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Making and Negotiating an Offer

Real Estate Planning with Anna Manning

· Buyers Tips

A normal part of the process of buying a home is negotiation between the Buyer and the Seller.

The more attractive you can make your offer in terms of price, and the fewer conditions you’ve included as part of the offer, the more likely you are to have your offer accepted.

When you are ready to put in an offer, Anna will write up a Sale and Purchase Agreement with you. This is an official document for the authorisation of the selling and purchase of a home. The contract itself enables the opportunity for conditions to be put upon the sale, which may include a specific time within which to organise finance, a settlement date, a satisfactory building inspection report and anything else that may be necessary to complete the sale.

A conditional offer means:

  • You have placed one or more special conditions on the purchase, such as subject to finance, subject to a house selling, subject to completion of certain work on the home, subject to Title search.
  • The sale is not complete until the special conditions have been satisfied within the stated time.
  • In some cases, the offer will be rejected because the owner does not wish to wait the extra time for the condition/s to be satisfied.
  • Any deposit you make will be returned if the conditions cannot be met and no other agreement is reached eg: extended timeframes.
  • Some regions legislate a cooling off period or similar, so make sure you are aware of all government legislation and your and the sellers rights.

An unconditional offer means:

  • You, as the Buyer, are not placing any special conditions on the purchase.
  • The Seller has only to accept the offer for the property to be sold.
  • Once accepted, the contract becomes binding and you as the Buyer are expected to provide a deposit. This deposit is non-refundable, should you not proceed with the final settlement.
  • An auction bid is an unconditional offer, unless conditions have been agreed to prior to auction.

Acceptance of offer

After the offer has been accepted, your legal representative will need to check all the details of the Title and prepare any necessary documentation. You will need to pay a deposit, sign any mortgage documents (usually when unconditional and nearing settlement) and arrange your finances for payment of the balance of the purchase price.