4 Steps to Buying a Home - Step 3: Writing an Offer

Hiring the right agent to help you buy your home will make all the difference when writing your offer.

Once you have found the home of your dreams and your financing is pre-approved, it's time to put in an offer. This is a big and exciting decision! Your agent will pull comparable homes in the area to make sure the home is priced accurately and this will help you determine what to offer on the home.

Earnest Money
Earnest money is a small down payment made at the time of the offer to show that you are serious about following the transaction through to closing. You should have money set aside for the earnest money as well as a home inspection before you make an offer. Earnest money is typically $1,000 or 1% of the purchase price and only deposited once an offer is accepted and signed by all parties.

Writing an offer could contain a number of things:

• The purchase price
• Earnest money
• Financing information
• A closing date
• Inspection contingency (optional)
• Seller paid closing costs (optional) 

The real estate agents will negotiate back and forth if there are any items that you or the sellers don't agree on. The negotiations can range anywhere from less than a day to several days depending on the specific details of the offer. Once the price and terms have been agreed upon, you should have a home inspection completed.

Inspection
A home inspection is very important because it will give a buyer an overall report card for the home. It will detail any major or minor repairs that could be made. These concerns can be negotiated after the inspection. 

Find all for sale homes in the Twin Cities South Metro to start your home buying experience.

4 Steps to Buying a Home: Step 1 - Secure Financing
4 Steps to Buying a Home: Step 2 - Finding the right home

Contact me when you are ready to purchase a home in 30-60 days.

Now that the offer has been made, the inspection has been completed, and any contingencies are removed,  you can move toward closing!