3 Rules For Making An Offer On A Home
Posted on: 10 November 2016
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When you start looking at homes, it can be intimidating to make your first offer. You may not want to appear too eager to get the best price on a home. At the same time, you do not want to miss out on a home that you actually want by playing hard-to-get. Your buyer's agent should be able to help you present a reasonable offer for a home. However, there are some general rules that you should follow to make sure that you are expressing the right amount of interest in a potential home.
Make an Offer After You Have Looked at the Home 2-3 Times
Making an offer on a home after seeing it once shows that you are eager to get the home and may put you in a poor bargaining position. It is reasonable to request to see a home that you are interested in at least two times, preferably at different times of the day, such as once in the early afternoon and again in the evening. However, if you continue to request viewings without making an offer, both your real estate agent and the buyer may wonder if you are serious about buying and may think that you are wasting their time.
Use Your Realtor's Expertise When Deciding How Much to Offer
You will rarely want to offer the exact asking price to a seller. Most often, you will want to bid slightly below the asking price. However, for a particularly desirable property, you may make an offer slightly over the asking price. Many new home buyers try to seriously low-ball sellers as a way to show that they are not about to be taken advantage of. However, this can turn off a seller and make you miss out on the home you want. Take advantage of your realtor's experience with similar-quality homes in the neighborhood to create a realistic and fair bid.
Consider Obvious Repairs When Making Your Offer
Some buyers try to lower their bid after a home inspection reveals repairs that should have been obvious to them since the initial viewing. If there are repairs you know you will have to make, you should account for that in your initial bid instead of planning to lower your offer after a home inspection. Lowering your offer after a home inspection should only be done if an unexpected problem shows up during the inspection.