Price

First, you’re going to determine the offer price. Sit down with your buyer and help them compute the fair market value for their desired house. Generate a CMA and review the value range with them. You need to determine the lowest price they are willing to offer as well as their highest price they are willing to pay. Discuss their options and guide them to initial offer price based on the competitiveness of the market and value of the comps.

If the listing agent confirms there is a competitive bidding situation, you’re not going to start with the lowest offer price. Use your professional skills and strategies to help your buyers figure out the initial offer price. Make suggestions, show them the pros and cons. Then step back and let them make their own decision.

If the buyers are not excited about that house, it’s okay to start lower. However, if this is their dream home and the buyers really want it, convince them to start with their best offer so they will be competitive. My strategy is to give an offer low enough to make the seller wince, yet high enough that they will feel obligated to accept it without countering back, for fear of losing good buyers.

In most cases, you don’t want the sellers to counter offer. It’s best if the sellers sign the offer immediately. By allowing only a short window for the seller’s response, it creates a sense of urgency. It gives them no time to change their mind or consider other offers.

The most successful method is to determine the price and then call the listing agent. Review the terms before you write the offer and ensure the offer satisfies all of the seller’s preferred terms and sellers would be willing to sign it without the counter offer.

Conveyances

Conveyances are the items in contract that are included with the price. this is very important because not everything is obvious. Typical items that may convey include washer and dryer, refrigerator, other appliances, window coverings, chandelier, workbench in the garage, satellite antenna on top of the house, shed out back, and other questionable items.

Also, to protect your buyer, be sure to list items that they want removed before close of escrow such as: rusty old cars in the backyard, a shed full of debris, or a giant satellite dish in the back yard. It is just as important to know what you want to include and what you do not want to include with the items that convey with the property.