After writing a purchase offer for the house you want to buy, you might feel nervous and anxious as you wait for the seller to review it and give you an answer. If this is the first home you are buying, you may wonder what the potential outcomes could be after you submit your offer, and there are three main outcomes. Here are a few important things to know as you prepare to hear back from the seller.

The three outcomes

After you prepare your purchase offer and give it to the seller of the home, he or she will have a certain amount of time to look it over. The seller must then decide whether to accept it, reject it, or counter it. These are the only three outcomes that can exist, and you will probably be hoping that the seller will accept the offer you submitted. You are likely to feel uptight as you wait, but you should only have to wait a few days to hear back. This will depend on how much time you gave the buyer to decide, but three days is usually the maximum amount of time given.

The factors that will influence the seller's decision

When the seller receives your offer, he or she will most likely base the decision on the following factors:

• How reasonable the offer is – The main factor the seller will consider is the fairness of your offer. If you offered a good price and did not ask for much, there is no reason the seller would take the chance of countering the offer.
• How eager the seller is to sell – The eagerness of the seller will also play a role in the decision he or she makes. If the house has been for sale for a long time, the seller might be more motivated to accept your offer even if it is not for as much as he or she hoped for.
• If there are other buyers involved – The seller may also factor in other prospective buyers. If, for example, there are several other people that are considering making an offer, the seller might wait to receive the other offers before making a decision on yours.

Every situation and home is different, and the current status of the housing market can also affect a homeowner's decision on how to respond to an offer.

Before you make an offer on a house, make sure it is the house that you really want to buy. If you have not yet begun shopping for a house, make an appointment with a real estate agent to help you locate homes for sale.