5 Bad Home Offer Strategies to Avoid
5 Bad Home Offer Strategies to Avoid
Navigating the world of making a home offer is not always an easy task. Even with guidance, many buyers make mistakes.
Knowing the market and the sellers’ need are important factors in crafting a winning home offer. But you will still need to thoughtful even with this information.
With that in mind, avoid these five ways to offend homeowners and lose out on a property.
Offering Absurd Amounts
Buyers do not want to sink all of their money into purchasing a home. If they are too focused on getting the best deal possible, they may start making offers that do not take into account how much homes are worth. Making a home offer that is way too low is not going to impress a seller. In fact, many sellers will reject crazy offers and not even bother trying to counter.
To combat this, buyers will want to look at the comparable homes that have recently sold in the area. Compare the price of those homes to the one that is being sold. Pay attention to the amenities and condition of the homes and adjust the home offer accordingly.
It is okay to make a lower offer if there are reasons to back up the amount, but simply low balling to save money is a sure fire way to be rejected.
Pinching Pennies
Sometimes an offer that is just a few thousand more feels like a high amount to a buyer. However, in the long run, that few thousand dollars are likely to only make a few dollar difference in the monthly payments.
A buyer must consider if losing a property is worth a few dollars difference. If it is the perfect house in the right neighborhood, being more flexible with an offer may be the way to go.
Talk with a lender to see what offers will change the monthly payments drastically. If the payments will barely change that couple thousand more to make the seller happy are worth it.
Too Many Contingencies
Contingencies are a double-edged sword. A buyer wants as many contingencies as possible to protect themselves in case they have to back out of the deal. Yet a seller wants to see as few as possible to ensure that the buyer is not going to turn tail and run in the eleventh hour.
Making an offer that has every contingency known to man is going to make a seller a bit wary. This is why buyers should focus on contingencies that are likely to be used. Anything that will not be a problem for the buyer can be done away with. Having a shorter list of contingencies for the seller to look through is going to make the offer appear better.
Think About the Seller
A buyer that only focuses on themselves will find it impossible to strike a deal with a seller. Sellers are just people at the other end of an offer and they still have to look out for their well-being. Buyers who tailor an offer to best fit both parties will have a much easier time in negotiations. Knowing the motivations of a seller can help a buyer match the home offer to the scenario.
Keeping a Seller Waiting
The worst part of selling a house is waiting for offers to come through. Buyers should be completely sure of an offer before they tell the seller’s agent they are making one. Avoid keeping sellers in the lurch if you are not sure if making an offer is the right choice. Submit offers in a timely manner or risk losing out on the property altogether.
Making a home offer is an agreement to pay the offer amount and follow through on the sale. Even though this is a huge step for buyers it is also a nerve-wracking time for sellers. Be sensitive to the sellers and take into account comparable homes and contingencies that are not needed. The easiest sales have sellers and buyers who are willing to work with the other party to complete the process.