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What to Focus On When Considering a Home Offer

April 14, 2022 by Scott Gleason

You listed your Westfield area home for sale and received multiple offers for it. Congratulations! Many sellers dream of being in your position. Now, the hard part. You must decide which home offer to accept. (An embarrassment of riches, right?) Sometimes, however, the highest price is not the best offer. Consider these other important factors before making a final decision.

Sometimes, the highest price is not the best choice. Here is what sellers need to focus on when considering which home offer to accept.

What to Focus On When Considering a Home Offer

Contingencies

Click here for an instant "No Strings Attached" valuation of your home.Most of the time, buyers include contingencies with their offer. These are conditions that must be satisfied before closing in order to complete the sale. Common ones include an appraisal, home inspection, loan approval, and sale of the buyer’s current home. If a contingency is not met by closing, the buyer can walk away with their Earnest Money Deposit in hand. Therefore, fewer contingencies usually make for a smoother transaction.

Timeline

You have heard the phrase “time is money”, right? Well, an offer fitting your time constraints is money, too. Perhaps you need a shorter escrow period because you need to move quickly. Or maybe you want a little more time than 30 days to get everything packed up and ready to move. Whatever your timeframe may be, an offer that fits in those parameters may well be worth a slightly lower offer price to you.

Earnest Money Deposit

Buyers must deposit money into an escrow account to hold as “good faith”. When the sale completes, this money then goes towards the buyer’s down payment. This is their Earnest Money Deposit. If they break the sales contract and walk away from the deal completely, the earnest money goes to the seller. While 1% to 2% of the sale price tends to be the norm, a higher EMD shows how serious the buyer is about the sale. The buyer is less likely to walk away when they risk losing this more money.

Financing

Finally, let’s talk financing. All-cash offers sound great. They tend to take less time to close and minimize contingencies more often than buyers who must finance their purchase. Unfortunately, a buyer with an all-cash home offer also tends to hold the negotiating power. Therefore, their offer may come in below your asking price.

On the other hand, a buyer whose offer includes financing provides a higher risk. Anything could happen to make the loan fall through during escrow. In fact, according to Rocket Mortgage, approximately 5% of pending sales fall through escrow. A home offer that includes a pre-approval letter makes a stronger claim than one without a pre-approval letter. Even so, a “pre-approval” is not a “final approval”. If your buyer does not receive final approval for their loan, then you are right back where you started…on the market and in search of a new buyer.

Before making a final decision about a home offer, weigh its pros and cons. Ask your REALTOR® for their advice. Their experience can help you make a more informed choice that works best for your individual situation.

Scott Gleason, CRS at Coldwell Banker Realty – East, NJ Luxury Homes

Filed Under: Home Selling Tips, Scotts NJ Blog Tagged With: home offer, home offer tips for sellers, home selling tips, luxury nj homes, tips for selling your home, westfield real estate, what to look for in a home offer

How to Get Your Home Offer Accepted

March 26, 2021 by Scott Gleason

Many real estate markets across the country are in the midst of a seller’s market. Westfield is no exception. Recently, Ryan Hartman with Inside Real Estate interviewed RE/MAX Select’s very own Rob Lyszczarz about how to get your home offer accepted in a crowded seller’s market.

How to Get Your Home Offer Accepted

Understand Your Market

Many people are leaving the City to settle in the suburbs like Westfield. (We did make the Top 10 List of Best Suburbs to Live in NJ.) Historically low interest rates helped spur buyer demand. Unfortunately, the supply of available housing cannot keep up with demand. In turn, that means multiple offers for many homes. Thus, we are deeply entrenched in a seller’s market. If you want your home offer accepted, you need to understand how your local market currently operates.

Get Specific With Your Wants

Every buyer envisions exactly what their dream home should look like. But, throw out your laundry list of “wants”. Narrow that down to three to five “must-haves”. Think about the size (square footage as well as the number of beds/baths), location, school district (if you have kids), etc. If you know what you absolutely cannot live without ahead of time, it will save you time, hassle, and heartbreak in the long run. Also, be willing to compromise on some things in order to make your homeownership dream a reality.

Many Westfield buyers find themselves in a multi-bidder situation when purchasing a property. Find out how to get your home offer accepted.

Get Pre-Approved

Click here for an instant "No Strings Attached" valuation of your home.Always, always get pre-approved as soon as possible. This lowers your stress as well as increases your offer’s attractiveness to the seller. In fact, Rob suggests that you get two pre-approval letters instead of just one. Why? When putting less money down, sellers may believe you are less qualified. Two letters show the seller that they should take your home offer seriously. That means obtaining pre-approval from your lender for a conventional as well as FHA loan for example.

Create a Negotiation Strategy

Discuss negotiation strategy with your REALTOR®. Make sure you present a realistic home offer to the seller. Everyone likes to get a deal. But, if you lowball the seller, you could very well lose out in a multi-bidder situation.

Restrict Conditions & Contingencies

Tighten up time frames for things like inspections and financing. Sellers want to sell their homes as quickly as possible. So, the easier you make it, the more attractive your home offer looks. Waive contingencies whenever possible. Otherwise, limit them to the bare minimum (inspection, appraisal, financing). Think about increasing your earnest money deposit. Be flexible with the closing date. Defer to the seller’s timeframe.

Hire the Right Agent

Finally, having the right agent on your side makes all the difference in your outcome. Find someone with experience in the market. They must have good negotiation skills. Make sure they are willing to reach out to the seller’s agent to gather intel that will help boost your offer to the top of the pile. You also want someone who advocates for you. Make sure that they will communicate with you as much as you want in the way you want.

I highly recommend that you take an hour out of your day to listen to what Rob has to say. It can only help you when you go to look for a new Westfield home. Then, contact me to start your search.

Scott Gleason, CRS at Coldwell Banker Realty – East, NJ Luxury Homes

Filed Under: Scotts NJ Blog, Uncategorized, Westfield Buyer Tips, Westfield Events Tagged With: home buying tips, home offer, how to get your home offer accepted, tips for buying a home, tips for buying a home in a multi-bidder situation, westfield real estate

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Meet Scott Gleason - Westfield NJ Real Estate

Scott Gleason

Luxury Homes for Sale in Westfield, New Jersey

Coldwell Banker Realty - East

Westfield Area Luxury Homes

209 Central Avenue
Westfield, NJ 07090
908-233-5555 Office
908-698-2630 Mobile/Direct
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Scott Gleason

Coldwell Banker - East

Luxury Homes for Sale

in Westfield, New Jersey

908-233-5555 Office
908-698-2630 Mobile/Direct

Send an Email to Scott

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