Buying Tips #2: Making an Offer

The next topic in this series of buying tips is making an offer. Imagine for a moment that you’ve walked through several open homes by now. You’ve even been through homes on private inspections. Of all the houses you’ve viewed, one stands out among the rest. You can picture yourself living there.

Here’s what to do next: make an offer on the property or give the agent an expression of interest in an attempt to purchase the home and take if off the market. However, you need to know if the property is on the market for a fixed price tag, or if it has a range on it. If that is the case, buyers need to make a value judgement: what figure am I going to offer (and will there be any terms and conditions)? (Terms and conditions will be addressed in the next video).

Some things to consider… What is a home worth to you? How much competition will you encounter to purchase it?

The closer you can be to the asking price – better yet, right on top of it – the better your chance of taking the property off the market immediately. If your offer is too low, some agents will use it as leverage to get other buyers interested in that home, so take care that you don’t leave yourself vulnerable by allowing your offer (that’s too low to buy the home) to be used as leverage against you.

At Jens Veal Partners, although we respect a price range on a property, there is a time and a place for it, but we prefer a fixed price. In essence, the closer you are to the asking price, the greater the chance of securing that property.

So talk to your agent and throw your hat in the ring. Give them an expression of interest and say, ‘I’d like to buy the home for X dollars.’ You want to give them the impression that this is offer is as good as it gets – it’s take it or leave it. See how you go!