How do you put a winning bid on a home and what can you expect during the offer process?

After an extensive search you have finally found a home that you are prepared to make an offer on. These are the steps you can expect during the procedure of making an offer on your selected property.

Real Estate Purchase Contract
You must determine what price you will want to offer in the agreement of purchase and sale. This can best be determined with the help of your Realtor. Your Realtor will have access to what current market value is.  At this point your realtor will have gone over comparable sales to help you decide the price. Other items that will be included in the offer will be the conditions. These may include a condition on financing, home inspection, or even the sale of your own home. In multiple offers you might consider making an offer without any conditions. If you do you should proceed with caution. You must be certain that your financing will not be an issue and that the house will appraise for the price you pay.  Otherwise the banks may not approve the sale. Also you want to be certain that the property will qualify for insurance.
Your Realtor will present the offer on your behalf. The seller may accept your offer, or present you with a counter offer. They may also choose to reject your offer in its entirety.

Counter-offers

If the Seller presents a counter offer or what is commonly referred to as a sign back, you will have an opportunity to review the changes and decide if you would like to accept them, or counter offer yourself. The usual changes can be price, or conditions, or even the closing date.
In the event that your offer is rejected in its entirety, you can determine if it is worth presenting a new offer or accept the rejected offer and move on. Ultimately the reason the Seller rejected your offer will ultimately determine your next step.

Deposits

If your offer is accepted you will be required to provide a deposit which will be applied to the purchase price. The Seller’s agent may request that you provide a certified cheque or a bank draft. The Deposit is usually held in the Listing Agent’s Broker’s Trust account pending completion of the transaction. Your Realtor will guide you on the appropriate amount that the deposit should be. The Seller’s agent along with the Seller may request a particular amount for the deposit. It will depend on the price of the property. You can use a guide of about 5% of the purchase price.

The Offer has been Accepted

If your offer was accepted subject to conditions, then these conditions must be fulfilled within the time frame stipulated in the offer. You may need to now hire a professional home inspector to inspect the property. You will need to have the bank confirm your financing is in place. They may need to do an appraisal. Ask them to do it before you waive your conditions if possible. You might also need to confirm that you can get insurance as you will not get financing unless you can insure the property. You will also need to retain a lawyer to complete the transaction. You should retain a lawyer that specializes in Real Estate.
Once everything is completed you will be a homeowner. Congratulations!