Writing a Winning Offer
I wish it were as simple as touring a house and shaking hands with the seller and letting them know that you will take the house! Only in movies does that happen. The offer process is probably the most intense part of this roller coaster ride.
Here is how the offer process works:
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Find your dream home that you are ready to make and offer on and notify your agent right away!
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Have your agent check the comps to see how your home compares to others
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Make sure you have your pre-approval letter handy and supply this to your agent. They will need to include this with your offer.
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Once you determine the price, your agent will type up the offer on a purchase agreement that you will need to sign. They will then submit it to the sellers agent.
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Every offer has to have a deadline. Usually you will give the seller 24 hours to respond. Sometimes less in a hot market.
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The seller is able to accept your offer as is, counter your offer, or reject your offer.
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If the seller comes back with a counter offer, you will want to review your strategy with your agent. Try to stick to your guns here.
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Once you and the seller come to an agreement and the offer is accepted, the fun begins! Touring houses and writing the offer is just 1/2 the battle.
When it comes time to actually writing the offer, you should trust your agent here. By now, you have probably toured several homes with them and have had several conversations with them about the process. They should be able to guide you through all of your questions and also give you recommendations on making sure your offer will stand out.
Your agent should be able to run a quick CMA (Comparative Market Analysis) on the property which should help you determine your offer price.
If your agent has enough experience, they should know a few tips and tricks that should help your offer stand out:
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As mentioned in one of my blogs, you can always increase your earnest money deposit. This typically is about 1% of the purchase price, but if you have the extra cash to put down more, a seller may put your offer above others. You can even write the earnest money and take a picture of it to send it over with your offer. This shows that you are very serious.
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Try and be flexible if possible. If you are in a position where you don't have to move on a certain date, then put that in your offer that your close date can be flexible. This allows the seller to work around their schedule and not yours.
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Work with a good local lender. Your agent should be able to recommend a few.
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Don't make your offer harder than it is. If while touring the house you noticed a cracked light fixture, save asking for minor repairs to be fixed for the inspection response.
Within your offer, there are several contingencies that must be met before the sale can be finalized. The fewer contingencies, the better your offer will look to the seller. You will need contingencies to protect you in case something doesn't quite work out as planned.
Your offer could be contingent upon:
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Home Inspection- Within the offer you will check a box stating if you want to have an inspection or not. If you check yes, you will have to give a time frame that you will have the home inspected and negotiate other repairs based on the results.
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Financing- This contingency is the one that protects you the most. It states that if you can't get approved for the loan, you can pretty much get out of the deal.
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Selling your personal home first- You may have a home you have to sell first before you can get another mortgage. It's hard to get a seller to approve your offer with this contingency if the market is really good.
Related: 4 Ways to Buy and Sell a Home at the Same Time
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Appraisal- Part of getting approved for the loan would also mean the house would have to pass an appraisal. If the house appraises lower than the purchase agreement price, you will have to re-negotiate terms with the seller. The bank will not give you any more money than what the house is worth.
Writing the offer can be very exciting. Just keep some of these thoughts in mind when the time comes. Remember, if your offer gets rejected, that just means someone either beat you to it or the seller didn't like your contingencies. There will always be another house that comes up and will end up working out just fine.
If you have any specific questions about writing an offer on a home, please don't hesitate to contact me!