Frequently Asked Questions Relating To Purchase & Sale Contracts (Offers)
How do I respond to low ball offers?
When selling a home, it’s best to think of any decision as a business decision rather than an emotional one. Low ball offers still happen, unfortunately. Dealing with low ball offers can sometimes lead to the sale of a home, if handled properly. The worse decision you can make if you receive a low ball offer is not responding. Some home owners are so upset they decide they do not want to respond to a low ball offer, which ultimately ends any potential chance for a deal. A counter offer, even if it’s close to the list price, is better than letting a potential buyer walk!
What are seller concessions?
Depending on what type of financing the potential purchaser is obtaining, the option to receive seller concessions may or may not exist. There are many home buyer’s in the marketplace with impeccable credit scores and solid jobs but are short on the money required to purchase a home. Seller concessions allow a home owner to contribute a percentage or dollar amount towards a buyer’s closing costs and/or pre-paid items. For example, a buyer who qualifies for an FHA mortgage can receive up to 6% of the purchase price towards their closing costs. This can be a significant amount of money and can be the difference of a buyer being able to afford a home or not or the seller being able to sell their home!
What are some common bank required repairs?
If a home buyer is obtaining financing from bank, the bank will complete an appraisal. When performing an appraisal, the appraiser is looking for potential safety hazards or concerns. The buyer will determine in their purchase offer a dollar amount in which a seller is responsible to cover for bank required repairs. Some common bank required repairs include missing handrails, broken windows, peeling paint, missing electrical covers, and roofs that are in very poor condition.
What happens if the appraised value comes in too low?
In addition to ensuring there are no safety hazards at a home, the bank appraiser is also making sure that the home value is at least what a buyer and seller agree too. This isn’t always possible though. If an appraiser determines the value of the subject property is lower than the agreed purchase amount, there are a couple different scenarios.
Seller Makes Concession
This is the most common result when an appraisal comes in too low. The seller must agree to sell the home for what the appraiser determines as the acceptable value.
Buyer Comes Up With Difference
The buyer must bridge the difference between the purchase price and the appraised value. This scenario is fairly uncommon as many buyer’s find it hard to pay more for a home than their bank appraisal indicates it’s worth.
The Transaction is Cancelled
Unfortunately for both the seller and buyer, this is a common result from a property under appraising. If the buyer does not want to bridge the difference and the seller does not want to make the concession and adjust the sale price, the transaction is cancelled.
Challenge Appraisal
Challenging an appraisal is not an easy task. It is something that must be done with much care and consideration, otherwise the chances of an appraised value being changed, is slim.
What is a sale contingency?
Some buyer’s decide when buying a home they would like to find a suitable property before selling their existing home. A sale contingency is a common contingency that sellers see in purchase offers. A sale contingency means that the potential buyer of a home must sell their existing home, before being able to purchase the “new” home.
How does the inspection phase work?
Inspections are another common contingency that buyer’s make their purchase offers subject to. There are many different types of inspections and tests that a buyer has the right to perform. In most cases, inspections are at the expense of the buyer. They have a specified number of days to complete the inspections and also a specified number of days to either remove the inspection contingencies or request the seller address findings from the inspections.
Should I include appliances or leave them as negotiable?
In many cases, the appliances in one home will not fit or look right in another. The decision whether to include appliances or make them negotiable is ultimately up to the seller. One thing to remember when deciding whether to include your appliances, they do not add much value to a home since appliances are considered personal property.