Dear Monty: We were selling our home and listed it with a real estate agent we know. We just finished the final touches to show the house, so it goes on the market in a few days. The agent has a customer who looked at it a few days ago. We listed it for $424,900. This customer offered $415k. We said we wanted to put it on the market before we could answer. They returned with a $430k offer and a preapproval letter and will close in 30 days. Is there a relationship with the agent? Has she mispriced the house? We are still determining how to handle it. What should we do?

Monty’s Answer: You need more important information about your question, which you may or may not know. The way to respond to your question is to provide some direction on critical information to gather that will give you the confidence to make the best decisions. At the same time, I’ll provide some options to consider once you have that information.

There are three options to consider based on the information you shared. There may be other options that develop in the negotiation. You can accept the offer on the table, counteroffer (which is a rejection) or wait to gather market exposure.

The Pros And Cons Of Each Option