By Kathy Henne
Contributing columnist
Would you be stunned if you made a full price offer for a home, and then the sellers rejected your offer in favor of another offer? Then you’d also be surprised to learn that sellers are not obligated to accept any offer – even one higher than full price. You may have made an offer at full price, but asked the seller to contribute $2,500 towards your closing costs. This doesn’t look like a full price offer to the seller and his wallet. You may have made an offer at full price, but made the offer subject to you being approved for your financing. So, you lost out to another buyer who offered almost full price, but was already preapproved for their financing. They’re going to pay less for the home you wanted than you were willing to pay because they took the time and were preapproved for their financing.
Not selling at the advertised price wouldn’t work well for retailers, but when sellers set an asking price, it’s just that they’re asking for an offer to match that. Asking and accepting are two different things. If you make an offer contingent on all kinds of inspections, the seller may be concerned that you will be difficult to satisfy after the results of the inspections are determined. However, if the seller had the whole house and termite inspections performed when they first listed their home, you would feel comfortable that the home is in good condition.
Protect yourself by offering to purchase homes that are listed with a real estate professional. This gives you some guarantee that the sellers have been encouraged to price the home fairly and to reasonably consider all offers. You both will have professional help to guide you when the real estate seas get a little bumpy. Hopefully you won’t have to weather a tsunami on your way to your real estate purchase.
It follows that you should be wary of abnormally low prices that might signify a seller who is trying to create a bidding frenzy with no intention of accepting the initial price. While this practice if perfectly legal, you should avoid getting into contractual obligations with such a party.
The best you can do is to make your offer simple and solid with the least contingencies possible. You don’t know what the sellers consider to be a perfect offer, or why they will or will not accept your offer. To avoid disappointment, it’s a good idea to be prepared to make great offer the first time you make an offer on the home you want. You may not get the opportunity to make a second offer and some other family may be living in your dream home.
Contact the Kathy Henne Team Re/MAX by calling 937-778-3961
