813.904.4417The Homebuying Process
in 10 Easy Steps
Make Your Offer
How Much to Offer
You’ve finally found the home you love and you’re deciding on how much to offer. If you have an agent, they will help you with this. Consider the following while coming up with a price:
- Comparable Sales: Look at other homes in the neighborhood that sold recently that are similar in square footage, bedrooms, bathrooms, year built, etc. and see what they sold for.
- Time on Market: How long has the house been on the market for? A few weeks, a couple months? Sellers with a home that has been on the market for quite a while may accept an offer under asking price.
- Repairs: Does the home require any repairs? What’s the cost? Are they required by the city? Use this towards your negotiations with the seller.
Make Your Offer Stick Out
If you’re wanting your deal to stick out to the sellers, here’s a few things you may consider adding to your purchase agreement:
- Occupancy: Offer the sellers time to stay at the home even after you close. This is especially helpful when the sellers are using their proceeds from the sale to buy a new home.
- Appraisal Guarantee: With an appraisal guarantee, you the buyer, agree to make up the difference between the purchase price and appraised value up to a certain amount. For example, you make an offer for $150,000 with a $5,000 guarantee. The appraisal then comes back at $144,000; the new purchase price becomes $149,000 and you spend an extra $5,000 out of pocket.
- Assuming Repairs: If there are repairs that need to be completed prior to purchasing the home, whether it’s due to an appraisal or city inspection, the buyer can agree to assume all responsibility for the repairs.