By Elton Fattig
Finding a home and loving all that it has to offer can be a struggle. Imagine this… we find the perfect home, we make one trip to see it and our offer is accepted that same day. THIS IS NOT NORMAL, but it does happen. I want to talk about that other 99%. How can we compete and ensure our offer will stand on its own?
Understand that finding a home and getting your offer accepted is typically the most difficult part of a transaction. In reality you may look at a lot of homes and put in many different offers. This may take weeks before you are finally the chosen one. This is normal and having that knowledge can help keep your sanity. Do not get discouraged, the hard work and grind you put in this short time frame will all be forgotten the moment you unlock the door of your new home.
Elton Fattig
Prep-Work
- Reaching out to a Realtor and discuss the framework -What is your motivation, this helps to understand your timeline and how aggressive we need to be.
- Know your must haves, be flexible on the rest.
- Be honest, if you do not like a home, just say so. It’s better to just walk away early from a showing as we can put that time into seeing another home. Remember that the homes we are seeing are not your Realtors so you will not hurt their feeling in saving time.
- How will we build our offer *( I will discuss this more later in the article)
Elton Fattig
Reaching out to a Lender
- Do you have your Pre-Qualification or Pre-Approval? Your Lender and Realtor can explain the difference, in addition the power of a Pre-Approval over a Pre-Q.
- Have you discussed the monthly budget with your lender and is the Pre Q/Pre-A amount based on that budget.
- What lone type is you lender recommending? What is your Realtors recommendations in leveraging that to your advantage?
- In most cases your lender and Realtor will be in alignment from the start, remember they are there for your success. It is also common for them to communicate regularly to ensure everything is handled.
Shopping
I typically start with my clients sharing a few listing regardless of status; active, under contract, sold. I explain that I want ones to help to understand their style. I find this more valuable than having them explain it as perception is relative. I usually follow up by sending active listings back to them and asking for their HONEST opinions. This process has proven to be successful thus far.
Basic Information
- Names as shown on you driver license(s) (or) state issued ID
- Current Address
- Email Address
- Contact Numbers
Structures of the offer
I highly recommend this conversation with your Realtor as it saves time and will prevent confusion as your looking at homes. Every offer has the same basic elements and some of those elements can be decided regardless of the home.
The Numbers
- Offer Price
- Earnest Money Amount
- Option Money Amount
- Option Fee Days
- Seller Contributions
- Home Warranty
- Closing Date
- Who is paying for title policy?
- Who is paying for survey if needed?
As you can see, we can discuss most of this before ever walking in the first home. Of course these numbers are not set in stone but it creates a structure. This also is an opportunity for your Realtor to explain those parts in more detail. You can then focus on looking at homes and only needing to discuss 1 or 2 contract details rather that all of them at each house.
Elton Fattig
Waiting
No one likes this part, so much so I don’t think I need to explain any further. Just know there is not a set rule on a time frame to hear back, only that we will hear back.
Remember that shopping and having an offer accepted can be the most challenging part of any transaction, however it is also the most interactive. With those struggles you should also congratulate yourself as you have placed yourself in the position to buy a home. While it may be a struggle you will see lots of amazing homes, get great ideas, and you may find your style slowly changes as you see more.
