Qualifying a Home
Once you have found the home you want to purchase, it’s time to do a bit of research.
You need to find out and decide how much the house is worth in order to make a competitive offer. An agent can provide you with guidance and help you to determine selling prices of similar houses in the area and how much competition you will be facing.
After you determine the price, the most important component for the competitiveness of your offer, there are several other ways to improve your chance of getting your offer accepted:
Cash is king. If it’s within your means an all-cash offer can be taken over an offer with a higher price.
Another tip is to always call the listing agent or the owner and try to have all your inspectors come through the house and get a second opinion on the amount it will cost to make any necessary home repairs, and ensure that the problems disclosed are truly the only issues with the property. Not all inspectors are reliable, you always want to have someone you trust give you their estimate rather than trust the seller’s inspectors.
Getting your inspections done before submitting your offer helps make your offer more competitive because it puts the owner at ease. He now knows that you are fully aware of the condition of the house and that a signed deal is much more likely to go through and not fall apart during escrow.
