Imagine seeing a home and it’s love at first sight. It feels like the home was made specifically for you and your family. You’re excited and tell your Realtor you want to make an offer. So, what happens next?
Making an offer on a home always feels daunting, even for experienced buyers. There’s always a ton of paperwork and jargon that you might not understand. As Realtors, our team will help make sense of it all and walk you through every step.
So, here is what you can expect when making an offer.
1. Determine Fair Market Value
First, as your Realtor, I’ll need to determine what the fair market value of the home is, and use this as a guide for how we set the offer price. And I will help to protect your interests by guiding you on clauses and conditions you may want to include in your offer.
2. Agreement of Purchase and Sale
Second, I’m going to be doing a ton of paperwork throughout working with you. When making an offer, the bulk of the paperwork is the Agreement of Purchase and Sale, which is the official offer to the Seller.
3. Offer Presentation
Third, I’m going to make an offer presentation. The Buyer’s Realtor and Seller’s Realtor meet and the Buyer’s realtor presents the offer showing the numbers, clauses, and conditions. This will usually be in person, but email or video chat is fine too. The buyer and sellers should try and be available over the phone, text, or email if things move fast.
4. The Irrevocable Period
Fourth, we’ll be in what's called the irrevocable period, where the submitted offer has a limited time where it’s valid. The Sellers will be considering whether or not to accept your offer during this time, which could range from several days to a few hours in a hot market. And if the irrevocable period expires, your commitment to buying does too.
5. Negotiation
Fifth, I’ll be negotiating with your best interests as my focus. Three things can happen after you make an offer: Your offer, including the terms, conditions, and price can be accepted, or they can be countered, which means negotiations may continue, or it can be rejected immediately, which often happens with low-ball offers.
6. Deposit & Fulfilment of Conditions
Sixth, if your offer is accepted, you’ll have to provide the listing brokerage with a deposit within 24 hours. You’ll need to fulfill any conditions, such as financing, status certificate review, or inspection on time. If there aren’t any conditions, the offer is now solid and your lawyer will help you close the purchase and protect you while doing so.
Buying a home is always exciting and we’re here to help you every step of the way.
