How to Pick the Best Offer When Selling Your Home

Our Baton Rouge market is absolutely exploding right now, and I’m fired up about what 2026 is shaping up to look like. One thing I’m already seeing more of? Multiple offers.

And if you’re getting ready to sell, that means you’re about to face one of the most misunderstood decisions in real estate.

Most sellers think the highest offer is the best offer. It’s not. Not even close sometimes. An offer is more than a price tag, and if you only look at the top number, you can lose real money without realizing it.

Let me give you an example. Say you get an offer that’s $5,000 higher than another one, but that buyer wants to close five months down the road. Sounds like the higher one wins, right? Not so fast.

While you’re waiting those five months, you’re still making mortgage payments on a home you’re trying to sell. By the time you actually close, that $5,000 you “won” on price might already be gone.

That’s why I tell my sellers to look at the entire offer, not just the price.

Here’s what actually matters and questions you should ask:

• Closing date. How soon can they close? Every month you wait is a month of holding costs you’re still paying.
• Earnest money deposit. A larger deposit shows the buyer is serious and gives you more protection if they walk.
• Closing costs. Are they asking you to cover any of theirs? That comes straight off your net.
• Realtor commission terms. What’s the compensation structure, and how does it affect your bottom line?
• Move-out time. Are they giving you extra time to move after closing? That can be worth real money if you need flexibility.
• Home warranty requests. Are they asking you to provide one? Small detail, but it adds up.

Other terms and conditions. Anything else attached to the offer that could affect your timeline, your wallet, or your peace of mind.

Every one of these pieces plays into what your offer is really worth. The “best” offer is the one that gets you to your next step in life with the most money in your pocket and the least friction along the way.

Work with your Realtor to dissect every offer that comes in. A good agent will sit down with you, walk through each component, and help you see which one actually wins, not just which one looks the biggest on paper.

If you have any questions about the offer process, selling your home, or anything else in the Baton Rouge real estate market, reach out to me anytime. You know where to find us, online, on television, on the radio, and on billboards.

And if you need an awning put up, a swimming pool installed, a fence built, or anything else related to your home? I’ve got contacts for that too. I’ve been working with these folks for years, and they deliver the same kind of service my team does.

Call me directly at 225-335-7666, email darren@agent225.com, or visit agent225.com. I always answer my calls. Talk to you soon.