How To Make An Offer - The Ins and Outs of the Offer Process

Making the Offer

Now that you've identified a prospect for your perfect Ucluelet home, up next is making an offer.

This is where the rubber hits the road, as because up until now the search has been mostly just theory, but now you're ready to make the deposit and sign the legal documents, and this can be a more emotional time for homebuyers.

We want to be sure that all of our clients are aware of what houses that are comparable in standing are selling for, and we will help you gauge the type of home buying competition you may be up against.

Some home seller 'hold back' receiving offers until a specific date, which a tactic to create a feeling of urgency amongst buyers. Or if the house has been on the market for a while, which usually means that offers are accepted at anytime, and generally do not have any competition, which makes for a more negotiable home buying experience.

Once you've decided upon the price that you are prepared to offer, we will take the reigns of communicating with the seller's representatives on your behalf.  This offer specifies the terms and conditions of your offer to purchase the home, but before we make the delivery, we will certainly go over the document in detail, ensuring that all the terms are satisfactory to you.

The Major Elements of an Offer

Home buying offers can be wordy documents, but they boil down to very simple elements that you need to be aware of:

• Sale price: Depending on what price comparable homes for sale have been able to command, competition from other buyers, and your own bottom line, the price you offer may be different from the original asking price.
• Deposit: The deposit shows your good faith and will be applied against the down payment when the sale closes. Usually it is 5% of the purchase price. It is crucial to have this amount accessible within 24 hours of making your offer, so if your funds are tied up, you may wish to look into a line of credit from which a bank draft can be issued.
• Conditions: Qualifiers in your offer that must be satisfied before a deal is struck. These might include ‘subject to home inspection’, ‘subject to the buyer obtaining financing’ or ‘subject to additional deposits’, to name a few examples.
• Inclusions & Exclusions: What will be left at the house for you and what won’t be. Generally, fixtures such as major appliances, light fixtures and faucets are left behind, while chattels (personal possessions/decorative items belonging to the seller) are not, unless otherwise stipulated in the offer.
• Title Search Date: This is the last date your lawyer has before the property closes, to search the title and make sure there are no problems or issues with the legal ownership of the property.
• Closing (Possession Date): This is the day the title to the property is legally transferred and the transaction of funds finalized.

Being aware of the process is more than half the challenge in home buying.  Of course, we will be here to help you along the way, but we believe that a well-informed client is a ready-and-willing home buyer.  So please, if you have any questions about relocation, please don't hesitate to contact us.