Once you have found the home that suits you best, it’s time to make an offer. Deciding what to offer is one of the most difficult decisions to make. Offer too little and you stand a chance of losing the house (particularly in a seller’s market). On the other hand, nobody wants to pay more for something than it’s worth. Together we will research the market and the neighbourhood so that you have a good understanding of what you should be paying for your new home; this way you can determine how to bid on a home and when you’re getting a good deal. If you fail to research the market, making your offer would be like bidding blind. Without knowledge of the market, you could easily make a bad bid. I can help you enormously by showing you what comparable houses are selling for, helping you assess the condition of the house, and judging the type of competition you may face. Once you have decided on the price you are prepared to offer, we will draft the offer reviewing your legal rights and I will explain the details to you. I then communicate the offer, known as Agreement of Purchase and Sale (a legal document specifying the offers terms and conditions) to the seller, or the seller’s representative, on your behalf.
You can get excited during this process and you may want to rush through the paperwork. I’ll help you not make this mistake. We will take our time and review everything before signing it. These are legal documents and must be handled with care.
The offer can be firm or conditional.
Firm Offer to Purchase: usually preferable to the seller, because it means that you are prepared to purchase the home without any conditions. If the offer is accepted, the home is yours.
Conditional Offer to Purchase: means that you have placed one or more conditions on the purchase, such as subject to home inspection, subject to financing, or subject to the sale of the buyer’s existing home. The home is not sold until all the conditions have been met. I will make sure that all the conditions in the contract have been fulfilled and that nothing has been added or subtracted.
Buying a home is probably the biggest single investment you will make. I draft your offer protecting your interests through requesting documentation needed to review before ownership, inspections, and any concerns we find relating to the property with a full disclosure before your name goes on that dotted line. As your professional I will instruct you during this procedure and propose privileges in your Agreement of Purchase and Sales. These will be discussed more in depth when we meet.
