Archive for the 'Buying a Home' category
Submitting an offer to purchase - What happens behind the scene once your offer is submitted?
After weeks of looking at properties for sale you identified one that you would like to buy. In general, buying a home can be an emotional experience; however taking that first step and putting in an offer to purchase can be intense. As you sit down with you real estate agent to fill out the paper work your heart starts racing; your goal of homeownership is now within reach. Once the paper work is signed the waiting game begins… The ball is now in the seller’s court so you await their response and for some the wait can be agonizing. Don’t worry the sellers are not trying to torture you by not getting back to you immediately. So what is going on behind the scenes?
Once the offer paper work is complete your agent will contact the listing agent to inform them that an offer will be coming to them either by fax, email or in person. In some cases the listing agent will discuss the terms of the offer with your agent prior to seeing the paper work to get the process started. Once the listing agent has the offer and the terms clearly understood they will need to discuss the offer with the seller. In most cases the sellers cannot be reached immediately due to conflicting schedules. In the event that the seller is a couple, both parties would need to go over the offer together before making a decision, which may take some time to coordinate.
Once the seller gets word that an offer has been submitted their excitement and anticipation level increases. Keep in mind that selling a home is just as emotional as buying a home, if not more emotional. The seller’s initial reaction to the offer is usually that the offer could be better, especially if it the first offer the sellers have received on the home. It is proven time and time that The First Offer is The Best Offer. No matter how strong the offer it is difficult to convince the seller that holding out for a better offer may be detrimental to the sale of their home. Now, I cannot blame a seller for feeling this way… we wouldn’t have 100+ TV channels to flip though in hopes to find “something better” to watch if this wasn’t the case in life.
Understandably the seller may need some time to ponder the offer and crunch some numbers before coming back with a response. Their response may be a counter-offer (may state that the seller has accepted the buyers offer but with some additional terms proposed by the seller) a rejection or an acceptance of the offer. A counter-offer can include adjustments to the price, changing the closing date or removing certain contingencies written on the offer. If the offer is accepted on the first shot that is great news! You can now start scheduling your home inspection and enlisting the help of an attorney to review the purchase and sales contract. If your offer is not accepted and is either rejected or countered, this is not an indication that the seller is being difficult. Put yourself in their shoes for a moment. Imagine selling the home you raised your family in or the home you shared so many memories in. When selling a home it is natural to feel that a part of that may be lost once the home is gone. Keep in mind that this is an emotional process for both parties and try your best to come to a compromise.
Posted at 01/13/2012 12:23 PM by
Madelene Cheney
