First Time Homebuyers Guide to Making a Home Offer
You have searched and searched and you have finally found the one! The perfect home, that is! Now is when things start to get serious. You are probably ready to jump at the idea to make that offer but we want to give you a few pointers before you dive in head first. These tips will help you navigate through the process so that you can go into this like a seasoned pro!
Confidence is Key!
When it comes to making a home offer there is no magic number that will immediately sway the seller to say ‘yes’. As savvy as you may think you are, you have to have the market knowledge before submitting your offer. This requires a little education on your part when it comes to researching the area you are potentially looking to buy in. Once you are educated with some knowledge on the area and market, take that and your confidence and make an offer that you are truly comfortable with. The most important thing is to believe in yourself! Another key factor in this part of it is making sure you have a realtor by your side whom you can trust.
Educate Yourself
This one kind of piggy-backs off of the last point. You want to make sure that you (not just your realtor) are educated about the area and the value of the homes in the area when it comes to the potential area in which you are looking to make an offer. You also want to look into how long the home has been on the market. This is important because it can make you aware of a potential problem with the home or if the selling price is too high for the value. You also will want to know if there are other offers on the table.
Review your Comps
This is where the help of your agent will come in to play. They should be able to send you the last six months of recent sales data so that you can review and compare the other houses that have been bought and sold in the area. Try to look at the pending sales first and see what information your realtor can uncover about those transactions. These pending sales usually represent the most up-to-date market statistics so knowing how many offers were made, and the ballpark selling price will help to educate you more on your transaction.
Keep your Lender in the Loop
By this point you have already got a pre-approval letter from your lender. Let them know your plans on making an offer on the home as you will likely want an update on mortgage rates and other services or products since these tend to change daily. With mortgage rates constantly changing and new products and services being added to the range of services that a lender can provide, this could mean you are able to afford more or it could mean you need a higher down payment. With that being said, keep your lender in the loop!!
Discuss the Smaller Details
In addition to the price of the home, you will need to decide on the terms. How long will you take for inspections? Do you want or need this to close quickly or do you have a little more time? Is an appraisal needed? These terms can make or break a deal for some people. If the seller needs to close quickly and you cannot do that, it can create a problem. And of course, if you are competing with a cash offer you want to make sure your loan terms are much easier for the seller to work with.
There are Other Fish (Houses) in the Sea
Rarely does a buyer get the first house they make an offer on. If this happens, just know it is not the end of the world. There are always homes being added to the housing market therefore your chances to find that dream home are not unattainable. If this home or even the next one does not work out that simply means there is something better out there. The best thing to take away from this is that you can and will learn from each offer that you make.
If you are thinking of buying a home and you would like to talk to someone about getting the process started contact us today! We would love to get you a pre-approval for a new home so that you may begin the house hunting process.
