You’ve finally gotten an offer on your house. The place has been on the market for several months, so you are excited to take a look. But when you do, the wind goes out of your sails. The offer is ridiculously low -- tens of thousands under your asking price. So what do you do?

According to real estate agents who have found themselves in this situation, you should first take a deep breath. Next, consider your options.

You can simply ignore the lowball offer. You can tell the bottom-feeder you are sticking to your price. Or -- and this is probably your best option -- you can counter with the price you are willing to accept, and see what happens.

“Set aside your emotions, focus on the facts, and prepare a counteroffer that keeps the buyers involved in the deal,” commercial real estate agent Herb Johnson advises in “How To Respond to a Low Offer on Your Home,” a 2011 article on ActiveRain. “A low purchase offer still means someone wants to purchase your home. Unless the offer is (ridiculously) low, it deserves a response.”

Once you get over your disappointment with the offer, realize that, at the very least, you have an interested potential buyer on the hook, awaiting your response. Sit down with your agent and figure out how to bring the buyer into the boat.

“Don't reject the offer right off the bat and tell them to come back when they're serious,” the staff at Realty Times writes in “How to Handle Low Ball Offers.” “Remember, it's now a negotiation game, and the buyer is serious, or he or she would not have made an offer.”

For starters, make sure the buyer puts the offer in writing. That way, says one agent, the buyer is now personally involved in the negotiating process.

Your next step is to prepare a counteroffer -- one that keeps the other guy hanging around and signals that you’re willing to negotiate.

There are lots of ways you can approach this. One strategy is to lower your price to what you are willing to accept. You can also remove some, or all, of the concessions you were willing to give at your original price. Maybe you're no longer willing to offer assistance with closing costs, for instance. Maybe the washer and dryer will move with you, rather than staying in the house as planned.

In real estate, everything is negotiable. If you want to delay closing, for example, ask for the settlement to be held 90 days hence. Conversely, you can ask that closing occur right away.

You might have to lower your price if the market dictates. If houses comparable to yours have sold or been listed recently at less than what you are asking, the market is telling you to lower your price. Ask your agent to run the comps to see where you stand.

Serious buyers, even those who lowball their offers, sometimes attach comps to convince sellers to accept their offers. But take a hard look at them: Make sure the houses are similar to yours and that their prices are realistic. If they don’t meet your criteria, submit your own comps with your counteroffer to justify your price.

When you counter, you have begun negotiations, and the give-and-take often goes on for a while. Give up a little at a time -- just enough to keep your buyer interested.

The trick is to figure out exactly how much you need to net from your sale and go from there. If you need to walk away with, say, $300,000, and you were asking for $350,000, you have a lot of wiggle room. You could counter with $340,000, or even $325,000, and still meet your goal.

During the bargaining process, remember to keep things civil. Throw out lots of friendly words to both the buyer and the agent: “We are very excited about selling our house to you,” for example. You want to keep everyone engaged in the process to meet your goals -- namely, selling your current residence and moving on.

Eventually, the buyer is going to make a final offer. No more haggling: This is it, take it or leave it. Remember, the buyer has to meet their own goals, just like you have to meet yours. If you decide to walk, then no regrets. Just put the place back on the market and wait for a new buyer. You are under no obligation to accept any offer or keep negotiating.

“Knowing when to hold firm and when to walk away is a critical aspect of dealing with lowball offers,” Chris Nelson, an agent with GenStone Realty in Philadelphia, writes in a LinkedIn column “How to Deal with Lowball Offers on Your Home.” “It is important to have a clear understanding of your bottom line and be willing to hold firm if the counteroffer does not meet your expectations.”

But don’t lose the deal if you are just a few thousand dollars apart. You don’t know when another interested buyer will land on your doorstep. And every day your house remains on the market costs you money.

Thousands of federal employees, and the millions of families who rely on government services, are facing financial uncertainty because of the government shutdown. Experts are weighing in on how this affects renters and homeowners.

