Buying a property is often one of the biggest life and financial decisions that a person will make. After searching and searching for the perfect home, if you think you’ve found ‘the one’, you want to make sure that you’re in a good position to make your best offer to secure the property. We are often asked the question, “what do I need to be ready to make an offer on a home?”. The following are our best tips.
1. Have your finance pre-approved
The vast majority of people purchasing a property will need the assistance of a large mortgage to enable them to do so. You can technically make an offer on a home before having your pre-approval, however in the current market, many real estate agents ask whether you are pre-approved or not to assess the seriousness of your offer and your ability to follow through with the purchase. To put your best foot (and offer) forward, it is best to go in pre-approved, knowing what you will be able to borrow, and therefore what you can afford to buy.
2. Have your deposit ready
After your offer is accepted, you may be asked to put down a 0.25% holding deposit while the contracts are exchanged. You need to have this deposit ready to go when you make your offer, as you can be asked to transfer this very quickly after having your offer accepted. In this market, a real estate agent is unlikely to wait long for you to get your deposit together if they have other great offers coming through!
3. Do some more research
Even though you will have likely done some research on the area you’re looking in already, if you think you’ve found ‘the one’, it’s best to do some extra research right before you make an offer to ensure that you’re making an informed decision. Do some extra research on recent comparable sales in the area to make sure that you’re not over-offering. We also recommend that you look at the home’s history and it’s number of days on the market to make sure there aren’t any ‘red flags’ you may have missed.
4. Know who your solicitor/conveyancer will be
Once your offer is accepted, the real estate agent will ask you who is going to act for you in relation to the sale so they can send the contract across. If you cause too much delay deciding who will act for you, you can run the risk of being gazumped (where the vendor accepts another offer after already accepting yours, before your contracts have been exchanged). Being able to provide the name of your solicitor/conveyancer straight away will help make the contract exchange process as smooth as possible.
If you are looking to make an offer on a property, Contact Us today to make an appointment with one of our experienced property lawyers who will be able to step you through the conveyancing process. We have years of experience helping people with their conveyancing needs throughout the Newcastle, Lake Macquarie and Hunter region.
This blog was written by,
Chris Berryman
Chris practises in the areas of Conveyancing and
Business & Commercial Advice
