Best Deals and Great Offers

I wanted to talk about writing an offer that will get accepted. There are 3 items that make your offer look serious and they are:

• Verification of funds for the down payment
• Earnest Money Deposit This should be a minimum of 1% but the more the better
• Pre-approval letter from your lender

To verify funds you need a current bank statement that has you name and the amount in your account to cover the down payment. You can black out the account number for your protection but it must have you name and the amount of funds.

The earnest money deposit check will need to be set to escrow 3 days after the offer is accepted by the seller. It must be at least 1% of the purchase price but if you increase that amount it can make the offer look more serious. This comes off the balance owed on the purchase toward the end of escrow.

The pre-approval from your lender just verifies you will be able to get the loan.
These items, submitted with the offer, please the listing agent and the seller. It shows you are a serious, organized buyer with the ability to close escrow on time.
Let’s talk a bit about pricing. Many times buyers ask me what I think they can get a home for. If it’s a cash offer, and you are willing to close in 2 weeks, you might want to bid 10% under the list price.

Some people think that the best deals are REO’s (Bank Owned Foreclosures) and Short Sales (owner has defaulted on their mortgage and the home is in the pre-foreclosure stage). I think the best deals are realistic owners (traditional sales with owners who understand what their home is worth).

The foreclosures and short sales are driving the market down. That’s right when one sells in your home for $50,000 less than the market value the next comps will include that pricing, driving the market down. Now all the homes in the area seem to be worth less money. Traditional owners must take these numbers into consideration before they list their home.

If you want your home to sell quickly, you price it right. That is the #1 thing you can do to insure a speedy sale. The longer a home stays on the market, the more concerned potential buyers become. “Why has it been on the market for 112 days?” Smart sellers listen to their listing agents and price their home fairly.
Call me with any questions at 858-717-0070