Remember, once an offer is rejected, you cannot change your mind. The seller should never change the purchase contract by crossing out sections or adding new conditions to the original offer. All changes must be made on a counteroffer form and must be in writing. The counteroffer form must contain a clause stating that all conditions of the original purchase contract are acceptable, except for any new terms that are listed. Sometimes, it takes several counteroffers to negotiate what the buyers and sellers really want in the contract.

Counteroffers are the bargaining and negotiating tools of the buyer and seller. As negotiations continue, you may find that you use several counteroffer forms. Remember, each time you counteroffer, you give the other party the opportunity to walk away from the negotiation and change his or her mind about buying or selling the property. When there is a counteroffer, the parties' roles are reversed: the original offeror becomes the offeree. The goal in counteroffers is to keep the negotiations moving and to reach a satisfactory conclusion. Hopefully, the conclusion is a contract; sometimes, however, that will not happen and you will end up with a stack of paper but no agreement.