7.
Make an Offer
REALTORŪ groups, working with legal counsel, have developed forms that are appropriate for realty transactions in specific communities. Such documents include numerous sale conditions and their wording should be carefully reviewed to assure that they reflect the terms you want to offer. REALTORSŪ can explain the general contracting process in your community as well as his or her role.
While much attention is spent on offering prices, a proposal to buy includes both the price and terms. In some cases, terms can represent thousands of dollars in additional value for buyers -- or additional costs. Terms are extremely important and should be carefully reviewed.
How
much?
You sometimes hear that the amount of your
offer should be x percent below the seller's asking price or
y percent less than you're really willing to pay. In
practice, the offer depends on the basic laws of supply and
demand: If many buyers are competing for homes, then sellers
will likely get full-price offers and sometimes even more.
If demand is weak, then offers below the asking price may be
in order.
How
do you make an offer? Because counter-offers are common
(any change in an offer can be considered a
"counter-offer"), it's important for buyers to
remain in close contact with REALTORSŪ during the
negotiation process so that any proposed changes can be
quickly reviewed.
The process of
making offers varies around the country. In a typical
situation, you will complete an offer that the REALTORŪ
will present to the owner and the owner's representative.
The owner, in turn, may accept the offer, reject it or make
a counter-offer.
How
many inspections?
A number of
inspections are common in residential realty transactions.
They include checks for termites, surveys to determine
boundaries, appraisals to determine value for lenders, title
reviews and structural inspections.
Structural inspections are particularly important. During these examinations, an inspector comes to the property to determine if there are material physical defects and whether expensive repairs and replacements are likely to be required in the next few years. Such inspections for a single-family home often require two or three hours, and buyers should attend. This is an opportunity to examine the property's mechanics and structure, ask questions and learn far more about the property than is possible with an informal walk-through.