Asheville Real Estate: 10 Steps to Buying Your Home-Step 5: Making an Offer

asheville real estate-making an offer
Asheville Real Estate: 10 Steps to Buying Your Home.... Step 5 - Making an Offer

Now that you have found the home you would like to purchase, it's time to make an offer. Taking into account the recent sales of homes in that neighborhood which are similar in size, quality, conveniences, and amenities, what are you willing to pay for the home?

But writing an offer is not as easy as it sounds. Your offer is the first step toward negotiating a sales contract with the seller. Since this is just the beginning of negotiations, you should put yourself in the seller’s shoes and imagine his or her reaction to everything you include. Your goal is to get what you want, and imagining the seller’s reactions will help you attain that goal.

The offer is much more complicated than simply coming up with a price and saying, "This is what I’ll pay." Because of the huge dollar amounts involved, especially in today’s litigious society, both you and the seller want to build in protections and contingencies to protect your investment and limit your risk.

In an offer to purchase real estate, you include not only the price you are willing to pay, but other details of the purchase as well. This includes how you intend to finance the home, your down payment, who pays what closing costs, what inspections are performed, timetables, whether personal property is included in the purchase, terms of cancellation, any repairs you want performed, which professional services will be used, when you get physical possession of the property, and how to settle disputes should they occur.

Buying a home major event for both the buyer and seller. It is certainly more involved than buying a car. And more important. It will affect your finances more than any other previous purchase or investment. The seller makes plans based on your offer that affect his finances, too.

However, it is more important than just money. In the few hours it takes to write an offer you are making decisions that affect how you live for the next several years, if not the rest of your life. The seller is going to review your offer carefully, because it also affects how he or she lives the rest of their life.

That sounds dramatic. It sounds like a cliché. Every Real Estate book or article you read says the same thing.... They all say it because it is true.

Asheville Real Estate -family Buying House

10 Steps to Buying Your Home

	Needs Analysis
	Preapproval vs. Prequalification
	Neighborhood Information
	Home Search
	Making an Offer
	Negotiating to Buy
	Vendor Coordination
	Pre-close Preparation
	Closing
	Post-Closing

I will help you determine the offer price by reviewing recent sales of homes similar in size, quality and amenities. These are called "Comps." With your input, I then will draft a written contract that outlines what needs to be done by both parties to execute the transaction. If the seller accepts the offer, the document becomes a binding agreement, so it is imperative that we carefully review it in detail.... this will takes us several hours, and speak up if anything is not clear to you. It’s important to note that if the seller changes any aspect of the offer, it is not a binding agreement until the buyer (you) agrees to the seller’s changes.

Then, after making sure that we have everything down in written form... (no verbal agreements), I will then present the seller with a written document detailing what needs to be done by both parties to execute the transaction. The contract should protect the best interests of all parties involved and should be comprehensive in nature. Once it is accepted by the seller, it may be too late to make any changes, so you must make sure in your personal review that your offer is accurate and represents you fairly and thoroughly before submitting it. The contract, though not limited to this list, amongst other things will include the following:

A legal description of the property
The offering price
The down payment
Financing arrangements
A list of fees and who will pay them
Amount of the deposit
Inspection rights and possible repair allowances
The method of conveying the title and who will handle the closing
A list of appliances and furnishings which will stay with the home
The settlement date
Any relevant contingencies

Remember that the legalities of this phase are very important. If you have any questions or concerns, they need to be addressed right away. After all, no one has ever said at their closing, "I wish I had asked fewer questions." For that reason, we will want full disclosures on any number of items, depending on the property in question, and put those items and concerns directly in our contract, clearly spelled out to the seller.

Disclosures

Although you have toured the property, looked at the walls and ceiling, turned on the faucets and played with the light switches, you have not lived in it. The seller has years of knowledge about his or her home and there may be some things you want to find out about as quickly as possible. For this reason, we would have already required certain disclosures as part of your offer, outlined in the contract.

Basically, you want the seller to disclose any adverse conditions that may have a substantial impact on your decision to purchase the home. This would include any problems with the house, whether the property is in a flood zone, a noise zone, or any other kind of hazardous area. If you have an agent representing you, this is almost automatic, but many states do not require individuals selling their own home to provide you with this information. Often they do not require banks selling foreclosed property to provide these disclosures, either. Obtaining these types of disclosures should always be a part of your offer, and time is of the essence.

Condition of the Property

The last thing you want when you assume possession of your new home is to find it in a total mess. Therefore, you should make it clear in your offer that certain minimum standards are required. If you do not, you might find out the seller or neighbors have begun using the back yard as a trash dump, or something worse – and you would not be able to do anything about it. Some of the requirements you might want to include in your offer are that the roof does not leak, the appliances work, the plumbing does not leak, that there are no broken or cracked windows, the yard has been kept up, and any debris has been cleared away.

Home Inspections

Besides appraisal and the termite inspection, you should also have a professional go through the house and seek out potential problems. Of course, you will have inspected the home, but you are not used to looking at some things that a professional will find. Even if they are not things the seller is expected to repair, at least you will have foreknowledge of any potential problems. The seller will want this inspection performed quickly, so that you can approve the results and move forward with the purchase.

