Elements Of A Purchase Offer When Buying A House

Posted on: 13 February 2020

Do you think you found the right house to buy? Does it offer what you need? Is it in your price range? Do you keep thinking about it? These are all great signs that you found the right house, so your next step will be to make an offer on the property. The offer you make should be in writing and should contain the following key elements.

The Legal Description of the Property

To prevent confusion and to ensure that you are offering to buy the right house, your offer should contain the legal description and address of the property you want to buy. Your real estate agent can gather this information from the listing for you and will include it in your offer.

The Price and Terms of the Deal

The price is probably the most common element people think of with real estate offers, and it is a vital element; however, it is not the only important thing. You will also get to list terms of the deal, and this is something real estate agents call "contingencies." These terms allow you to ask for certain things or make requests for things. An example is asking the seller to replace the kitchen sink. You are free to ask for anything you want, but your requests can impact the seller's decision on how to respond.

The Date You Want to Close

A purchase offer should also include an estimated date of when you want to close on the deal and take ownership of the house. This date is not a set-in-stone date, but it is a rough estimate that tells the seller how quickly you hope to close.

The Type of Loan You Will Use

An offer generally also includes information about the type of loan you will use to buy the house. This is important to sellers because loan types have different requirements, and sellers can learn more about the closing process by looking at the type of loan you plan to use.

The Date Your Offer Expires

The last element to include is a date and time of when your purchase offer expires. This is simply a date that tells the seller how long he or she has to respond to your offer.  

Your real estate agent will be there to help you write your offer and to make sure you include every important element the offer should contain. You can learn more about offers by meeting with a real estate agency of your choice.

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