This article focuses on tips on home buying in Northern Virginia, specifically strategies for figuring out how motivated a seller is. This is the third article in a blog series on the topic – So far, we’ve covered Part 1 and Part 2.
Tips on Home Buying – Analyzing the Data and Writing an Offer
A seller has access to all of this market data, and they know what similar properties have sold for. No matter how much they stand to make on the sale of their home, they want a sales price that’s in this range of comparable sales prices. And why shouldn’t they? From their perspective, they only want what their home is worth.
What’s one of the simplest yet important tips on home buying? If you were in their shoes and you were looking at the same data you have access to, would you accept your offer? This is actually one of the best ways to get a feel for how much a seller will take on the sale of their home. For example, if you stood to make a $220,000 profit on the sale of your home or a $210,000 profit, would you rather make a $220,000 profit? Sure you would. If it’s obvious that your home wasn’t as in good condition as one like it that recently sold for $10,000 less, that would be one thing. But if data from recent comparable sales show that your home is obviously worth $10,000 more, you would want that extra money on the sale.
Email me at DarrenRobertsonHomes@gmail.com for more tips on home buying!
Finally, the absolute best way to test a seller’s level of motivation is to give them a written offer. Your buyer agent can call the listing agent on a property all you want, but a competent seller and a good listing agent won’t get into much detail about how low a seller will go on price. Send over a written offer, and then everyone will know very quickly how motivated the seller is.
Are you thinking of buying a home in Northern Virginia? Call me at 703-462-0700 or email me at DarrenRobertsonHomes@gmail.com, and we can talk about more tips on home buying in this competitive DC area real estate market.