"No one should lose their home because of a crisis they did not cause," said David M. Dworkin, president and CEO of the National Housing Conference, in a recent statement from the nonprofit.

If the shutdown directly affects you, there is help out there, but you have to be proactive. You can’t just sit there, trying to ride it out all by your lonesome.

For starters, pay this month’s rent or mortgage right away. “Even in times of uncertainty,” reads the NHC statement, “making current payments helps avoid compounding financial strain.”

If the shutdown continues into next month and you're unable to make that payment, contact your landlord or lender right away. Let them know your situation so you can devise an alternative plan. “Open and early communication is essential,” says the NHC.

Perhaps you can work out a plan to repay what you owe when you return to the job. Once Congress does approve a budget, federal workers are usually paid for the time they could not work. Contractors don’t enjoy that luxury, though. Time lost is money they can’t get back.

Families living in assisted housing will continue to have their rental payments covered through November, according to a statement from Renee M. Willis, president and CEO of the National Low Income Housing Coalition.

For those who can't make their mortgage payments, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have directed loan servicers -- the companies that administer loans on behalf of their owners -- to "assist borrowers affected by the shutdown, reminding them that they are authorized to offer forbearance plans when needed," says the NHC.

Forbearance can take many forms: Your payments can be forgiven for the present, but added to the balance owed. Or you may be allowed to make smaller payments -- again, with the difference added to your loan amount. Once the forbearance period ends, you’ll be required to bring the loan current or refinance -- or face possible foreclosure.

If the shutdown drags on and you need cash to carry you over, several federal employee-based credit unions stand ready to help.

Navy Federal’s Paycheck Assistance Program "offers a 0% APR loan to eligible federal employees or contractors impacted by the shutdown," says the NHC. The loan amount is based on the borrower’s monthly pay.

Congressional Federal is offering a suite of solutions, including a 0% APR relief line of credit for 60 days, which then turns into a 4% loan with fixed monthly payments for 36 months. And PenFed is offering several furlough assistance options, including "no-interest loans equal to your payroll direct deposit."

If you are in the process of winning approval for a mortgage, your application is likely to continue moving forward during the shutdown. But it may move at a slower pace, especially if your loan is insured or guaranteed by Uncle Sam.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development reports that while loans backed by the Federal Housing Administration will continue through the approval and processing tracks, delays could be caused by reduced staffing and other limitations. But the FHA has indicated it cannot respond to most correspondence during the shutdown, nor will it endorse reverse mortgages or Title I loans, which allow borrowers to roll the cost of repairs into their mortgages.

Here, communication with your servicer -- the company that collects your payments -- is key. “Communication is the most important tool renters and homeowners have right now,” said Dworkin.

Conventional lenders are under no restrictions. But if you are a government employee and your loan will be sold to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, verifying your employment may be a little tricky. Obtaining tax returns from the IRS to verify income, validating your Social Security number and obtaining federal flood insurance also could prove difficult.

Fannie says it will accept verbal employment verifications, or even waive that requirement, if the lender states an electronic confirmation could not be obtained because of the shutdown. It also said it is abridging its rules about income and Social Security number authentication.

Fannie also is waiving the requirement that your most recent pay stub be dated no earlier than 30 days prior to the initial loan application. But if the shutdown extends for a longer period, borrowers will have to have two months’ worth of documented reserves.

With the shutdown, the National Flood Insurance Program’s authority to issue new policies has lapsed, complicating some 1,400 property transactions daily, says the National Association of Realtors. Unless they find a private flood insurer, borrowers in high-risk areas could be left without coverage.

Lenders have been advised by the Federal Reserve's Board of Governors that even during the NFIP lapse, they may keep writing loans that are subject to federal flood insurance statutes. However, they must "continue to make flood determinations (and) provide timely, complete and accurate notices to borrowers," reads a statement from the Fed Board.

