Making the Offer
O.K.! You’ve found a Real Estate agent you like, a mortgage specialist you trust, and you’ve just seen the house you want to buy. It’s time to make the offer…By this time, you know what you can afford and what your down payment position is. You know what you like and don’t like about this particular house, and you probably have a good sense about the market value of Real Estate in the area.
Decide what you think the house is really worth and make a reasonable offer that you’re comfortable with, taking into consideration everything you currently know about the house. If there are conditions you’d like to see corrected, this is the time to put it in writing. If you want the seller to contribute toward the closing costs, now is the time to ask for such a concession. Worst case, they say "No!", but you won’t know unless you ask.
If you are doing this on your own, make an effort to put yourself in the seller’s position when trying to come up with the "magic number" to offer. If you’re working with an agent, ask for and listen to your Real Estate professional’s advice.
Bottom line: Whatever you want to offer is what the Real Estate professionals will present to the seller. The offer form should spell out the complete offer, contain a mortgage and structural inspection contingency, and have well defined time frames for performance. The completed form, along with a copy of your deposit check, the agency and lead paint disclosure forms, and any mortgage pre-approval you might have will be presented to the seller (Make sure that you also have a copy of all forms that you have signed.).
The seller may accept, reject, or counter your offer. It is best if this is done in writing, but don’t be surprised if there is some negotiating over the phone with your Real Estate professional as the relay. You should keep notes of any such phone conversations and expect your Real Estate agent to carefully record every negotiating point in the event that there are any future questions. Get the final outcome in writing as soon as possible.
The seller’s representative generally prepares the Purchase and Sale contract (P&S) as soon as your offer has been accepted. The next step is to decide if you want to do a home inspection, and this is the time to do it.