How to Choose the Best Offer for Your Atlanta Home (This Is Good Information for Buyers, Too!)
You’ve listed your Atlanta home, buyers have arrived to tour the property, you’re seeing interest, and suddenly, you receive your first offer. It’s an exciting moment, but before you get too carried away, you’ll want to focus on a few factors. From home sale contingencies to closing dates, you will need to weigh your offers together with your Realtor against your own goals (e.g. timeline for moving, net profit, etc) in order to determine which one best fits your vision.
Below are four important factors to consider when deciding whether to accept or reject an offer:
Contingencies
Contingencies are in every offer. The key to choosing the best offer that comes packaged with such stipulations is understanding what each means:
- Home Sale Contingency
Allows the buyer time to sell their current home before purchasing yours. (Read: find a buyer.) - Appraisal Contingency
Requires an appraiser to value the property before the sale goes through to determine that the home is worth at least the cost of the mortgage. Some cash buyers want appraisals as well. (Read: final piece of financing puzzle for most sales.) - Inspection Contingency
Allows the buyer to have the home inspected and request any necessary repairs be made before the sale goes through. (Read: looking for imperfections so you need to be prepared. Lucky for you, Heineck & Company’s Pre-Market Program is there for this reason.) - Financing Contingency
Protects the buyer should they not be able to obtain mortgage financing to purchase the home. (Read: Even if the buyer has a lender pre approval on the front end, the bank still needs to triple check buying power 3-4 weeks into the sale.)
Earnest Money
This deposit is in place to show a buyer’s level of seriousness in purchasing your property. A buyer’s earnest money amount is typically 1% of the offer price. A good rule of thumb is to assume that the higher the earnest money amount, the stronger the offer.
All Cash
Cash offers can be the strongest simply due to the fact that they don’t need to jump through the hoops of financing. When a buyer needs to obtain financing through a lender, there is always a risk delaying the process due to documents not filed on time or other hiccups along the way. Buyers that come to the table with cash typically bypass any obstacles entirely and as a result, typically trump any others. This is not always the case, so be sure to weigh your cash offer against the others before deciding. (Note: sometimes having a lender involved actually keeps the financing on track.)
Closing Dates
In the case of relocation or a speedy timeline to move into your next home, closing dates become increasingly important. Maybe you need to relocate to another state for work and have a short amount of time to do so, or on the other side, need to prolong your move out of your current home. Either way, take a close look at the closing date the buyer has chosen. Thirty-day closes are standard in the Atlanta market, but it is all negotiable. A buyer may even want to draw out the timeline to 60 days or longer which could hinder your own plans. But remember, if you have a strong offer in all other areas but this one, you can always counter to change the date.
Thinking about 卖 in Fall 2018 or Spring 2019? Now’s the time to work through Heineck & Company’s Pre-Market Program! Preparation is the key to a smooth sale!
Send an email to jill@heineckandcompany.com to set up a call or meeting with Jill TODAY!
吉尔Heineck
助理经纪人
Heineck & 公司在凯勒 - 威廉姆斯地产
打电话: (404) 418-9157
电子邮件: jill@heineckandcompany.com
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