Inland Empire Real Estate
Serving Home Buyers and Sellers in the Cities of
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Our 5-Step Home Purchase Plan
Step 5: If You Like the Interior, I Will Prepare Your Offer
You’ve gotten pre-approved for a home loan with monthly payments to fit your budget. You’ve identified the neighborhoods you like and the features that are important to you. You’ve found a homes for sale that you like in those neighborhoods and, when we visited, you liked the interior and the backyard of your dream home..
Now we are ready to write and negotiate your offer!
I will prepare a report of the most recent sales of comparable properties, and go over specific information about the property (including supplemental property taxes), so you can decide what you are willing to pay for the house.
We’ll then talk strategy and decide how best to get what you want. I will advise you and write the offer. After you’ve approved and signed it, I will deliver it to the listing agent, who then will pass it on to the seller. The answer comes back the same way.
Appraisal – Checking the Value
If you are paying for the house with borrowed money – a mortgage – your lender will want an appraisal to verify the property is currently worth what you are offering. You’ll be asked for a check (about $400) to pay for the professional appraisal. If the appraisal report shows the property is worth more than you offered, wonderful! If the appraisal comes in “low” – less than your offer – there are three options: (1) The seller can agree to accept the appraisal amount. (2) You can add cash to make up the difference. (3) The deal is off. Often the seller agrees to accept the lower amount because the next buyer’s appraisal likely will be similar.
Paperwork – And Lots of It
Tranferring real estate from one owner to the next requires dozens of documents. All are designed to protect the buyer and seller. Read the purchase agreement carefully. If you have questions, let me know. Depending on the type of listing, or your situation, additional documents may be needed. That’s why you need a Realtor you can trust – and I hope you feel that way about me – to make sure your transaction is done correctly and completely so that nothing will go wrong with your home purchase before escrow opens, during the escrow period, and after escrow closes.
While you are signing the purchase offer documents, you will need to write a check for the earnest money, or good-faith, deposit. This demonstrates to the seller that you are making a serious offer. Generally the amount will be 1-3 percent of the purchase price offered. I will make a copy of the check to send with the offer and the original will stay in the Tarbell Upland office – uncashed – until either you reach an agreement with the seller and the check is delivered to open escrow, or it is returned to you.
Never sign a document you don’t understand. Everything you sign in this transaction is part of a legal contract. If you don’t understand something, ask me.
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