Steven Kleiman

Making the Perfect Offer

It is never easy to come up with the perfect offer when buying a home.  Believe me when I say there is no silver bullet.  Obviously no one wants  to pay too much for a home or submit such a low offer that the seller gets offended, is not willing to work with you, or worse of all accepts another offer.  Here are 3 things to consider when  trying to decide how much to offer:

 

1. Ask your realtor to prepare a Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) for the subject property.  This should include Active, Pending, and Sold homes from the past 6 months.  The more recent the comparables the better!  Pay special attention to the list price versus the sales price as well as the number of days the house was on the market.  The more homes that are available for sell in your market, the better it will be for you as a buyer!  Don't rely on national news for your individual market conditions.
2. Once you have the CMA prepare, ask your realtor to contact the listing agent  to see what information they can find out about the seller's current situation.  How motivated are they?  What is the seller's time frame?  Is the seller a bank or individual?  Is there a relocation company involved?  Has the seller already purchased another home? Is there currently another offer working on this property?  You will be surprised on how much information you will be given by just asking!  Remember, the listing agent wants to make a sale as well!
3. What is your personal situation?  Prior to submitting your first offer it is important to understand what your mortgage payments would be based on that amount.  Know prior to going into the negotiations with the seller what the most you are comfortable spending on the  home.  Make sure you are true to yourself.

 

At the end of the day...How attached are you to the home?  Will you be heartbroken if you don't get it? Those are the big factors in deciding on your Perfect offer.

 

For more information on making the perfect offer, feel free to give me a call or send me an email.

 

Steven Kleiman is CEO and Founder of Houston based Oakington Realty, which specializes in “Inner Loop” homes as well as urban-in-fill properties, working with buyers, sellers, developers and homebuilders. Steven is a member of the National, Texas and Houston Association(s) of Realtors®. Readers comments welcome at 713-875-9040 or steven@oakingtonrealty.com. Follow Steven on Twitter at http://twitter.com/StevenTXRealtor.

This blog was originally written and posted by Steven Kleiman on August 24, 2009

Published Friday, October 09, 2009 2:38 PM by Steven Kleiman