Receiving and negotiating a purchase offer when selling in Morocco

Receiving an offer is good news, but the best offer is not always the highest. A financed buyer with a short timeline and few conditions is sometimes worth more than a slightly higher but fragile offer. Here is how to analyse, compare and negotiate. For the other side of the table, see negotiating the price of an apartment.

Analysing an offer

Comparing several offers

Offer A may be the most attractive if you need certainty or a short timeline. Calculate your net for each offer; see calculating your net proceeds.

Making a counter-offer

1. Reply in writing, within the offer’s deadline.
2. Justify your counter-offer: comparables, condition of the property, documents ready.
3. Negotiate the conditions too (vacant possession date, furniture, timing).
4. Set a validity date for your counter-offer.

Case study

A seller lists his apartment at 1,300,000 MAD and receives an offer of 1,200,000 MAD from a buyer with an agreement in principle. He replies with a counter-offer at 1,260,000 MAD, pointing out that the file is complete and the apartment is available immediately. They agree at 1,240,000 MAD, with a preliminary contract at the notary the following week and the deed within six weeks.

Moving to the preliminary contract

Once agreement is reached, formalise it quickly with the notary: price, deposit paid into the notary’s account, date of the deed, conditions precedent. See the preliminary sale contract.

Common mistakes

• Accepting orally with nothing in writing.
• Choosing the highest offer without checking financing.
• Delaying your answer and losing a serious buyer.
• Accepting an “off-deed” top-up payment.

Key points

• An offer is judged on price, financing, timing and conditions.
• Reply in writing and within the deadlines.
• Calculate the net of each offer.
• Move quickly to the preliminary contract with the notary.

Questions to ask the buyer

• Do you have a bank agreement in principle, and for how much?
• What deposit?
• What timing for the preliminary contract and the deed?
• Do you have a property to sell before buying?
• What conditions do you want in the preliminary contract?

The answers show how solid the offer is. To prepare the file that reassures the buyer, see the seller’s documents; for what comes next, the final sale deed.