A Few Home Buying Offer Tips

Congratulations! We are preparing to write an offer on a piece of property that you have found and want. We feel it is important to go over some "Offer Basics" to make the entire buying process go smoother.

1. Yes, we are in a Buyer's Market! That does not mean the seller needs to reduce the price of your home. The truth is a good agent will already have the home priced appropriately. We will share a Market Analysis with you of the neighborhood and help you determine a fair asking price.
   
2. If the House is priced correctly – Closing costs will need to be added to the asking price. Let us give you an example, let's say we are purchasing a $150,000 home and you need 3% assistance from the seller in closing costs. The market analysis shows the home should be priced around $160,000 – but the seller has reduced it to $150,000. They $4,500 in closing costs that you need will have to be added to an offer making your offer $154,500.
   
3. Sellers do NOT have to do repairs. Your home inspection is not to obtain a repair list for the seller. It is used to ensure you know what you are buying. If you have offered the seller full price for your new home, then it is possible they might be willing to do a few repairs. If you got the seller to reduce their home by thousands of dollars – you pretty well need to assume you just bought the home "as is"!
   
4. Offers and Counters - Time is Off the Essence. We might be in a buyer's market, but the good homes get multiple offers and sell quickly. You do not have days to make a decision. You literally have a few minutes or hours to decide what you are going to do. We can't tell you the number of times we have seen a buyer delay making a decision only to learn someone else bought the home.
   
5. There is no such thing as First In - First Out! While that concept applies with inventory in a warehouse – it does NOT apply to offers in the housing market. Until the contract is fully executed (meaning all parties have signed and initialed all changed and the last broker to handle has dated the contract) ANYONE can buy the home. You can have a verbal agreement to buy the home at $110,000 and find out the seller executed a contract at $111,000. Remember, Time really is of the Essence!
   

We are here to guide and help you. There are no dumb questions and by following our advice you will get the home you want to buy.