Making An Offer To Buy A Home
You’ve found the perfect home. Now, it’s time to make an offer to purchase it from the seller. Before you take that big step, ensure you have all the right tools.
Do not go it alone. Even if you are a first-time buyer, you need a realtor to help you through the process. A real estate professional can guide you through the steps and avoid the common pitfalls of home buying.
Your realtor® will draw up an offer and present it to the seller, or seller’s agent. In some cases, there may be multiple offers on a single home, so your realtor® can help ensure that your offer is the most attractive.
Before you make an offer, make sure your own financial house is in order. In addition to being pre-qualified for a mortgage, you should be pre-approved. This means that you should formally apply for a mortgage, supply all necessary documentation to your lender, and be advised of exactly how much money you may borrow.
There are several types of offers, the best being a “firm offer to purchase.” This term means that there are no conditions attached to the offer, such as the need to sell an existing home prior to buying the new one. A “conditional offer to purchase” may not be looked upon as favorably, as it means that the buyer might need to firm up financing or sell a current residence.
When the home seller or his agent has received your offer, they may or may or not accept it immediately, particularly if other buyers have presented offers. In the best case, the seller may accept your first offer. However, the seller may reject your offer outright. Or, he or she may make a counter-offer of a somewhat higher price. In this case, your and your realtor should analyze the counter-offer and make your own offer that you feel is reasonable. Be prepared to go through several rounds of negotiations until you arrive at a price that works for both you and the seller.