Making An Offer In The Southern Ocean County Real Estate Market
Making An Offer In The Southern Ocean County Real Estate Market
After you are comfortable with your financing options and once you have found a home, it is time to make an offer on the property. As the interested buyer, you will work with your real estate agent to execute a formal offer to purchase sheet, or in some cases, a formal sales contract. In either case, the offer is made to show your interest in the property an outline the terms through which you would like to purchase the home. This is an important first step and will go a long way to you purchasing the property. The old saying about making a good first impression, is very true when making an offer on a home. Making too low of an offer, in other words a low-ball offer, can make you seem unrealistic about the current Southern Ocean County real estate market and the market trends in Long Beach Island, Beach Haven West, Little Egg Harbor, Tuckerton, Waretown andBarnegat Township. This may hurt your negotiations. On the other hand, making too high of an offer can make you seem anxious and may result in you paying too much for the home. The trick is to make a good quality offer in line with the current market to appear serious but educated about homes for sale in Southern Ocean County.
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The Offer Process In Southern Ocean County
When making an offer on a home in the areas of Long Beach Island, Beach Haven West, Little Egg Harbor, Tuckerton, Waretown and Barnegat Township, your real estate agent will fill out either an offer to purchase sheet or a New Jersey real estate sales contract. In some cases, usually when there is a bidding war, you may choose to have your attorney write a fully legally binding contract waving attorney review so as to make your offer appear stronger and more serious. Regardless of how do your offer is made, there are a few items that should be in every offer to purchase. They are:
- The price you intend to pay for the home in the Southern Ocean County real estate market and you intend to pay for the property (cash, mortgage, etc.)
- The terms of the sale. For example, a home inspection may or may not be included, furniture may or may not be included, you may choose to ask the seller to pay part of the closing costs, etc.
- Along with the offer, it is common to include an earnest money deposit. This deposit, usually in the amount of $1000, is not required by New Jersey law and is fully refundable in the event the seller chooses to reject the offer. The intention of the earnest money deposit is to show you are serious about the home and serious about your offer. Should the sales transaction move forward, this earnest money deposit becomes a portion of your down payment. This deposit will be placed in an escrow account of your real estate agent or of your attorney to be held until the deal is ready to close.
When making an offer on a home in the Southern Ocean County real estate market there are a few things you can do to help strengthen your offer. Price is not the only factor a seller will consider. You can offer additional terms which may be attractive to the seller. For example offering to accept the house in “as is” condition may give your offer a priority over another offer. If you are choosing to purchase the home without a mortgage, in other words a cash offer, this is often highly appealing to a seller as it removes the doubt funding may not be available and can often result in a lower sales price. Lastly, offering a quick closing will avoid the seller having to pay additional carrying cost such as taxes, mortgage, insurance, and utilities and therefore may result in a lower sales price. The seller will review with his or her agent your offer in comparison to current active listings for sale in Southern Ocean County as well as recently closed transactions. The seller will either accept, reject or counter your offer. This begins the negotiation between the buyer and seller which hopefully will result in a mutual agreement and permit the writing of a formalized sales contract. Counter offers may be made in writing or may be verbally communicated it however it is important to know that all written offers must be present it within 24 hours to their buyer or seller.
Buying A Home in the Southern Ocean County Real Estate Market
When looking to buy a home in the areas of Long Beach Island, Beach Haven West, Little Egg Harbor, Tuckerton, Waretown and Barnegat Township it is important to understand both the sales process and current trends in the real estate market. Home sales have been on the rise but it is important to understand a rise in home prices is not universal across all real estate markets. Before making any offer on any home in Southern Ocean County real estate market, you should have a firm understanding of the current market trends, what similar homes have sold for, and the number of active listings on the market. The purchase of the home is a major financial investment and one that you should be comfortable with before making any offer in the Southern Ocean County Market. If you would like more information about making an offer on a home in the Southern Ocean County real estate market feel free to contact me, Nathan Colmer, and I’ll be happy to help