Fabulous! You've found the perfect home, and want to put in an offer. Before I can put an offer in on a home, I'll need you to answer the questions below so I have all the information I need to write up an offer. You can email me the answers, text them to me, or fill out a form to send them in (click here to fill out the form):
Here's what I'll need to know:
Full legal name: Please email me the full legal name of anyone who will be on the contract as well as their email address. The legal name must match what is on their driver's license, as they'll need to show a driver's license or passport at closing and this name needs to match what is on the contract.
Initial offer price: What initial price do you want to offer for the home? I will email you comps to review and give you my opinion as to what the home is worth, and what price you should offer, but ultimately the offer price is entirely up to you.
Your walk-away price: Don’t expect to pay your initial offer price unless you are submitting your highest and best offer off the bat as it’s extremely rare for a seller to accept your initial offer without some negotiating back and forth. That’s why it’s called an initial offer. In addition to deciding what offer you want to put in to start, you need to decide now how much you’re willing to pay for this property and what your walk-away price is before things get heated and emotional. I will not share this walk-away price with the sellers, but it's important for me to know this price up front so I can best guide you during the negotiations.
Closing date: Typically in NW Montana, closing takes place 30-60 days from contract acceptance (45 days is the average), but often we can close as quick as 21 days for purchases with loans (check with your lender to make sure they can close that quickly) or as quick as 14 days for cash closings. Closings can only take place Mon-Fri; they cannot take place on weekends or bank holidays when the banks are closed.
Sometimes you can ask for a longer closing date (60-90 days) depending on the seller’s needs, but don't expect it to be granted. Therefore, if you want to move around July 1, plan to submit offers around May 15. While some local lenders I use can do closings faster (usually 21 days is the fastest a closing can be done with a mortgage), most lenders can't close that fast and need 30 - 45 days. If you want to close faster than 30 days please let me know as I'll need to direct you to particular lenders in town who are capable of closing quickly or ask if your lender can close that fast.
If you’re not getting a loan and are paying 100% cash you can close as quickly as 14 days.
Before putting in an offer, please let me know what exact date you want to close on the home (remember it has to be a Mon-Fri). I don't recommend closing on Fridays if possible because any pending delays can push your possession to Monday which can cause complications and ruin your weekend move-in plans. Closings can take place anytime from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and usually take 30-90 minutes. If you cannot attend closing, I'll need to know 2-3 weeks in advance so I can arrange for a mobile notary to obtain your signatures ahead of time and get the documents back to the title company in time.
Earnest money: How much earnest money are you comfortable putting down on this property? Typically, contracts in Northwest Montana ask for 1%-3% of the purchase price.
This money is refundable if you do the inspection and decide to walk away from the contract based on the inspection results.
The earnest money is part of your down payment. Therefore, if you’re planning to pay $40,000 for a down payment and you’re paying $15,000 in total earnest money, then at closing, you would owe an additional $25,000 for the remainder of the down payment since you already paid $15,000 up front.
Down payment: For the contract, I'll need to know how much you’re going to put down for your down payment. Examples would be 3%, 5%, 10%, 20%, 30%, etc.
Closing-cost credits: Do you want to ask the sellers to pay any of your closing-costs? Generally the sellers pay their closing-costs and the buyers pay their own closings-costs, however, we can ask the sellers to pay some of your closing-costs on top of theirs, if needed. I only recommend this option during a Buyer's Market and if you don't have enough money to pay for your closing-costs and your down payment.
Home warranty: Do you want to ask the seller to provide a home warranty on the property? If the property doesn't have multiple offers, I always recommend asking the seller to provide you with a one year home warranty. Depending on the type of property you're buying, this usually costs the sellers between $500 - $800. Here's more information on what a home warranty is. If the property has multiple offers, then I don't recommend asking for this.
Contingencies: Any other contingencies I need to be aware of? Do you need to sell your current home before you can buy this home?
Lastly, buyers sometimes want to know what happens if the contract is accepted and they have a change of heart or the inspection reveals a huge problem. Read here for information on getting out of a signed contract.
Want to review the contract in advance?
Click here to read the Residential Buy Sell Agreement
Once you've gone through the above, email or text me your answers, or click here to fill out a form to submit them. I'll then write the contract and have you sign it via a program called AuthentiSign. I’ll then submit it to the seller’s agent. While negotiations sometimes go quickly, be prepared that it often takes 2-4 days to negotiate the purchase price and terms of the contract. Every seller is different and some people can make decisions quickly whereas others need time to think things through. Patience is the name of the game once an offer has been submitted, as we don't want to look too eager, weakening our negotiating position.
