What You Need to Know When Making an Offer

When you find a great home that meets your requirements, making an offer is a natural next step. Unless you have recent experience buying or selling a home, you may then wonder what to expect and how long it takes until you’re lounging about in your new back yard.

An offer generally includes the purchase price offered, the down payment, the loan amount, and the deposit. Beyond that, it will specify time limits for responding to the offer, for obtaining financing, for closing on the home, and for moving in. In addition, it outlines contingencies and terms, like a contingency on a home inspection. Your Grand Rapids real estate agent should be able to help you through all the next steps, but it usually unfolds like this:

1. We discuss an offer strategy based on the home and your most important requirements.
   
   
2. I draw up an offer, you sign it, and then we submit it to the seller. Sellers will normally expect an earnest money check along with the offer, as well as a mortgage preapproval letter. Usually they respond within a day.
   
   
3. If the sellers respond with an acceptance, we celebrate and move on to the next step. Most frequently, unless you submit a full price offer, there may be a counter offer. It’s also possible that the offer will be rejected outright, and in that case I will work with the selling agent to find out why.
   
   
4. Negotiation may continue as needed until mutual acceptance. Try to have your limits set in advance so emotions don’t take over, and limit counter offers to no more than a few turns, since some people have little tolerance for counter offers.
   
   
5. Once the offer is accepted, your earnest money deposit is put into escrow as a sign of good faith.

It can take hours or weeks until you have a mutual agreement, but it’s generally a few days. Once you do have an agreement, there’s still a lot to do. Be ready to get in touch with your mortgage company right away to get started on any loan paperwork, and start scheduling home inspections within the next week. The post-mutual period can last for 30-45 days or more, and it can be a whirlwind of tasks like obtaining home insurance, scheduling a walk-through, setting a closing date, setting up utilities, and obtaining a certified check to bring at closing.

Remember that throughout this process, your Grand Rapids real estate agent is your negotiator, and you should have faith in their ability to carry out negotiations on your behalf. An experienced agent has dealt with hundreds of negotiations, and may have also worked with the seller's listing agent on several occasions. You should be clear about your desired outcome, and trust your agent to protect your best interests.

Photo: Mufidah Kassalias ( some rights reserved )