The journey to becoming a homeowner is an exhilarating adventure…
You go through the initial pre-approval stage, so you know exactly what you can afford…
You've spent some time touring homes with your real estate agent. It’s exciting, as the agent slots the key into the lock, and you take the first step inside a house. “Will this be the one?”
And then, the 5th home you see… it has a stunning sun-drenched front porch, where you see a Fitter You doing morning yoga. The yard has the perfect spot for the grill where your family will gather and eat and quibble about vacation plans 🏖️. Your home office will fit easily in the room adjoining the newly remodeled Quartz-countered kitchen, so you can flit in and out for coffee refills in between Zoom meetings. And it has the right amount of bedrooms and bathrooms, and it’s in the zipcode you love… ✨it’s perfect.✨
The excitement of becoming a homeowner is palpable. You’re ready to move right on in… But what’s your next step in order to get this amazing house?
✍️ You Make An Offer ✍️
Offer •verb• present or proffer (something) for (someone) to accept or reject as so desired. i.e. Let’s express interest in the house, submitting a formal offer document. Here’s what makes up a real estate offer, at the bare minimum:
- There’s the monetary part
- The different terms you could propose
- Not to mention, how it’s presented so it conveys professionalism and trust
Crafting a compelling offer is vital when you've found your dream home. It requires careful planning and a genuine approach to stand out. So let’s go through the steps of how you make it happen.
1. Partner With An Expert
The important thing to know is: you don’t have to do it alone. You want to work with a trusted, hyperlocal real estate agent who can guide you through the process and negotiate on your behalf.
The role of a real estate agent is invaluable when you buy a house in South Jersey. This competitive sellers market doesn’t appear to be going away anytime soon. Therefore an agent's expertise and experience are essential in navigating the complexities of the offer process. Especially when you may be going up against 20 other offers for that amazing home. A quality agent will help you by:
- Conducting a thorough Buyer Consultation so they can determine your wants and needs, and show you where you have room to compromise
- Putting you in touch with a vetted lender who’ll find a loan product that works for you and saves you money
- Setting you up with property alerts so that the second a home hits the MLS, you are alerted and can book a showing your with agent
- Entering properties with you, pointing out basic repair and maintenance information, for example: the presence of knob & tube wiring, or if there’s been any water damage in the basement, and showing you how old the hot water heater is and when it’ll need to be replaced
- Helping you draft and submit offers, and running the “comps” so you know you’re not overpaying for a home, negotiating on your behalf when the time comes for repair requests, amongst a myriad of other things!
With their help, you can confidently navigate the process and increase your chances of success in a competitive market.
2. The Pre-Approval Power
While not always mandatory in housing markets that favor buyers, if you’re househunting within a sellers market (like the South Jersey market is), a pre-approval letter from your mortgage lender can give you the upper hand; it shows sellers you're serious and financially prepared to seal the deal on their home.
Getting a pre-approval letter from a trusted, local lender also shows you exactly what you’re able to borrow. This avoids wasting time looking at properties that are out of your budget.
Take the guesswork out by getting pre-approved today.
3. The Offer Essentials
In its most basic form, an offer is a formal proposal to purchase a property. Your real estate agent should put your offer together for you when you find a home you love: and the best agents even create an engaging aesthetically-pleasing digital presentation which really impresses the seller and their listing agent. Let’s talk about what goes into a standard offer:
- Names of the people intending to purchase the home
- The address of the property
- Your offer price of what you’re willing to pay for the home
- Your Earnest Money Deposit amount (this is a deposit that is held in escrow, and is the thing you lose if you pull out of the contract with no good reason. A higher EMD can work in your favor; you have more skin in the game, and shows to the seller that you really want this transaction to close seamlessly)
- Your downpayment amount
- Any waivers about appraisal or inspections
- Information about your mortgage lender and loan
- Your target date for closing on the home
- Your signature on the Seller’s Disclosure
4. The Cherry On Top
There’s some additional things your real estate agent can add to your offer presentation to really make it stand out, and presentation can make all the difference. The JFKLiving Team uses the digital presentation tool, HighNote. This presents the offer as a webpage, which is easy to scroll through, and has the bonus of being able to add video!
When one of the JFKLiving agents puts in an offer on a house on behalf of their client, the agent will:
AGENT VIDEO
Record a video of themselves, addressing the sellers and their listing agent, explaining the offer and its terms clearly (e.g. “Becky and Steve are going to waive up to $15,000 of the appraisal gap, and they don’t want to nickel and dime you on inspection repairs, so they’ll waive the first $10,000 of repairs”). This ensures no key information is overlooked on the paperwork and shows more attention to detail.
LENDER VIDEO
Ask the lender to add a video to explain the buyers’s financial strength to purchase this home (e.g. “I have run thorough checks on Becky & Steve’s financial circumstances and they are pre-approved for $400,000, and are in a strong position to close on your home”).
LOVE LETTER
Potentially ask you to write a letter to the seller to include with the presentation. While “love letters” are a dying trend because they can break discrimination rules, your agent can guide you through it. The key is to focus on the things you love about the home rather than talking about yourself and your familial circumstances (e.g. “the garden you’ve created out back is absolutely incredible, and I’ve always dreamed of growing my own veggies,” or “I love how you’ve decorated the living room, it’s clear you’ve put so much thought into creating a beautiful home”).
And the best part about using HighNote is its analytics; once your agent sends the link over to the listing agent, you’ll be able to see, in real-time, when it’s read! No more guessing “did they receive my offer?!”, a worry when it’s been 24 hours and you’ve heard nothing back.
In fact, there was a time when JFKLiving agent Pip Haxby-Thompson’s clients fell in love with a home and put an offer in, only to have it rejected, as the sellers had chosen another offer. A week later, Pip was notified that the agent was looking at the HighNote presentation again…
…as it turns out, the first set of buyers backed out. Pip immediately called the listing agent to reiterate his buyers LOVED the home and wanted the sellers to know their offer was still on the table. “How strange,” the agent responded, “I was just looking at your offer again after our buyers backed out. It’s extremely fortuitous you called… we’ll accept your offer!”.
HighNote enabled JFKLiving to stay on the ball, and secure their clients their dream home.
5. The Post-Offer Stage
Once you've made an offer on a property, you enter the crucial post-offer stage, where various outcomes are possible. Understanding what happens after you submit your offer is essential for a successful homebuying journey:
A. MULTIPLE OFFERS
In competitive markets, it's common to have multiple buyers vying for the same property. This scenario can be fast-paced and requires quick decision-making. As a buyer, you need to be well-prepared and ready to make your offer stand out, using the tips above.
B. REJECTION
Sometimes, the seller may reject your offer if it doesn't meet their expectations or if they receive a more attractive offer from another buyer. While this can be disappointing, it's essential to stay positive and continue your home search.
C. COUNTEROFFER
The seller may respond to your offer with a counteroffer, proposing different terms, such as a higher sale price. This is a common negotiation process, and you can either accept the counteroffer or negotiate further with the seller. Lean on your agent’s guidance during this time.
Making an offer on a house requires preparation, guidance, and having the right real estate professionals on your side. In a competitive market, you may face rejection, but stay patient and don't give up. It’s highly unlikely you’ll get your first offer accepted, so just see those rejections as a ‘practice run’ to put in a higher-rated offer next time! With the right approach and positivity, you'll find your dream home.
