongest offer, accept or negotiate until acceptable to both parties.

What if, among the multiple offers obtained, three have the strongest potential for acceptance:

Which one will get your vote? Well, let’s slice and dice the offers:

Offer 1: Sounds like a fair deal. This buyer has a very comfortable amount of down payment, and financing is most likely going to be a breeze.

Offer 2: An all-cash offer is always enticing, as it ensures a quick close, with no loan contingencies to grapple with. However, net proceeds are lower.

Offer 3: Buyer’s substantial escrow deposit is very reassuring. However, the seller credit washes out the gains from the high price offered, and in fact, you are negative by $2,000. Also, FHA financing sometimes presents difficulties not usually found in conventional loans e.g., more restrictive guidelines, husband & wife need to qualify jointly, etc. Lastly, if the list price is right around the true value of the home, a higher than asking offer may pose appraisal issues which could subsequently jeopardize the loan approval.

I’m sure there are lots of variations to the kinds of multiple offers that you may encounter, either as the seller or as the listing agent. Remember, there’s more to the offer than just the offer price!