Step 6: Making an Offer

Things just got real. You got inside and viewed some homes, and found one that you want for your own. Now it's time to try and make this home yours, and that means it is time to make an offer.

Determining How Much a Property is Worth

How do we determine how much we should offer? Your buyer will need to know the Fair Market Value of the property. To put it simply, fair market value is how much an educated buyer with all the facts, and by their own free will, would buy the home for.

To estimate Fair Market Value, we can look at a few different things;

â—‰ Comparable homes: by doing a comparative market analysis, and seeing how much comparable properties have sold for in the area in a more recent time frame.

â—‰ Sale Price: We can check if the home sold recently and how much it sold for.

â—‰ Build/Buy Costs: Determine approximately how much it would cost to buy or build a similar home.

â—‰ Expert Opinion: Or we can get the opinion of an expert like an appraiser.

Figuring out how much is reasonable to pay for the home will give us a better idea of how much we should bid. We want our clients to win the properties they want, but necessarily not at the cost of paying way more than they should for an overpriced home. With this number, the buyer has extra info to work with to make the most informed decision possible.

Choosing an Offer Price

With FMV established, your Blue Coast Team agent will ask the buyer how much they are willing to offer, and provide their expert opinion on how they think is both reasonable and competitive. After some serious consideration, the buyer will have the final say on how much they would like to offer, and your Blue Coast Team agent will put together a written offer based on it. Your offer can be above, at, or below asking price.

Offer Presentation

The meeting your Blue Coast Team buyer agent will have with the selling agent is called the offer presentation. We will present the offer and show the numbers, clauses and conditions. The seller can accept your offer as is, reject it outright, or come back with a counteroffer. If the sellers come back with a counteroffer. This is where your real estate agent will do their best to negotiate a deal that works for both parties.

Irrevocability Period or Irrevocable Period

After an offer is made, there is a stretch of time called the irrevocable period, where the offer we submit is only valid for a certain amount of time. The Sellers will be thinking about whether or not to accept our offer during this time. If this time runs out and the sellers haven't accepted our offer, then we're no longer committed to buying the house.

Agreement of Purchase and Sale

Once an agreement is reached, the details will be hashed out in the Agreement of Purchase and Sale. This document will outline all the important information regarding the sale, including price, conditions, and more. So make sure you read over it carefully before signing anything!

Next, once an offer is accepted, we will move on to Step 7: Fulfilling Conditions.