So, you’ve found the house you want to make your HOME…this means you’re ready for Step Six in our buying your Lake Wallenpaupack real estate series: Making an offer. You’re going to find out very soon why you hired such a GREAT real estate agent…they will be your go between with the seller’s agent (if it isn’t a dual agent situation) for every little thing from this point forward.
First things first for making an offer…KEEP YOUR WITS ABOUT YOU. So many people fall in love with a place and it completely clouds their judgement. Don’t be one of them! What does this mean? Well, you must have and STICK TO a price cap. You may have a price set in your head that is lower than the asking price and it the MOST you can afford…don’t go over it if the seller won’t come down. Being house poor is not a bit of fun and can last a very LONG time! Bidding wars are rare these days, but just in case…stick with that price cap!
Next, let’s talk about the price and how you determine what to offer. You know what it’s listed at, and if your agent did their job it’s within your price range without having the sellers come down a huge amount. Another thing your agent should have done is pulled ‘comps’…properties that have SOLD in the area that are similar in size and condition to the one you’d like to buy. This is a great way to determine a starting point for your first offer. And yes, please remember…this is a NEGOTIATION so you can expect series of back and forth offers and counters until you meet where both you, the buyer, and the seller are comfortable. After reviewing the sold comps and comparing that to your price cap, ‘the number’ should be pretty clear and your agent can write up the paperwork to submit to the selling agent.
But Sandra, I don’t want to offer TOO MUCH…how can I tell how low the seller will go? Sorry folks…there is no easy answer to this question! Some people, on their own, pull local records to see the price the seller paid for their house and offer accordingly. Most often it’s a wast of time, as this amount is only how much they paid when the deed was recorded…it doesn’t take refinances or home equity loans in to account. Your best bet is to offer low…this, though it may end up being your home, is a business transaction after all. If the seller is offended by your lowball price, the worst thing that can happen is they come back at you with a full price counter offer. BUT…what if they accept your low offer? You’ve saved yourself thousands! Don’t be afraid, and if your agent is iffy about offering what you want be firm.
What do I need to include in my offer? One VERY important thing…if you will need the seller to pay closing costs (they don’t really pay them, this just allows you to finance them in your loan) make sure that’s on the table with the first offer. To keep things simple, I advise doing an ‘offer to purchase’ first and then getting a sales contract done once the price is agreed upon. When it’s done this way, there’s much less paperwork for you to do in case it doesn’t work out. Also, a copy of your mortgage preapproval is VITAL and can help spur the seller to accept on your terms.
What if the seller makes a counter-offer? This is where the negotiation begins…you look at the counter, see how close to your number it is, how far the seller has come down, then put in YOUR counter. And so on, until the happy medium is found or the deal is dead.
Offer accepted? Come back next week and we’ll talk all about the sales contract!
Filed under: BUYING Lake Wallenpaupack area real estate, Foreclosures, Lake Wallenpaupack Real Estate DREAMS | Leave a Comment »



