You’ve found a home you love and you’re ready to make an offer. There’s often anxiety that comes along with making a first offer, but remember that an offer is just an offer and not a commitment to buy. Your agent will go over with you thoroughly all points about the offer and make sure you are comfortable with everything. Your agent will run a Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) for you for homes sold in the immediate area and recently that are comparable to the one you are looking to purchase. Your agent will tell you the price he or she thinks the home is worth and you will come to a decision on an offer price together. You should also keep in mind whether you will be asking the seller to cover your closing costs as that factors into the final amount the sellers will receive at closing.

The offer process usually works like this:

  1. You make a written offer.

  2. The seller accepts, counters or declines the offer.

  3. If it’s accepted, you move on to the next step (Inspection Period).

  4. If the seller makes a counteroffer, you either accept it and move to Inspection Period, or make a new offer and go back to step 2.

  5. If the offer is refused, you can make a new offer or begin a new round of house hunting.

Your agent will do all the paperwork for you but, of course, you will be the one making the decisions.

There is more to keep in mind than just a price. As mentioned above, there are closing costs to consider, along with the amount of time before closing takes place. A quicker close time can be more appealing at times to people than a higher offer if the property is vacant. There’s also amount of earnest money, strength of financing (what type of loan, if any, you’re using), and the length of the inspection contingency period. Cleaner offers will almost always win in competitive situations. Keep the closing time short, reduce the inspection contingency days, and reduce or eliminate financed closing costs if you truly love the home.