Making An Offer On A House: Step By Step
After years of dreaming, followed by months of searching, you have finally found your dream home in one of the best neighbourhoods in Edmonton. Congratulations!
Once you’ve decided to buy a home, it’s time to make it official by presenting an offer to the seller. Luckily, your Realtor is your secret weapon to making an offer the seller can’t refuse. Plus, with Edmonton sale prices dropping 2.6% from last year, now is the time to make the purchase.
What your offer will be will affect the likelihood of you moving into your dream home as well as future mortgage payments and profits. It’s essential to get it right! Here’s precisely how you can begin to make your offer.
1. Secure Financing
Before you even begin your search, getting pre-approved for a mortgage is essential. A pre-approval ensures that you know exactly how much money you can spend, and what your payments will look like. Afterall, you don’t want to fall in love with a house that is out of your budget.
When it comes time to make an offer a the home, things can move quickly, so you need to know you already have your financing. However, you still need final financing approval from the lender, which they can give you only when you have a pending offer to submit.
Pre-approval will also lock in your interest rate on the mortgage for 90 to 120 days, which can help if the rates increase during this time.
2. Find a Real Estate Agent
While securing financing, you can also find a real estate agent. Look for an agent that knows the area you want to live in and that you communicate well with.
The home seller will typically pay the commission for both real estate agents, meaning there is no loss on the buyer’s end. A real estate agent will guide you through the process, look after your best interests, and ensure you get your new home at a fair price.
3. Decide Your Offer Price
When you’ve found the home you want to make yours, it’s time to decide how much to offer. The first price you bring to the sellers sets the tone for the negotiation. You’re looking for that sweet spot between the best possible price and not insulting the seller with a lowball offer.
The offer price will depend on many factors, such as the current market, home prices in the area, how long it has been on the market, any repairs needed, and more. Your real estate agent will help you find the appropriate opening bid.
4. Know Your Non-Negotiables
When crafting a deal between parties, everyone will have their deal breakers as to whether or not the sale will go through. These are known as contingencies.
A few common contingencies include:
Financing. Typical for first-time home buyers, a mortgage lender must sign off on the home and often requires a home appraisal.
Home inspection. Before buying, a professional home inspector will examine everything around the home, including structure, plumbing, electrical, heating, roof, and more. If they find anything subpar, you can request repairs, a reduced price, or remove the offer altogether.
Sale of home. If you already have a home, include the requirement that your home sells before buying the new house. This is not the best condition to have as it can take away from your negotiation power. Plus, there is usually a 48-72 hour clause where the seller can accept another offer and you have to waive your condition within that time period or lose out on the property.
5. Negotiate With the Seller
After making an offer, the following can then occur:
The seller accepts. If the seller accepts your offer, your agent will help you schedule a home inspection and appraisal and begin crafting the real estate paperwork to accompany the offer.
The seller counters. The seller may make a new offer back to you. Ask yourself if it’s a fair offer, and then accept. If not, you can counter again.
The seller rejects it. The seller may refuse your offer entirely. If that’s the case, the home may not be in your budget, and you should feel proud that you’re sticking to what you can afford.
Contact Jeneen Today!
When you’ve found your dream house in one of the best neighbourhoods in Edmonton, you don’t want it to slip by due to a subpar offer.
As one of Edmonton’s top REALTORS®, I want to help you find your new dream property.
Contact Jeneen by phone at (780) 904-4240 or via email at jeneens@remax.net.
