The Offer Process when buying a home
The past few years have seen an Ottawa housing market that has been getting increasingly hotter, with bidding wars becoming commonplace. This can be stressful and daunting to buyers, especially those purchasing their first home. So how can you make sure that your offer stands out from the crowd? Below are a few of my top tips for making the best offer when buying a home:
Get pre-approved for a mortgage
This is probably the most important tip for any homebuyer and should be done before you even start looking at homes! By getting mortgage pre-approval you can verify your price range and make sure you stay within your budget, as well as prove to sellers that you are a serious buyer and have the money to close the purchase. This takes time but will stand you in good stead if your offer is accepted as you will have already gotten a head start on your mortgage application process.
Having a pre-approval in place is often key to a winning offer. Not only to submitting an offer and winning the home of your dreams, but also to being sure that you are not wasting your time looking at homes that ultimately you can’t afford.
Make a reasonable offer
Your agent will be able to help you with a comparative market analysis of homes you are looking at to find a fair market value. They will also be able to look at the recent selling prices of similar homes. This information will enable you to make a respectable offer to entice the seller.
Try to avoid lowball offers (offers less than 15-20% of the selling price) as these can often backfire and offend the seller. Especially in the current market, when most homes are going above the asking price, your offer will need to be strong to stand against the competition.
Buying or selling a home in the Ottawa, Orleans, Kanata, Barrhaven area? Call me today and let me help you buy or sell the perfect house.
Consider skipping the conditions
You can make a firm offer with no conditions attached to it, or a conditional offer that could include the conduction of a satisfactory home inspection. A home is a huge investment and a home inspection could flag any potential issues in the property’s structure, heating, electrics, plumbing or roof. This condition would allow you to go back to the seller and negotiate repairs or a reduction in price if the inspection was not up to par. In a hot market, firm offers are more common. However, as the buyer, you need to do what you are comfortable with.
Are you looking to buy a home in Ottawa? With years of experience navigating the Ottawa real estate market, I have the knowledge necessary to help you find and attain the home of your dreams. Reach out by phone at (613) 875-2225 or by email to shaunnamcintosh@royallepage.ca. I look forward to hearing from you!
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