Once we have found you the home you can picture yourself in, its time to make an offer. Deciding the amount you are willing to pay is one of the hardest decisions to make – offer too little and you stand to lose the house (particularly in a seller’s market). On the other hand, nobody wants to pay more for something than it is worth. We will provide you with a strategy and negotiate on your behalf.
My team will help you determine what the market value is by showing you what comparable houses nearby are selling for, expertly assessing the condition of the house, and judging the type of competition you may face. We will give you a range of what price to go in at. Once we have decided on the price you are prepared to offer, and discussed any conditions that may need to go in the offer, my team will draft this legal document and go over all the details with you.
We will present the offer to the Seller’s agent on your behalf, we will use all of our (considerable) skills and experience as a negotiator to make sure you get the best possible deal! Offers can be firm or conditional. A firm offer is usually considered to be stronger than a conditional one because it is ‘a bird in the hand’ for most Sellers. It means you are prepared to buy the home as-is with no conditions. A conditional offer means you have placed one or more conditions on the purchase, meaning that the home is not actually sold until all the conditions are satisfied or waived.
When we draw up the Agreement of Purchase and Sale, there are five main elements of the offer to consider:
* Price – this does not have to be the same as the Seller’s asking price but it usually helps, unless there is more than one offer, in which case you should be bring you absolute best offer, sometimes more than asking price.
* Deposit – shows your good faith and will be applied against the purchase of the home when the sale closes. We will advise
you on an appropriate amount.
* Conditions – standard conditions: subject to home inspection, subject to you obtaining financing, or subject to you selling your existing property. However, a condition can specify almost anything. Sellers obviously do not like to have their homes effectively ‘off the market’ while they wait for conditions to firm up, so the shorter the conditional period (example 5 business days) the better chance the Seller will accept your conditional offer.
* Inclusions/Exclusions – your offer may be subject to certain items in the sale, such as appliances, fixtures and decorative items.
* Closing Date – the Seller will often specify the date or date range they would like to close on the property and your offer should closely match this. The closing date is the day the title of the property is legally transferred to you and the funds go to the Seller.
Hire Professionals
Once the offer is signed you will require a team of professionals to complete the sale. The Fazio Team can refer you to various professionals including home inspectors, lawyers, and other trades as needed. Detailed below are a few professionals that you may require to complete your sale.
HOME INSPECTOR: Its important that you don’t end up with surprises later. A home inspector will check your property for any structural damage; perform a thorough examination of the heating and cooling system, plumbing and electrical systems, the roof, attic, walls, ceilings, floors, windows, doors, foundation, basement and more; then prepare a complete written report detailing all their findings.
LEGAL PROFESSIONAL: To complete you sale and review legal documents,, it takes a lawyer experienced in Canadian real estate law to help make sure that you and your investment are protected. A real estate lawyer will review the agreement of purchase and sale, do a property title search, check that your home complies with current building and zoning codes, ensure utilities and property taxes are paid up, review the mortgage agreement, and get all the paperwork ready for closing.
Updated September 2016