Date Posted: 2012-06-29 01:06:42
Site Posted: Myproperty.ph
Anyone who has ever sold a house before knows that you can’t always get what you list the property for. This is why when a buyer presents a seller with an offer that’s close to their listing price, they just want to grab it, especially if they’ve been trying to sell for a while.
A great offer may make you want to sign the contract right away, but try to contain yourself. You don’t want to find yourself at the losing end of the deal, so be sure to evaluate the buyer’s offer with these tips before signing your home over to anyone.
Look beyond the obvious. You can’t base a good deal on the purchase price alone; you need to read the contract thoroughly. Look for any contingencies that might cause your deal with the buyer to fall through. For example, there might be a clause that the escrow closing date should coincide with the date that the buyer is able to sell their own house. You lose with this condition because you’ll be stuck waiting around for the buyer to sell their home when you could have finalized a deal with another buyer by then. If the buyer insists that this condition be included, be sure that you also add in a clause that will allow you to terminate the deal if the buyer is unable to sell their home after a specific term.
Make sure the buyer’s good for it. Before you seriously consider an offer, check to see if the buyer has been pre-approved for a home loan. Find out how much of a loan they are trying to secure. If a lender feels it would be a risk to give a loan for the purchase of a home that costs higher than other houses for sale nearby, the buyer’s application might get rejected. Then you’ll have lost valuable time trying to close a deal that’s not even going to happen. Make sure that you make your concerns heard so that the buyer will be urged to work on getting approved for the loan. This will also give you the opportunity to wait in case another buyer who actually has a pre-approval comes with an offer.
Evaluate the real estate market. In a buyer’s market, where there are more sellers than there are buyers, you are at a disadvantage so you might feel the pressure to accept any offer that comes through the door. When you receive an offer, make sure that your escrow period won’t take too long. Should you find yourself in a seller’s market, don’t be too enthusiastic about countering offers left and right, unless you want to get in trouble if two buyers accept your terms.
When you sell your house, the last thing you want to experience is regret so make sure that you don’t act without thinking things through.
Jillian Cariola, Writer
(cover image by freestockphotos.es)
Recently Posted Properties from Around the Web:
