Making an offer and negotiating

What a serious offer looks like

A Philippine offer is usually informal at first — a stated price and basic terms — but sellers read it as a signal of how prepared you are. The strongest offers arrive with a specific number, a payment method you can actually close (cash, Pag-IBIG or a bank loan in progress) and a realistic timeline. On Upah.ph the "Make an offer" field sends a peso amount with your enquiry — it must sit below the asking price and at least half of it, because token lowballs waste everyone's time.

Before you offer, know the market context: the listing page shows this home's ₱/m² against the city median, and the trends pages show whether prices in the city are rising. A 3–8% discount off asking is the common landing zone where comparable sales exist — larger gaps need justification, like documented repairs or a motivated seller.

Counter-offers are the norm

Expect the owner to counter rather than accept or decline outright — a counter means they are negotiating, which is a good sign. On this site a counter-offer lands in your account inbox with the new figure, and you answer it in one tap: accept or decline. You can also walk away politely; a declined counter simply closes the negotiation, and there is no penalty for trying again on another home.

Move in steps, not leaps: jumping straight to your maximum removes room to trade on other terms (move-in date, included appliances, who shoulders which taxes). Keep each counter anchored to a reason — comparable sales, the ₱/m² median, visible repairs.

Earnest money and reservations

Once a price is agreed in principle, sellers commonly ask for earnest money or a reservation fee to take the home off the market. This is the riskiest money in the whole transaction: pay it only against a written and signed acknowledgement — amount, what it covers, whether it is refundable and against what conditions. For developer units the License to Sell and the reservation agreement govern refunds; for private resales, insist on a notarised document or a signed letter at minimum.

Never pay earnest money in cash without a receipt, and never to anyone whose name is not on the title or a verified SPA. If a seller pressures for money before you have seen a certified true copy of the title, treat it as a red flag, not a deadline.

When the answer is no

A declined offer is information: the seller's floor is higher than your bid, or they are not ready to move. Either way you learned it for free. Keep watching the listing — price drops and relists trigger alerts to buyers who saved the home — and keep your search saved so comparable homes reach you first.