Writing an offer

Writing an offer

Now that you have found the house you’d like to call home, it’s time to write an offer today! Don’t wait until tomorrow or you could miss out, due to the low inventory currently available in Las Vegas.  When writing an offer, there are a number of questions that you’ll need to consider such as timelines and what you’d like the seller to contribute, if anything.  Las Vegas has been in a sellers market for some time, writing an offer in a sellers market is different than a buyers market.  The difference between the two is that in a sellers market, there are less homes available than would generally sell in 6 months.

In a sellers market, the less you ask for, the more likely your offer will get some consideration.  Offers at or above the requested list price are common and homes can be sold in as little as one day on the market, with no sellers contributions. At the end of the day, most sellers simply want the most they can get for their property after all expenses have been accounted.  What are some of these considerations that would cause an expense to the seller?

Inspection Fees:
Normally a buyer’s expense, it is still a negotiable section.  If there are obvious concerns about the condition of the property, it could be worth asking to have it looked at before you invest in a full home inspection.

Lender And Closing Fee:
This would be a request for a direct contribution from the seller.

Home Protection Plan:
This is a per-paid service that will help keep the home running smoothly, without a surprise expense at a later time.

Common-Interest Community:
The seller will be paying for the resale Package, but there may be other fees involved. A good REALTOR® will uncover any fees that an common-interest community or HOA charge.  Asking the seller to pay for these may make your offer look less competitive than one that does not.

Items like the ones listed above are close to line items expenses for a seller,  although negotiable,  as a result the less of them that are requested will only make your offer look stronger.  The scheduled timeline for completing the purchase is also a major item.  If you’re using financing, it will take more time to complete transaction and is less of a sure bet than an all cash offer.  A good REALTOR® will work with the Listing Agent to try to discover what the sellers time line, but ultimately you need to work within the timeline your lender sets.  Some of those timeline items would be an inspection, the appraisal, below is a rough timeline to the items you may need to consider.

Closing Timeline

Financing:
If your using financing to purchase your home, you will need to make a full application for that loan, which is based on the contract of your deal.  Part of that contract ask how soon you will make that application.  You should be ready to move forward quickly to make this happen, usually within 2 business days.

Your loan officer should be clear about the amount of time they need to give you a fully underwritten approval, which is the second deadline for your financing time line. This would be the amount of time you need to competed the financing approval, as well as the date you remove the financing contingency.  They will need the details of your contract and all of your financial information, as well as completion of any requests regarding the condition of the property.   This date is usually a few days or weeks earlier than your expected closing date.

Home Inspections: 
If your buying a home, even a new home, it’s always good to have an inspection done to make sure you know the condition of the property.  Inspections range in price based on the size of the home and the scope of detail at the time of inspection. The home inspection should take place within the first 10 days after your offer has been accepted.  The party that pays for the inspection is negotiable in most cases, with a septic system being a possible exception.

These are the most common items that you will need to negotiate or schedule.  To see more information about the closing time line details, visit the After Your Offer is Accepted page.