Existing NFIP policies will remain in effect until their expiration dates, and claims will continue to be paid until the funds are depleted.

There comes a time in most house sales when the buyer and seller have to decide who will pay for any necessary repairs.

Who should take care of it? As with all real estate matters, it depends.

Let’s say the inspection revealed a number of problems: The roof is leaking into the attic, the dryer's door doesn’t shut properly, a few windows are painted shut, the water heater is on its last legs and several window screens are missing or torn.

The buyer and seller agree that the most egregious of these items must be addressed. But who’s going to pay for the work?

Certainly, most buyers want the place move-in ready: no balky air conditioner, clanging pipes or half-working stove to deal with. Consequently, buyers tend to ask sellers to cover these repairs. But that’s not always the best option, according to many realty professionals: They say it’s often better to ask the seller for a credit at closing to cover the cost of the needed fixes.

“I usually recommend that my buyers request a credit instead of a repair,” said Illinois agent Alan May on the ActiveRain website. “The sellers, when doing a repair, will do so as cheaply as they can. As the newest owner of the property, you want to make sure the repair is done to your satisfaction.”

Therein lies the first rub. Sellers tend to spend as little as they can on the necessary fixes. Some even attempt to do the work themselves to save more.

“For sellers, repairs are often just another task to complete before the sale,” said Minnesota agent Bob Elliot. “No one will put more care and attention into fixing a new home than the buyers themselves.”

Buyers who still want the sellers to handle repairs should stipulate in the contract that repairs must be done by licensed professionals, and that paid invoices must be provided at closing. Also, there should be a time limit in which the repairs must be completed.

Without such a proviso, buyers leave themselves open to lousy or even faulty workmanship, which they will have to deal with after they move in. And without a time limit, closing could be delayed for weeks if the sellers drag their feet.

Sellers, on the other hand, are usually already focused on their next homes and don’t want to be bothered with repairing the ones they're about to leave. So it is often worth it to part with some money at closing and walk away scot-free.

But sellers shouldn’t agree to an amount until they have a fair idea of what the requested fixes would actually cost. They should obtain estimates on their own -- as should buyers, to make sure they are not undervaluing the cost. Otherwise, one side or the other may give away too much.

Both parties also need to be “very specific about what is expected and what will be done,” advises Hawaii agent Georgie Hunter. “You had better keep a written record of every detail and conversation.”

Buyers, meanwhile, should make certain their lenders will accept credits at closing for repairs. Some, like FHA-insured and VA-guaranteed loans, won’t. Indeed, the FHA won’t fund a loan unless the repairs are complete and paid invoices from licensed contractors are submitted to underwriters.

That brings to the table another option: The sellers can lower their price to match the amount on which they and the buyers agree is enough to cover the needed repairs. Unfortunately, that choice doesn’t put any cash into the buyer’s hands to get the work done. So if money is tight, it might be best to allow the seller to make the repairs.

Don’t just hope for the best: Be very descriptive in your requirements, demand that licensed contractors do the work (no handy homeowner fixes allowed), and ask for paid invoices to be presented at closing. Realize, though, you cannot require that repairs be made over and above what is called for in your local building codes.

Before settlement, have the place reinspected to make sure the repairs were done correctly. If possible, it is best to hire the original home inspector who flagged the flaws in the first place.

Visually, the fixes “may not be what you had in mind,” warns Virginia agent Pam Dent. But as long as everything is up to code, you're good to proceed.

If not, or if the repairs were not completed in the allotted time frame, the buyer has several choices: Postpone closing until the repairs are completed; ask the seller to put funds in escrow to cover the costs; request a credit from the seller to complete the work; or renegotiate what has to be done.

Obviously, this all involves a lot of give-and-take between the parties. You can always call it quits and move on, but don’t give up without trying to strike a deal. Take a deep breath and keep at it.

You’ve come this far, says Tennessee agent Tammie White, so don’t allow “a knee-jerk reaction to cost you the home of your dreams.”