When writing a purchase contract, avoid expensive terminology such as paying a buyer’s closing costs, and of course you should watch out for all the contingencies that could cost you time with your home off the market. If the buyer wants to close on the sale contingent with the selling of his or her house, include a kick-out clause that will allow you to back out of the contract within seventy two hours if you receive an offer that does not contain contingencies
Buyers vs. Sellers Market
The first job before making a contractual offer is understanding the housing market that is working in your local area. This will help you determine how quickly you need to buy when looking at homes.
If you happen to be in the buyer’s market, you will of course have plenty of time to find and search out several homes in different areas and price ranges before you negotiate best possible price.
If you happen to be in a seller’s market, things are different, you may have a very short time to make and write an offer before your house slips away!
Buyers Market – The real estate market has more sellers than it has buyers and time is on your side! You will find plenty of homes that you can visit, and even revisit again for comparisons, before you negotiate favorable contract terms.
It would be very advisable to run a CMA, or comparative market analysis on homes that you have visited before making your offer.
Items you should compare include:
- The age and the condition of similar homes in the same neighborhood
- The homes that are sold within the last six months in the same area.