How to Navigate Offers as an Arizona FSBO Seller
Navigating offers as a seller means reading each offer as a package of eight parts, not as one headline price. ClozeEZ collects offers, counters, acceptances, and declines in one place, and verifies buyer identity, mortgage pre-qualification, and proof of funds. The eight parts: price, earnest money, financing, down payment, contingencies, concessions, buyer-agent compensation, and closing date. Compare packages on net proceeds and probability of closing rather than headline price, and counter in writing until one package works. Since August 2024, what a buyer's agent gets paid is one of those negotiated lines, decided offer by offer. The highest offer is frequently not the best one, and the difference is almost always in the terms.
Read the whole offer, not the number at the top
An Arizona purchase offer runs many pages, and the price is one line. Pull out these eight before reacting: offered price, earnest money amount, financing type (cash, conventional, FHA, VA), down payment size, contingencies (inspection, appraisal, financing, home-sale), requested seller concessions, requested buyer-agent compensation, and proposed closing date. Write them in a column. That column, not the price, is the offer.
Verify the buyer can actually perform
A financed offer should come with a pre-qualification or pre-approval letter; a cash offer should come with proof of funds. ClozeEZ verifies buyer pre-qualification and proof of funds for you. An offer without evidence behind it is a conversation, not an offer, and your counter can politely say so by requiring documentation.
Compare offers on net and on probability, not on price
Compute each offer's net: price, minus requested concessions, minus any buyer-agent compensation requested, minus what the timeline costs you. Then weigh probability: cash closes more reliably than financed, big down payments survive appraisal gaps better than small ones, fewer contingencies mean fewer exits. A $490,000 cash offer with no concessions frequently beats a $505,000 financed offer asking $15,000 in credits, and it beats it in both columns.
On buyer-agent compensation: since August 2024 it is purely a negotiated line. Contributing something can genuinely widen your buyer pool, and refusing on principle can narrow it. Decide per offer with the net-proceeds math in front of you, not by rule.
Counter in writing, one document at a time
Counter the package, not just the price: you can accept the price and strike the concession, shorten the inspection period, move the closing date, or require a bigger earnest deposit. Every counter is a fresh offer that kills the one before it, so send one counter at a time and never negotiate two versions in parallel with the same buyer. ClozeEZ generates the Arizona Residential Resale Purchase Contract and routes each counter for e-signing, which keeps that trail in one place. Keep every exchange in writing; in Arizona, real estate agreements must be written to be enforceable.
Handle multiple offers cleanly
With more than one offer in hand, you can accept one, counter one, or set a deadline and invite highest-and-best from everyone. Never sign two contracts; you can only sell the house once, and accepting a second contract on a home under contract is how sellers end up in court. Use backup position instead: a signed backup offer takes over automatically if the first contract cancels, and it quietly stiffens your spine through the first buyer's inspection period.
Accept, then protect the contract you chose
Acceptance means signing and delivering the offer (or your signed counter) before it expires. From there the earnest money goes to the title company and the contract's clock starts: inspection period, appraisal, loan contingency, closing. Calendar every deadline the day you sign, because from this point forward, most of the ways a seller loses money are missed dates, not bad negotiating.
Related questions
Do I have to respond to every offer?
No law requires a response, but every serious offer deserves one, even a one-line decline. Today's low offer is sometimes next week's buyer at your number, and the FSBO sellers who net the most treat every inquiry as a lead until it proves otherwise.
What is a reasonable earnest money deposit in Arizona?
Commonly around 1% of the purchase price, held by the title company, credited to the buyer at closing. Larger earnest money signals commitment; unusually small earnest money on a big offer is a terms red flag worth countering.
Do I have to pay the buyer's agent?
No. Since the August 2024 rule changes there is no obligation and the MLS cannot advertise offers of buyer-agent pay. It is a negotiated line in each contract. Many sellers still contribute because it can widen the buyer pool; the right answer is whatever the net-proceeds math supports on that specific offer.
Can I sell to an unrepresented buyer?
Yes, and on a by-owner platform many of your buyers will be unrepresented. The transaction still runs on the standard contract with the same protections, and the title company still referees the closing. With no agents on either side, that is two commission lines that never enter the deal.