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8 Outstanding Features in a Great Home Purchase Offer

good-home-purchase-offers

As a home seller you’d like to find yourself in the enviable position of having multiple offers to consider. Once offers start rolling in, here are some common contract features that might indicate the buyer is serious about getting to closing. Additionally, if you are a buyer in a competitive real estate market, these are some of the items that we might want to work through and potentially include in your purchase offer to make it stand out and look the most attractive to the sellers.

Of course, before listing your home for sale:

  • Enlist the services of an experienced real estate agent
  • Price it correctly for sale
  • Know how much you are willing to accept
  • Determine how quickly you’d like it sold

8 Ideal Contract Features

Quick Inspection & “As Is”
A buyer who places an “as is” contingency on your home for sale or has the home inspection completed in under five (5) days is seriously interested. An “as is” inspection contingency lets the buyer learn of the home’s condition and lets the seller know that the buyer will not ask for any repairs.
If the inspector finds any major issues (defined in the offer) in the house, the buyer can purchase the home “as is” or vacate the contract.

Escalation Clause
In a tight seller’s market-more buyers than homes for sale-home sellers entertain multiple offers. Those with escalation clauses might be ideal for you as a seller. Escalation clauses say that a buyer will increase his offer by a certain dollar amount over any other offer up to a certain point.
Be honest. Be prepared. A buyer using this clause usually has the right to see the other offers, if the escalation clause is used.

Sizable Deposit
Nothing shows interest more than a sizable non-refundable deposit (earnest money). And, if this down payment is accompanied by a reasonable offer not loaded with contingencies, this offer may move to the top of your list.
Always, a larger deposit is preferred over a smaller one because it indicates the buyer is quite serious about following the contract through to closing.

Preapproved Financing
An offer without financing preapproval is extinct in a seller’s real estate market.
A preapproval letter for conventional financing states that the buyer’s income and other documents have been verified. In other words, the buyer is legitimate. Keep in mind a preapproval differs from a prequalification letter, which merely states the buyer ‘could’ qualify for a loan.

All Cash Offer
Cash offers generally come with fewer, if any, contingencies. There’s no appraisal and no lender approval needed on the buyer or the property. The closing date can usually be reached in a shorter time period. Keep in mind that even cash buyers like to have the home inspected before closing.
Cash offers can be ideal, especially if you are in a hurry to move or relocate.

No Existing Home to Sell
A contract containing a clause that the buyer cannot buy your home until his home is sold is not ideal and quite unrealistic in a seller’s market.  Too many other buyers may not have this constraint.
A quick closing date for a seller is the best possible outcome, usually. Offers without multiple contingencies, like sale of the buyer’s home, are desirable.

Shared Closing Costs
Sometimes the purchase offer with the highest dollar amount isn’t the best offer.
Read all offers carefully.
If you, the seller, have to pay all of the closing costs, deduct these (and any broker commissions) to get to the bottom line: net proceeds.
A contract where the buyer offers to share in a portion of the closing costs may be a better offer, financially, than originally thought.

Personal Letter
Selling your home can be tough if you’re emotionally or sentimentally attached to it.
Many buyers have learned that attaching personal letters to purchase contracts can influence a seller’s decision. They detail what they love about your home and how they will continue to care for it.
Perhaps one of these letters will sway your decision on which offer to accept.
Be certain to enlist the help of your agent in evaluating offers with personal letters. You want to ensure you are getting what you need financially from the sale of your home too.

Final Reminder to Sellers

Always,
• Let your real estate agent do the negotiating. I have done this 100s of times. Let me put my expertise to work.
• Consider all offers seriously.
• Refrain from judging a buyer by appearance or assumptions.
• Make your best counter offer.
• Keep emotion out of the deal.

Let’s chat and get your home listed for sale.

Megan Owens, Realtor
“Delivering extraordinary care for extraordinary clients.”
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Ambassador Real Estate
Phone | 402-689-4984     Email | [email protected]
©Copyright. June 2019. Megan Owens.
All Rights Reserved