How to get a property "under contract"?

I've been asked this question over the phone many times. 

To place a home or land "under contract" begins with your offer.  Talk to the real estate agent about how much you want to offer for the property.  He/She can help you  by talking about what similar properties have sold for in the area. Sometimes people already know how much they want to offer.  

The real estate agent will do your paperwork to commit your offer to writing.  An earnest deposit is made to show good-faith intention to complete the transaction.  It lets the seller know that you are serious about your offer and do intend to purchase.  The earnest deposit is held by the real estate office until a valid contract is agreed upon and signed by both sides, the buyer and the seller.  It is then deposited into an escrow account to be held until closing, at which time the amount of the earnest deposit is part of your closing funds and applied toward your purchase.

There are different sections in the Oklahoma Uniform Contract that our office uses and we'll go over those at a different time.  Any part of the terms of the offer is negotiable. The listing broker for the Seller is required by law to present all offers to the Seller until the Seller accepts an offer. 

The Seller may accept your offer, reject your offer, or make a Counteroffer.  A Counteroffer is a rejection of your offer and a different offer (contains different terms than your offer) made to you buy the Seller.

 An offer can be withdrawn by the buyer up until the time it is accepted and signed by the Seller and delivered back to the Buyer, or if authorized, to the Selling Broker.   If a Counteroffer is made by the Seller, it can be withdrawn by the Seller up until the time it is accepted by the Buyer, signed and delivered back to the Listing Broker.  

Before you make your offer to purchase.  If this is not a cash purchase, you should try to get a Conditional Loan Approval from a lending institution.  Pre-qualification helps you determine how much you can spend and what your payments will be.  It tells the Broker that you are serious about purchasing real estate.

 For your real estate needs in Southeast Oklahoma, please give me a call.  Judi Barrett, Broker at Integrity Real Estate Services.  580-212-5946. 

Visit our website.  We do lots of photographs of our properties, plus virtual tours and streaming videos.  If you're considering selling property in my area, look at the way that I display my clients' properties and read through the testimonials from my clients. 

 Integrity Real Estate Services, serving McCurtain and Choctaw Counties in South East Oklahoma.