Home Buying Step 8: We Found THE One, Let's Make an Offer!

Let’s do this!! It’s best to go over a contract so you know the questions we will be asking when it is time to put in an offer. To review one, click here. 

Here is what we are going to need to know, the sooner we know, the sooner your offer is submitted. 

1. Full legal name(s).
2. Offer price: We will give you a Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) of the neighborhood to help you make the decision on what your offer price will be. 
3. Negotiations: Depending on the market at the time, we may need to offer full price or above asking price if there are multiple offers. We consider ourselves to be master negotiators in getting you the best price available for the home of your dreams. We will always have your best interest at hand, which means we will also need to know your walk away price. 
4. Earnest money: 1% of the offer price is the normal amount for earnest money. We will arrange with you for delivery of the check. This money will be held by third party escrow company, will be applied to down payment or closing costs and will require a written release by all parties should termination occur. 
5. Financing Information: This is including your down payment, type and term of loan which your lender has discussed with you. 
6. Survey: Are you will to pay if the seller doesn’t have one? It can range from $300-$500 without extra land. 
7. Home Warranty: Do you want to ask the seller to provide home warranty on the property? 
8. Closing Costs: Do you need the sellers to contribute to closings costs? 
9. Closing Date:Typically, 30-45 days. 7-10 days if paying cash and seller is providing existing survey. If you are purchasing a new survey, it could be up to 14 days as a cash buyer. 
10. Option Period: Typically, it is 5-10 days, and your time to do your due diligence. Schedule the inspection (home, termite, septic, well) and gather insurance quotes. 
11. Contingencies: Are there any where need to be aware of, for example, selling a current home before buying? 

Once we have all the above information, we will send you the contract via DocuSign, so you can sign electronically. When we receive it back from you, we submit your offer. Then, the hard part: we wait.

Sometimes the sellers are out of town, will want to think on it, consider other offers, etc. it could take 1-3 days before we hear anything. Rest assured, you will know as soon as we know!

Here's our video going over these steps in detail: