It’s an exciting moment when you find that home that you simply “know” is the one. The next step is to make an offer on the home; but how do you know what to offer?
Unfortunately there is no quick cut and dry answer to that question because there are so many different factors involved.
For instance, a house in the same neighborhood may have sold at substantially less than the house you’re interested in is priced at but there may have been reasons for the price difference.
Perhaps the seller was extremely motivated to sell quickly as they needed to relocate or had a home they’ve already purchased and were paying double mortgages. Perhaps the home you’re looking at needs less work on it to be “acceptable” to move into immediately. The reasons for price differences could be many. This is where it’s always a plus to have a Buyer’s Agent available to you. This is where the right Buyer’s Agent shines! They’ve already helped you find the perfect house and now they can help you obtain it at the best possible price.
Your Buyer’s Agent has instant access to information that can help you determine what a reasonable offer would be for the home you have chosen. Your agent can gather together a Comparable Market Analysis or CMA for the area you are looking to buy in and with this you will have a vast amount of information that you can use to begin making your offer. While each home has its own pricing based on its own merits, your agent can offer a lot of insight to recent sales and comparisons.
This CMA will be one of the most important tools that you can utilize in your negotiations. The CMA will provide precise details regarding prices and help you and your agent to determine exactly the house that you are interested is positioned price wise. The information provided will determine if the house is actually priced fair or, if you’re lucky enough perhaps bargain priced and you should jump at the price it’s listed as. It will also help you to determine if it’s extremely overpriced and how much you should negotiate by to make it a fair deal for all involved.
A CMA is only available through an agent so, once again we cannot say enough about how important it is to find that Buyer’s Agent that you connect with and form a working bond that can not only help you make the best choices in finding a home but in placing the offer when you’ve found the home you want.
Together you and your agent can figure out what you should offer as a first time offer to the seller. Sometimes a one-time offer is all that is needed, while other times the seller wants to negotiate. This is a situation where utilizing a Buyer’s Agent works well because it can help you keep from getting too upset and worked up about the “game” that sometimes begins to play out when making an offer on a home.
Like any sale, the buyer wants the best bargain while the seller wants the most they can get. Finding a happy medium can take a few discussions and exchanges before a meeting of the two minds is found. Being a by-stander during this process is definitely less stressful, although still nail-biting as the process proceeds.
The time period for making and accepting offers varies greatly. Some sellers who are eager to sell their home will immediately give a response and counter-offer; while others who may not be as dependent upon the sale of their home will hold out for a better offer. General rule of thumb is that it is written in the offer and in the counter-offer the amount of time each party has to give an answer to the offer.
This is quite often a stressful moment in the house buying time because it’s rarely cut and dry and rarely goes as quickly as either side wants it to go. Don’t let your nerves or lack of patience get the best of you at this point. Once things are agreed upon you are in the home stretch and soon you’ll be living in the home of your dreams. Call Juanita Simkins at Professionals Realty Group when you're ready to buy or sell your next home at 719-229-5770.
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