Here’s What Matters Most When You Make An Offer

In a seller’s market, it can be hard to compete. When you’ve found the perfect home, you may be willing to do just about anything in order to claim the home as your own.

The art of making an offer is more than just picking the right price. There are other factors that can make your offer stand out to a seller. In this post, we’ll explore what matters most when you make an offer.

Contrary To What You May Believe, It’s Not All About Price

Money matters in real estate. The price you offer on a home is one of the biggest factors to ensure offer acceptance. Still, that doesn’t mean that it is the only factor that guarantees offer acceptance.

If an offering price is too high, there can be some concerns over whether or not the home will appraise. While a seller may be tempted to take the risk on accepting that offer, it can be a risky move if there’s a chance that the home doesn’t appraise. When a home doesn’t appraise, the seller could find themselves renegotiating the price.

While price is a large factor in determining a seller’s bottom line, there are other items in an offer that can hurt a seller’s bottom line. Things like closing costs, repairs, and asking for certain items like a washer and dryer, can all hurt what the seller is walking away with. When you ask for these items in an offer without taking that into account of overall price, they can hinder the strength of your offer. All factors matter when you make an offer on a home.

Now, we’ll go on the explore what other factors matter when you make an offer on a Knoxville home.

Flexibility Matters

There is much more to an offer than just price. Flexibility goes a long way when it comes to writing an offer.

A seller may need time to find a new home so they may want a close date that is 45 or 60 days out. Or, they may have moved out of the home and want to close in 30 days so they don’t have to make another mortgage payment. A seller doesn’t want to feel pressure to be out of their home. A buyer who is unwilling to compromise on these items may be tough to work with when other issues and make a seller hesitant.

Instead of upping your offer price, showing that you can be a little flexible with a seller can go a long way. See if your agent can find out when a seller wants to close before you make an offer, this can often be an easy way to make your offer more appealing.

Prove You’re A Rock Solid Buyer

What’s the easiest way to stand out from the competition? Show that you’re a solid home buyer. The easiest way of doing that is proving that you’ve been pre-approved with a local mortgage company.

A pre-approval is good for a few reasons:

• It shows that you’ve taken the time to get pre-approved.
• It shows that you’re taking the process seriously enough to get pre-approved before you start looking for homes.
• It shows that you’re a qualified buyer who is more likely to make it to closing.

A seller wants to know that they’ll make it to the closing table on time. A pre-approval can help give them some comfort in knowing that you’re income and credit score have already been approved. While things can happen to delay closing or make closing not happen, this is one small reassurance that can go a long way.

Your Offer Isn’t Tainted By Contingencies/Concessions

Finally, an offer that is littered with contingencies and/or concessions can hurt any buyer, even when the price is right. When there are too many of things in an offer, it can make a seller hesitant.

A common contingency that buyers will include is that the offer is contingent on the sale of their home. In a seller’s market, if you’re able to swing it, it can be best to only write an offer after your home has sold and after the inspection is done. These are two of the biggest hurdles that real estate transactions face early on, so when you show the sale of your home is likely to go through, it gives a seller more confidence to accept your offer.

In addition, when there are too many concessions included in an offer, it can quickly cut into a seller’s bottom line even if the price is right. Consider only asking for some seller paid closing costs and consider paying for a home warranty on your own.

Are you thinking about buying or selling a Knoxville home this year? Please let us know if there is any way that Knoxville Home Team can assist you. Rick can be reached at 865-696-9002 or via email at [email protected]. Kati can be reached by phone at 865-696-1888 or via email at [email protected].