The Offer

SUPER! You have chosen a home to make an offer on! The next step is structuring the offer by determining the price and terms. Our goal is to ensure you get the house you want, at the best price and on the terms most beneficial to your situation. 

 We will research all the comparable properties that have recently sold, paying close attention to the differences in each property that may have affected its sale price. Then we stack them up next to the home you have selected to help determine a proper valuation. Based on that information, you will decide what to offer. We will put in any offer our clients decide upon, but will always advise you to the probability of it being accepted or rejected. For example—a property is listed for 500K, and the comparables researched support a fair market price of 490K. You want to offer 410K. We will write this offer for you, but advise you that in all likelihood, the offer will be rejected. We always ask agents to encourage their clients to counter such an offer rather than simply reject it, but it may be so low that the conversation ends there. At this point, we would ask you to re-evaluate either the offer, or the property.  It may be that the property is not for you, and that is fine!  🙂

While purchasing a home at below fair market value is ideal, the market has changed drastically since the housing crash, and most homes are selling for market value. If you love the property, need a place quickly and there is a limited supply of homes with your criteria, you may want to consider making a stronger offer that has a good chance to be countered or accepted.

Terms are another very important part of the offer. A cash offer almost always carries more weight than one that is dependent on financing. A quick close can be attractive in some cases, while other sellers may need a bit more time to pack up and get to their next destination. Part of our job is to find out what the sellers motivations are, and how we can parlay that into terms that will be attractive to them while still convenient for you. 

There are many situations where the terms can play just as important of a role as the price, and can make or break a deal. Example— a seller must close on the listed property as soon as possible or risk losing the new home they just found. In a case like this, perhaps they are willing to adjust the sales price a bit if you offer a quick closing. Contrarily, there may be a case where a seller has to finish out a job, or wants the kids to finish out the school year, and a closing occurring in a few months would be much more preferable to them. Offering them a date to close a bit further in the future or offering to lease the home back to them might be the determining factor in obtaining you an acceptance with a great price. The amount of earnest money deposit can also be part of the terms that may or may not be important to the seller. 

The buyer is also the one who chooses the title company that will open escrow and oversee the bringing together of the different components to ensure a smooth transaction.  A good title officer, like a good lender or real estate agent, can make a huge difference in the quality of the experience and a property closing on time with minimal stress. 

On occasion, a seller may really push for a certain title company as they may be receiving a discount from them. If it is a title officer we have had good luck with, great— but if it is one that has dropped the ball on another deal that we were involved in, we will inform you so you can decide how you would like to proceed. When structuring the offer, we will go through all of the different options with you, to determine what will be best for you.