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Put yourself in the
sellers shoes and imagine how they will react to
everything you’re about to put in your offer.
Oral promises are not legally enforceable when
it comes to the sale of real estate. Please be
sure you have communicated everything you want
in the offer to your Realtor.
Price
Have your REALTOR do a comparative market
analysis for you. That will show you the fair
market value of the property. The following
factors could affect your offer price:
Property condition
New home improvements
Market conditions (that old supply and demand
again)
Seller’s motivation
Multiple Offers – expect to pay more if there
are multiple bidders on a property
Deposit Money
You will be putting up some money to show the
seller you are sincere about purchasing his
home. Your Realtor can give you guidelines for
how much this should be.
Financing Contingency
You will probably need to get a mortgage. Even
if you have been preapproved the lender will
still need time to have the appraisal done, etc.
Your Realtor can advise you as to how much time
you need.
Home Inspection
Don’t skip this, whether it’s because you think
you can check out the house yourself or you want
to save the money a professional inspector
charges – it’s money well spent in the long run.
But remember, no home is perfect and small
maintenance-type things found by the home
inspector should not be part of any
renegotiations with the seller. And don’t skip
your final walk-through just because you had a
home inspection.
Disclosures
Make sure you received all the proper seller
disclosures. Sellers may have completed a Seller
Property Information Statement. Have your
Realtor request a copy for your review. Further,
material defects MUST be disclosed if known by
the seller. Look over these documents carefully
– the laws that govern them limit your recourse
once you’ve signed them.
Multiple Offers
It doesn’t have to be a ‘hot’ market for a
seller to have the luxury of choosing between
multiple offers on their property. If you find
yourself in a multiple offer situation don’t
panic and don’t withdraw your offer – you may be
the highest bidder and won’t even know it if you
pull out. Go through at least one round of
negotiations before you decide to withdraw. Have
a price in your mind of where you want to go and
stay in the game until that price has been
reached. Too many buyers lose the property by
pulling out too soon. Having a well-seasoned
Realtor familiar with the process can be
instrumental in Multiple Offers. Taking the time
to hire the right Realtor will find you a
Realtor with a good reputation among their
colleagues and peers; this too will aid in your
efforts to attain a property in the event of
Multiple offers.