Real Estate Editorial

Today I thought I would be a bit more formal and have my blog post be a bit more informative. We have all done it or will do it someday and that is put in an offer on a house. But wait it’s not always about under bidding the listed price, there are other factors to consider. There is nothing worse than finding your perfect house and losing cause your offer was a few thousand dollars too low.

1) Does the Condition of the Property Match What you Want to Offer?
Seriously check out a whole bunch of houses in the neighborhood that you plan to buy in. Your real estate agent won’t be too happy, but you know what that’s why you give them that big fat check when your done. The more houses you look at the better idea you have of what is acceptable property condition. This is great because you generally have an idea of what the average housing price is in the area, so when you find the house you want to put an offer on, you can base your price on comparables and property condition. Some good indicators on how well the house has been taken care of are, cleanliness, the condition of the walls for example chips and scratches, does the flooring look warn for the age of the house.

2) Is it a Buyer’s or Seller’s Market?
We have all heard it: it’s a seller’s market or it’s a buyer’s market. Basically if it is a seller’s market you are generally going to pay more for a house, there is going to be multiple offers on houses and putting out an offer price that is around the listing price might not cut it. On the other hand in a buyer’s market you have more negotiating power. It is very possible to negotiate a lower price during a buyer’s market.

3) Home Improvements – Is this a Nicer House than the One Down the Street?
After checking out a number of houses as stated in point 1, your going to know which houses have had some work done to them. A house that has had major improvements isn’t going to sell for average listing price. This is going to be evident in the listing price so submitting an offer based on every other average house in the community isn’t going to cut it. Some things to look out for when previewing houses for upgrades: are kitchen remodels, additions of bathrooms/bedrooms, and basement finishing.

4) Really What is the Seller’s Motivation?
A motivated seller will generally take offers that are below asking price, but in this case don’t get greedy. Just because a homeowner is on his way across the country doesn’t mean they are always going to take a lowball offer. So when making the offer on a house you really want, try cutting it by a few thousand dollars and you should be walking into that new home.

If you can find out why the seller is moving and what timelines they are committed to, you might be able to use this to your advantage. Someone who is moving across the country in a few weeks will probably be more receptive to an offer that is below list price. Now I’m not saying lowball the guy because really that only works once in awhile, but offering a reasonable amount will probably save you a few thousand bucks.

Hopefully considering some of these factors might help you get that next house, or give you a better chance of landing the one you really want.