Putting in an Offer on a Home? Make Sure to Do These Things First

After weeks (or months!) of searching, you finally found a home that feels like the right fit—and you’re ready to make an offer.

But not so fast! Before you officially make an offer, there are a few steps you’ll want to take to ensure that making an offer is, in fact, the right move—and if it is, that your offer is competitive and has a high likelihood of getting accepted (and getting you into your dream home).

So what, exactly, are those steps? A recent article from realtor.com outlined the key things buyers need to do before submitting an offer on a home, including:

• Look into the home’s history. The more you know about the home and its history, the better and more competitive you can make your offer—and the more likely it is that the offer will be accepted. So, before you make an offer, ask your real estate agent for information on the listing (for example, how long it’s been on the market and if there have ever been any reductions in price)—and ask them to call the listing agent for additional details about the property (for example, why the homeowners are selling).
• Research property taxes. The cost of owning a home is more than your mortgage payment. Before you can determine whether you can afford a home, you need to know how much you’ll be paying in property taxes—so make sure you get the information before you make an offer.
• Take a deeper look at the market. You can’t make a solid offer on a home if you don’t understand what’s going on in the area’s real estate market. Before you make your offer, do some research into the local market to find out what nearby homes are currently being listed at and what they’ve sold for in the past year or so; that way, you can compare prices—and make sure that the home that you’re making an offer on is priced accurately, and your offer is in line with the current state of the market.