First Time Buyer's Guide Prince William County VA - Introduction
Outlines the 6 steps in the home buying process that will be explained in detail in subsequent posts. They are required of all home purchasers, not just first time home buyers.
Step 2 Loan Application and Approval
" STEP 4 of 6 "
PREPARE A PURCHASE OFFER
HOW MUCH TO OFFER?
I will search our MLS to find statistics that will assist you in determining an offering price. The available information will include:
- Comparison of comparable homes for sale in the immediate area that will include their price, condition, time on the market and any seller incentives.
- Comparison of recent sales of comparable homes in the area that will include the above information plus the sales price and any seller incentives.
The offer should take the above into consideration and we will discuss it in detail before we write a sales contract. The contract will include:
- The offer price
- Legal description
- Financing terms
- Items that will convey
- Settlement date
- Any seller concessions requested
- Contingencies, home inspections and home owner association documents if applicable.
An earnest money check must accompany the contract as “consideration”. That check will be held in the Long and Foster escrow account until settlement and will then be credited to the funds you will be required to bring to settlement.
Your offer will be presented to the seller as quickly as possible. The seller has three options.
The seller can:
- Accept the contract as written
- Make a counter-offer
- Reject the offer
You then have the option of
- Accepting any counter-offer,
- Making a counter-offer back to the seller or
- Doing nothing at all.
It is not unusual for a contract to be countered one or more times until the seller and you come to agreement on the final terms.
Once your offer is signed by all parties you have a Contingent Contract and we are ready to PERFORM INSPECTIONS AND DOCUMENT REVIEW. This aspect will be covered in Step #5
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