Buying
a house is a little like asking someone to marry you. In both cases, you make
your offer believing there's a good chance you'll get a yes, but you know you
could get a no. If the answer is yes in either situation, your fates will be
linked for many years to come – possibly until death do you part. But
if you don't get an immediate answer, the wait can be excruciating. We may not
be able to help you with your love life, but if you want your house offer
to be greeted with a yes – and a quick one – here are four
rules to follow.
Be
likable. Money talks, but so do
you. And you don't want to say anything that could turn off a seller.
"You're
most likely buying someone's home that they have memories and a lot of
emotional ties to," says Marc Takacs, a real estate agent with Keller
Williams Realty in Atlanta. So if the seller is present when you see the house,
keep quiet about your grand plans for landscaping or repainting the living
room.
"Don't
tell someone how bad, ugly, stupid, et cetera, that someone's house is, and
then try to buy it. That doesn't work," Takacs says.
Well,
it might, if the homeowner is desperate and primed to sell, but if there are
other buyers circling, you've given the seller an excuse to reject your offer
and accept someone else’s.
Another
no-no, according to Takacs, is being high-maintenance. "Don't overstay
your welcome," he advises. "I don’t think anything irritates a seller
more than when a buyer visits a house too much or stays for too long."
He
also suggests that when you submit your offer, avoid making unreasonable demands
such as a lightning-fast closing date. "Try to be considerate of the fact
people are trying to carry on with their lives, move and all the other stuff
that goes along with that. Being pushed out of your house can be very
unsettling," Takacs says.
Don't
be stingy with your offer, but don’t overreach. If you offer exactly what the seller is
asking, you will get his or her attention and probably their respect and
appreciation. In many cases, your offer will be accepted. Offer a tad bit more,
and you may chase other buyers away whose offers are at or below the list
price.
At
the other end of the spectrum, a lowball offer may insult the homeowner. In
some instances, it may be shrewd to offer significantly less than the list
price, but first consult your real estate agent, who will probably have the
best read on what your seller is likely to accept.
If
you’re looking to make the strongest offer possible, make sure it’s not so high
that you can’t afford it, warns Kelly Long, a Chicago-based money coach and member of the National CPA
Financial Literacy Commission. "Don't offer more than you can practically
afford, even if you're approved for more," she says, adding that this can
easily happen if you're looking at a house that's out of your price range.
"If
you buy it for more than you can afford, you'll end up hating the house and
yourself in the long run," she says.
That’s
because the more expensive your house is, the higher your monthly payments will
likely be. Long cites the rule of thumb that a monthly payment shouldn't exceed
more than 28 percent of your gross income. That includes taxes and insurance,
she adds.
Be
ready for a yes. If the seller says no,
the next steps are clear enough: You make a better offer, or continue house
hunting. But even if the seller accepts the offer, you don't have those front
door keys yet.
"You
may be preapproved based on your credit report and supplying your W-2, but the
[mortgage] application process is much more involved and requires extensive
documentation in a short window of time," Long says. "Make sure you
have some time set aside to gather all the necessary information in the week
following the offer’s acceptance. You’ll also need to schedule, attend and pay
for an inspection in that first week, so make sure you have the money on hand
to pay for that.
