I've worked with many buyers who struggle when it comes to making an offer. The question I often have proposed to me is, "how much should I offer the sellers for their house"? Sometimes I hear, "how low do you think I can go"? Perhaps you should understand what can be real in Real Estate. Your offer can be way too low, or even too high. Either one of the two extremes can have serious consequences. Here are three areas to consider when preparing your offer.
Examine Comparable Sales
Before assembling your offer you must know: What have houses been selling for in the specific area where you are buying? Make sure you compare apples to apples. In other words, if you are buying a three bedroom, two bath house with a garage, then you should look for homes with similar criteria that have recently sold in the same neighborhood. This will assist you in making not only a good offer, but also a fair one that the Seller might be more prone to accept. Failure to secure a list of comparable sales can cost you huge amounts of money as well as serious regret down the road.
Examine The Length Of Time The Home Has Been On The Market
Has the house been looked at recently? Has it been looked at several times a week or perhaps not at all? Has it been on the market a week, month or even a year? Have the sellers had any other offers? Time on the market, especially in this buyers market will certainly help you to know how to construct your proposed offer. Some sellers are pretty weary after six months to a year or more of not even having a nibble on their house. On the other hand, if home shoppers have been touring the house on a regular basis, the sellers may be more convinced they can hold out for a higher offer.
So, comparables and length of time on the market can be important criteria in helping you put together your offer. But there is one more area to consider before you fill out that purchase agreement (Contract to Purchase).
You Need Professional Representation
The fact is, you need a Realtor® to help you set up your offer. Realtors® understand the importance of comparables in a given area when their clients are interested in writing an offer and purchasing a house. Realtors® have ways of determining how popular a home listed in the current market really is. We have numbers available to us that tell how long a home has truly been on the market. You see, often the days on the market the buyer sees are NOT the true amount of days on the market overall. You need expert guidance thru the whole process - the construction of the offer, working thru contingencies, your home inspection as well as the closing. You need a Realtor®.
David L. Burrows, Realtor®
Envirian of Warrenton
Reston, Virginia 20191
Phone: 703.391.9200 x9119
Burrows Properties
A Burrows' Thought worth considering: "You can get a Free Credit Report on the internet. Make sure you know what that report says before you apply for credit."
Interested in Some Great Reading on selling your home? Take a look at these articles on my website: Selling Your Home: Where do you begin?
Seller Guidance: I would encourage you to employ a Realtor®® to help you sell your home. When your agent or another agent is showing your house, go away and let them do your work for you. I also urge you to utilize my FREE SELLERS TOOLKIT before selling your house.
Buyer Guidance: I would encourage you to really check out anything and everything you are told by a well meaning seller. Employ the services of a Buyer's Agent to help you discern what you read and listen to about the area you are thinking of calling home. I would also urge you to get my FREE BUYERS TOOLKIT before heading out on the journey to find your new house.
Try this powerful link to help you find your next home: Fairfax Homes For Sale
The search engine on my site will allow you to find a house by Mapping, County, Subdivision, Zip Code, Address or City. I encourage you to try the Fairfax MLS and in fact, search the entire Northern VA Real Estate area.
Northern Virginia Information - Here you will find answers to your questions about schools, auto registration, taxes, things to do this weekend, popular destinations. It only takes a moment to look and it is free with no registration required!
Click on the following link for your Complimentary eCalendar & Daily Planner. This is a Free Gift from David. There is absolutely NO sign-up, registration, tricks, or gimmicks. It really is free for you to enjoy! This is a great tool for keeping track of your schedule for all of your Real Estate needs. There is NO obligation.
Visit Northern Virginia MLS Home Search, my other Website. There you will find Northern VA Homes For Sale and Northern VA Real Estate.
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