You found a home that you want to buy! YAY! But how do you decide how much to offer?
As your Realtor, I’ll start by comparing the prices on homes in the area that have sold recently and then see where the list price for your desired home lands in those comparisons.
Recently, I had some clients looking at a home they wanted to make an offer on. I looked into comparable homes and found that the home next door, with the exact same floor plan but with more updates, had just sold for less than the other home was listed at! In this case, we didn’t want to offer the list price.
After looking at comparisons, you’ll want to look at how long the home’s been on the market. (Has it been over 30 days?! We can offer less than list price. Was it just listed over the weekend? More than likely, we will want to offer the list price.) Depending on the price point, we can ask for closing costs.
After that, I’ll call and talk to the other Realtor to find out about the seller’s motivation. If we can write an offer that speaks to the seller’s interests and needs, we have a better chance of being accepted. (Maybe the seller wants to move ASAP, so a shorter due diligence period in your offer might win you the home!)
There’s a lot that goes into a strong offer.
Have any questions about how to make a strong offer? Feel free to contact me!
