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OK, I’ve signed the Purchase Agreement and given my
Realtor my earnest money check, what comes next?
A - Your Realtor will call the listing agent for the house and ask for an appointment to present your offer. One of several possible things will happen after that.
·
Your offer may be accepted as it, in which case you'll move on to the next question.
The seller may reject your offer, but make a counter offer. In this case your agent will arrange to sit with you again to go over the counter-offer and give you his/her advice. The counter offer is most often made by just scratching out words and/or numbers on your offer and the seller writing in what is acceptable to him/her. This most  
 often occurs when the original offerwas very close to what the seller will take, so he/she changes the
dollar amount on the Offer form, or to deal with a difference in a term or condition, such as occupancy.
·
The seller may return a form called a Sellers’ Expression of Intent. This is a form of rejection of your offer that keeps the process alive. The sellers are basically saying “I do not accept your offer; however, if your were to return with an offer that contains these changes (they will list their requirements) I would favorably consider that offer.” Sellers sometimes use this method because it does not tie their hands from looking at other offers (after all they’ve expressly stated that they are not accepting your initial offer). You agent will have to start over with a new Purchase Offer form, but at least they have expressed interest in continuing to negotiate with you. Try again with the changes that they have asked for (or at least all that yo can agree to do) in their reply.
·
The seller may just reject your offer with no counter-offer. The seller is not really required to make any counter-offer. An outright rejection often happens when the original offer was a "low-ball" offer or had some conditions that the seller doesn't want to
consider, such as a contingent offer (an offer that is "contingent" upon the sale of the purchaser's current home prior to the finalization and closing of the house being offered upon). If the seller rejects the offer, without a counter-offer, then you would need to start all over with another offer, if you still want the house. At that point you would get your earnest money back, until such time that you make another offer.

 You may become involved in negotiations at this early point, so here’s an interesting article on how  to negotiate without being a jerk.
FAQ Buyers