By Dian Hymer
Some real estate agents think that a home buyer should make an offer on any property they like, no matter what the odds are that their offer will be accepted. You'll never know if the seller will accept your offer unless you try. While this reasoning seems sound, it's not necessarily so.
There are certain situations where you'll be better off if you don't make an offer. For instance, let's say that you're trying to buy in a market where all the well-priced homes are selling with multiple offers. Your agent calls the listing agent to find out how many offers are being made on a property you like.
Your agent is told that 10 offers are expected. You can't even afford to pay the asking price. So, it's safe to assume that an offer below the asking price won't be accepted.
Even though your agent may encourage you to make an offer, it may not be worth it. It takes a lot of time and emotional energy to decide to make an offer. Then, you can spend hours drafting it. This is a big effort for an outcome that's easy to predict. Why put yourself through the anguish? Sit this one out and wait for a better opportunity.
Buyers who make offers over and over on listings that sell for significantly over their price range can suffer burn out. Then they give up and drop out of the market. For a positive experience, that is more likely to bring results, save your offers for the likely prospects.
Another time to reconsider your impulse to buy is when you're buying long distance. Buyers who are being transferred from one location to another often feel pressured to buy quickly in the new location.
Of course, you want to get settled as soon as possible. But, there's an alternative to buying. You could rent for awhile in the new location until you find the right house to buy. Although this requires moving twice, at least you will not buy the wrong house in haste. If you do, you could end up wanting to sell and buy again soon because you can't stand the house you're in.
HOUSE HUNTING TIP: Even if you're not transferring, you can put pressure on yourself to buy now for a number of reasons. When interest rates or rising home prices are rising, you may feel that if you don't buy now, you'll never have another chance. Or, perhaps you're splitting up with your spouse and you feel compelled to buy a new home for yourself. The need is understandable. But decisions made in haste are not necessarily sound decisions.
The Internet has made impulse buying easier than ever. You can preview listings virtually anywhere in the world on line. Many online listings come complete with a virtual or photo tour. Some buyers are relying on sketchy information about a property they find on the Internet to go ahead and buy without first visiting the property in person.
It's a mistake to let good marketing take the place of due diligence investigations. Photos tell you a lot about a property. But, photo tours aren't likely to show you the worst features, like the dilapidated house next door, the swamp in the backyard, or the view of cars whizzing by on the freeway that you see from the picture window in the living room. Photos tell you nothing about smells, like a musty order that could indicate that the house has a mold problem.
THE CLOSING: As tempting as it might be to be done with the home buying process, it's usually not wise to buy without first visiting the property.
. Questions of a Do It Yourself nature should be submitted to our "