In a seller’s market, Tulsa homeowners oftentimes enjoy the luxury of fielding multiple offers at one time. While it might feel obvious to simply choose the highest-priced offer, money should not be the only consideration. Keep these other equally important factors in mind when reviewing a home offer.
What to Think About When Reviewing a Home Offer
Contingencies
Contingencies are terms put in a contract that must be met before closing. Typically, the fewer the contingencies, the smoother the transaction. Some of the usual contingencies you may see include an appraisal contingency, a home sale contingency, a financing contingency, and a home inspection contingency. If the house does not appraise high enough or the buyer cannot sell their home or even get financed, they can walk away from the sale completely. That sends you back to the drawing board by re-listing it to sell again. In this case, less really is more.
Financing
Your home offer includes how the buyer plans on paying for your Tulsa home: cash or loan. If they use a loan to finance their purchase, you want to make sure they include a pre-approval letter. While better than a pre-qualification letter, even a pre-approval letter does not guarantee final approval. Nothing is final until the closing paperwork is signed. However, it does show that they went through the trouble of at least getting their loan to the point of underwriting. With a cash offer, you want to make sure that the buyer has the money to back it up. Oftentimes, they waive the appraisal contingency. Since an appraisal takes the most time to process during escrow, this saves you both time and hassle.
Earnest Money Deposit
The Earnest Money Deposit (EMD) is the amount of money a buyer offers upfront to show their “good faith” in the deal. This money goes towards their costs (down payment and/or closing costs) at closing. More EMD could indicate the seriousness of the buyer. The more they put down, the more likely they are to work this deal through to a conclusion rather than walk away. It also may show the solidness of their financial situation.
Closing Timeframe
Finally, are you aching to leave your Tulsa home as soon as possible? Or do you need more time to pack up and leave? Look for terms in the home offer that reflect your timeframe.
So, while we all want the most money we can get for our Tulsa homes, that should never be the only thing we think about when reviewing a home offer. A slightly lower offer that fits your timeframe and shows a sound financial backing defeats a higher, less sound offer any day of the week. After all, the most important goal in a sale is to actually complete the sale.
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Lori Cain, REALTOR®, Serving Midtown and the greater Tulsa, OK area. Call 918-852-5036.
[…] You listed your Tulsa home, found yourself a buyer, and successfully navigated through escrow. Now you get to sit back and count all that money you […]