Make an Offer on a House if you’re ready. This is where the real fun begins. In the following paragraphs and video we will take you through this step.

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So you want to make an offer on a house?

Congratulations on finally finding a home worth an offer. You’re done finding time to see homes, and now you’re ready to make an offer. While lots of people say this step in the home buying process is a tricky one, this shouldn’t be hard when you’ve got the right agent-partner on your team.

Know how to make an offer on a house with the following key points:

Determining the value

The seller and listing agent got together and picked the asking price. You and your agent don’t know how they arrived in that value. So your agent has to check on that price and make sure it’s accurate and it’s to market before you sign anything.

How does an agent evaluate the asking price? Well, given that your realtor® is an expert on the local real estate market, there should be no problem about knowing if the pricing is right. The agent will look at trends, the highs, and lows of the market and other magic only an experienced realtor can do.

When you did your job in finding the right agent, then this part should go smooth like butter.

Maximizing earnest money

This is where lots of buyers make big mistakes. Here’s how:

Earnest money is essentially good faith money. It shows the seller that you’re serious about this whole home buying process. This amount is a portion of your down payment. You’re making the down payment anyhow, so why not increase the earnest money. Some buyers make the mistake of not going big on the earnest money. They end up hopping from one seller to another. It can be taxing if you don’t know which technique to use when making an offer.

Don’t make the same mistake as the others. Ready your loads of earnest money. That’s what you can do in order to sweeten the deal in the seller’s eyes and make you look stronger than your competition.

Take Advantage of Seller Concessions

You’ll have the chance to ask the seller to pay the portion of the cost such as closing cost or maybe pay for the home warranty. All these perks sound great, right? Yes, you might not hear positive answers all the time, but it still pays to ask. So this is when your agent should write those details into the offer right before he/she asks you to sign it and submit it to the seller. These small points can help your position and won’t put off most sellers as these are not tremendous costs (in most cases).

Also, remember that while you want to have as much advantage on your side, you don’t want to scare the seller. When you make an offer on a house, only ask for the proper portions the seller might want to cover. If you go overboard, you might end up scheduling to see homes again.

What happens once you make an offer on a house?

Listed above are some of the things you and your agent should think about when making an offer on a house. Once you make an offer on a house, there’s a big chance that a counteroffer will follow. It’s a usual thing to happen since this is a negotiation after all. Both you and the seller want the best value for the money at hand and property respectively.

So what happens when you receive a counteroffer?

If you can’t find yourself agreeing with the counteroffer the seller sends you, you can still submit another counter offer. While you can go as many counteroffers as you’d like, it’s important to only submit substantial counteroffers every time. To much gamesmanship will often light the other sides fuse. So put yourself in their shoes before you have your agent draft/send another counter.

Once under contract you’ll have chance to conduct a home inspection. It’s where you have the best shot at arriving on a better offer on a house. We go into the home inspection negotiations in this post if you care to read up on that.

Prepare Documents Needed to Make an Offer On a House.

Your agent will get the paperwork ready. Just be sure to cover the price and terms before you sign.

What happens after the seller accepts the offer?

When you’ve arrived on the same ground with the seller, you can then continue to the next home buying steps. You have to get loan approvals and have final walkthrough before signing the contracts.

Remember that during this step, going through online listings and trying to see homes isn’t advisable. You’ll only confuse yourself and possibly spoil the home buying adventure you already went through. Yes, there will be more homes popping up every week. You’ll find yourself wanting to pursue the other nearby property, but you’ve got one on your plate now. So go for it.