Once you receive the inspection, you will want to allow yourself sufficient time to review and approve the report. If you do not approve the report, you may negotiate with the sellers on which repairs should be performed and who should pay for those repairs. Otherwise, you can cancel the purchase without penalty, provided you have included timetables in your offer. Allow a maximum of ten to fifteen days to receive the report and five days to review it.

Final Walk-Through Inspection

Before closing, you will want to revisit the property to ensure it is in the condition you have required in your offer, and to inspect that any required repairs have been performed. You should do this no sooner than five days before you intend to close. Make sure this right to do a final inspection is included in your offer to purchase the home.

The Earnest Money Deposit

Most offers to buy a house are accompanied by a check. This check is generally referred to as the "earnest money deposit." The basic reason for the deposit is to impress the seller that the buyer "earnestly" intends to purchase the property.

The amount of the deposit varies from purchase to purchase, depending on a variety of factors. If a property generates a lot of interest, a buyer may make a larger deposit to convince the seller that their offer is stronger than the others. During "hot" markets, deposits are generally larger than during slow markets.

In normal times, buyers should hesitate before making a deposit that is larger than two percent of the purchase price. Underwriting guidelines sometimes require strict documentation of such deposits. A buyer may often be required to show a bank statement just prior to the date of the check, plus evidence that the check actually cleared the bank. If you're closing quickly, this might require a trip to the teller window at your bank.

There are reasons to try and keep the deposit as small as possible, but not so small that the seller doesn't take it seriously. You see, once a buyer and seller agree to terms, the earnest money deposit is usually placed in a "trust" account. At that point it is no longer the buyer's money -- it belongs jointly to the buyer and seller. Almost all deals close and the earnest money funds are applied to the buyer's down payment and closing costs. As the saying goes, however -- there are exceptions to the rule.

Some sellers think that if the deal falls through, the earnest money deposit is automatically forfeit. Some buyers think that if the deal doesn't close, they automatically get the money back. Neither one is true. Even when the failure to close is the buyer's fault, the seller doesn't have a "right" to the deposit as a way to "punish" the buyer. Nor does the buyer automatically get the entire deposit back, even when they are not at fault.

First, there are normally a small amount of cancellation fees that must be paid. These fees are collected from the deposit. Second, since the deposit is held in trust, both the buyer and seller must agree on the disposition of the funds. This is a quirk of law in most states and the real estate agents and their companies have no control over the situation.

If something goes wrong very early in the deal, the seller normally understands and the deposit is usually returned to the buyer without a fuss. When things go awry later in the transaction, both parties usually exercise common sense and negotiate a fair solution. In a few rare occurrences, the buyer and seller find it difficult to agree.

The point is that is always makes sense to reach an agreement. Failure to agree ties the money up for awhile, could possibly lead to further legal action and inconvenience, and it just becomes a frustrating mess for both sides -- more so than you realize at the time. Serious problems are the exception, not the rule. Most "challenges" are routine to a qualified professional real estate agent. The situation may be new to you, but the agent may have dealt with it many times in the past.

Expect unexpected expenses

First-time buyers usually have the mortgage, homeowners insurance and property taxes well covered. It's the unexpected expenses from toilets that won't flush, to lawn mowers that won't start and the three gallons of paint they desperately need to fix a hideous living room, that wreck their budgets. If you've been renting, be prepared to spend at least $100 a month on routine maintenance and improvements. Some months you'll spend a little less. Some months you'll spend three or four times more, like when the dishwasher has to be replaced.

Also make sure the heating and cooling costs don't deliver any nasty surprises. Ask the seller for a year's worth of utility bills so you'll know what to expect. Be prepared to spend an average of a hundred dollars or more a month on minor repairs and major expenses, such as a furnace or roof that must be replaced. If you've been renting, be especially careful not to let those expenses wreck your budget.

I can save you time and money by making sure that your contract meets all the legal requirements according to local and national guidelines. I will be able to expertly advise you on how to create an offer that will have the best chance of being accepted. Also, I will ensure your financial position as the buyer by including any necessary contingencies which would protect you if a particular requirement is not met.

Remember: Buying and selling a luxury home or finding that special piece of Asheville Real Estate with Kathleen Blanchette, a fully licensed Keller-Williams Asheville Real Estate Broker and Realtor, is a comprehensive and thoroughly professional experience in buying and selling Asheville Real Estate throughout the Blueridge and Smokey Mountains, where efficiency, personal regard and concierge services are guaranteed every step of the way. Keeping the Tradition of Integrity..., and a Reputation for Results!

Whether its a North Carolina luxury homes on your own Private Mountain Estate in one of our uniquely designed plush Golfing Communities, Exclusive Gated Communities, Active Adult Communities, surrounding Lake Communities, or a great Condominium, Loft or Townhome, all of Greater Asheville and Hendersonville Luxury Homes are within reach with Kathleen Blanchette. Feel Free to browse the entire website of all available Greater Asheville Real Estate MLS and Western North Carolina MLS, for all Asheville Real Estate Properties, Land Acreage, Horse farms, Investment Properties, Commercial Real Estate, New Home Plans, as well as handy relocation and moving calculators, tips for buying and selling a house, city and school reports, and more. Just call us when you're ready to move ahead!


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Cell:	828-242-9589
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