Comparing Offers on Your San Diego Condo

By Frederick Blum, Broker/Owner of Blum Realty Group

When offers arrive, I do not advise a condo seller to compare only the number on the first page. I want to know what each offer is likely to leave you, what still has to happen for it to close and whether its timeline fits your next move.

The highest price may also be the strongest offer. The way to determine that is to compare the terms and supporting information, not assume that a particular financing label settles the question.

Put every offer on the same basis

Start with the purchase price, requested seller credits, repair obligations, assessment terms, closing date and any other provision that changes your proceeds or timing. Putting those items side by side makes the comparison useful.

Here is a simple hypothetical example:

On those two terms alone, Offer B leaves $5,000 more before other costs. That last row is not a final net sheet. Your actual proceeds also depend on your loan payoff, selling expenses and any other obligations you agree to pay.

Now look for costs that the headline numbers miss. Does one offer require you to pay an assessment balance that the other handles differently? Does its possession date mean another move or temporary housing? Does the buyer need to sell another property first? Those questions can change which offer works best for you.

I also want the buyer’s lender to confirm that a proposed credit is permitted and usable for that transaction. Do not assume every dollar requested can be used for any purpose. For example, Fannie Mae’s rules do not allow an interested-party contribution to supply the buyer’s down payment or required reserves. The applicable loan rules and the buyer’s eligible costs matter.

Check the buyer’s financing and the building’s eligibility

A preapproval is useful, but I would ask the buyer’s agent and lender what has been reviewed and what remains conditional. For a condo, that includes the project review and the association documents the lender still needs.

Fannie Mae places responsibility for establishing and documenting project eligibility on the lender. A buyer’s income and credit review does not, by itself, clear the building for that buyer’s loan.

Before treating financing as settled, I want answers to three questions:

• Which project-review route is the lender using for this loan?
• What association records or other information are still missing, and who is obtaining them?
• When can the lender reasonably resolve the remaining project questions?

If the offer includes an appraisal-gap commitment, I would also ask what amount it covers, whether the buyer has documented the additional funds and how that commitment fits the rest of the contract. A larger promise is not a substitute for understanding the actual terms and available cash.

My condo mortgage and project-approval guide explains why borrower approval and property approval are separate parts of the financing process.

I would not assume that a cash offer is reliable without verifying funds, or that an offer using a particular loan program is automatically weaker. Evaluate the buyer’s preparation and the written terms in front of you.

Make contingency dates fit the work

A short contingency period can be attractive, but it should be achievable. A date on the contract does not make an association’s records arrive sooner or complete a lender’s review.

I want a clear schedule for inspections, document delivery, financing review and the decisions those steps support. Where something is outstanding, identify who controls it and when an answer is expected. That gives us a better basis for comparing a quick proposed closing with a more realistic one.

If a buyer later asks for more time, the useful questions are specific: What is missing? Who is responsible for providing it? What will the additional days accomplish? An extension request supported by a defined remaining step is different from one with no clear path forward.

The actual contract governs the parties’ rights and required actions. Do not assume that a missed date automatically cancels the sale or decides who receives the deposit.

Resolve assessment terms specifically

“Seller to handle the HOA assessment” is not a complete answer if the parties have not identified the amount, payment schedule, unpaid balance and agreed allocation. The notices, governing requirements and purchase agreement need to fit together.

I would separate the payment question from the underlying project question. Paying an assessment does not complete a repair or settle every lender concern about the building. If work remains outstanding, we need to understand its status as well as who will pay.

I discussed the pressure that association costs can place on owners in Sara McGiff’s Daily Mail feature on California HOA fee increases. In an offer comparison, that pressure becomes a practical question: which costs are known, which obligations are being allocated and which questions still need an answer?

Include each offer’s actual assessment allocation in its estimated proceeds. If an amount is uncertain, identify that uncertainty before treating the offers as equivalent. Do not count the same cost twice—once as an assessment payment and again inside a general seller-credit figure.

Use a five-part offer worksheet

For each serious offer, I would put these five items on one page:

1. Estimated proceeds. Purchase price, credits and the seller’s other agreed costs, with unresolved amounts identified separately.
2. Buyer preparation. Evidence of funds and the lender’s actual review status, including additional cash needed under the proposed terms.
3. Condo-project questions. The lender’s review route, missing records and the person responsible for the next answer.
4. Remaining conditions. Inspections, appraisal, financing, another property sale and any other conditions in the actual agreement.
5. Your timing and possession needs. Proposed closing, move-out arrangements and the practical cost of meeting them.

This is not a scoring system that automatically chooses a winner. It exposes the tradeoffs. You may reasonably accept a slightly lower estimated result for terms that fit your move better, or prefer a higher offer whose remaining steps are well supported. The decision should be deliberate.

Negotiate what improves your result

Sometimes the most useful counteroffer is about price. Sometimes it is a smaller credit, a clearer assessment allocation or a closing and possession arrangement that avoids a second move.

I would compare those choices with your priorities and available alternatives. A lower offer is not automatically an “easy” sale, and a higher offer is not automatically the best result when important terms remain unresolved.

My role is to connect the numbers with the transaction: what you are likely to receive, what still needs to happen and which tradeoffs fit your plans. Bring the actual offers, any assessment notices and your moving timeline. We can build the comparison from the facts of your sale.

Questions sellers ask

Should I always choose an all-cash buyer?

No. Compare verified funds, price, contingencies, timing and other terms. Cash removes the need for that buyer’s purchase mortgage; it does not remove every condition or guarantee performance.

Does the largest deposit mean the safest offer?

A deposit is one part of the agreement. I would also examine the applicable contingencies, the buyer’s financial preparation and the contract terms governing the deposit.

Can we keep a backup buyer interested?

A properly structured backup arrangement may be useful where the parties agree. It must respect the existing contract and clearly state when and how the backup becomes operative. We would evaluate the actual circumstances before using one.