You've been out house hunting for weeks and you've done all your research and now you want to put in an offer to purchase the home of your dreams. So how much do you offer the seller?!! And is it really how much you offer or how you offer it?

Reasonable Market Price

Before doing anything else you need to know what a reasonable market price is for the home you hope to buy. Have your real estate agent run a Comparable Market Analysis for you on similar homes that have sold in the last year in your target neighborhood. Although an appraiser will only use the last six months of comparable sales when figuring appraisal value, it is helpful to have a more overall trend for the neighborhood to determine that prices are rising and that your investment will be protected in the long run.

To arrive at a reasonable market price you and your agent will be comparing the condition, location and amenities of similar homes that have already sold plus the current market competition of other homes for sale in the area.

Your Price

Then you must figure out what YOU are willing to pay for this home. If you are willing to pay market value or more for this home because you don’t want to risk losing it, please let your agent know up front! Most good agents will try and negotiate a below market sales price for you because they want to please you and retain you as a future client. But only you can determine how you might feel if you lost this home to another buyer for a few thousand dollars!!! If you want a deal be sure to tell your agent that, but if you want only this home, tell your agent that too! His negotiating tactics will depend heavily on this information.

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