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I've written contracts on the hood of my car. When someone want's to make an offer I'll do what I need to do right then. Take it for what it's worth. If you gave this one a run and aren't happy move on if you can.
I do that all the time too. I'm paperless and we sign on the iPad so I can write an offer anywhere that I can access the 3G network.
In this modern day and age, there is no need to dig up a form to submit a counter-offer or highest-best. Any realtor of their salt can merely download and print the form in just minutes.
In this modern day and age, there is no need to dig up a form to submit a counter-offer or highest-best. Any realtor of their salt can merely download and print the form in just minutes.
I forgot to mention, she's been having issues with her internet as well. Supposedly the MLS site, which is where she gets the forms, kicks her off. Who knows. She's only been in the biz 5 years. Maybe I do need someone with more experience.
Got a call from her this morning. She started with "you wouldnt' believe what this day's been like already..." Yeah, I'm getting a bit tired of that refrain....
She's suggesting we use an escalation clause. I love the house, can't do anything about the area, but I don't want to lose the house and then not finding anything else within my price range down the line. Ugh.
DH & I were in a similar situation. The day we put in an offer on our house, the seller's agent informed our agent that another offer had been submitted literally 5 minutes before.
The next day, the seller came back to us with a counter offer and we had to go back and forth about 3 times before settling on a price and terms.
As for having doubts- I certainly had mine too! Like your property- ours is on a busier street (not a main road by any means, but the street is often used as a 'shortcut' between two major roads- however, from inside you couldn't hear any traffic noise) and was built in 1959 and lacked updates (a positive and a negative for me... positive in that it had it's vintage charm... negative in that I knew we would be facing some necessary updates and repairs).
After all was said and done though- we closed on the property a couple of days ago. We had seen dozens and dozens of properties- and this one came the closest to fitting our needs within our budget.
My best advice to you would be to weigh up your options. If you have been looking for months and months like we had or are on a time crunch and haven't found anything better- then I say go for it but have your 'maximum' price in mind and don't be inclined to go over it.
Go back to the property a few more times. Chill out the back or in the front garden (not in a psycho stalker way- just to listen to see exactly how much the neighbor dog barks, how bad the traffic noise is, etc) or even go and talk to the neighbors yourself to ask them about the area. Your neighbor with the motorcycles may rarely start them up or they may just be for weekend/ recreational use so you may not have that noise pollution every day.
Finally, if you weigh up the property and it's pros & cons with everything else you've seen- does it still win?
As for the realtor issue- 5 years experience should be more than enough for a realtor to do a great job! I'm not sure how long my realtor had been in the business (not too long I don't think- she used to write for Better Homes & Gardens) but she was AMAZING from beginning to end.
I agree with the other posters that if this realtor cannot give you her full attention and you choose not to go ahead with this property- find a different realtor!
How long of a time period did you give the seller before your offer expired? Here in California, boiler plate time frame is 3 days, so if it's the same as where you are, then it wouldn't have mattered whether you put the offer in the day before. Of course your Realtor should be giving you her full attention when writing and submitting the offer, but that's not something that takes that much time. To fill out the forms shouldn't take more than half an hour and if she's sending it to you via email, forwarding what you send back to her shouldn't take that long. As Realtors, we all should have smartphones that can handle simple tasks as forwarding emails. We can even put an app on our phones to write an offer, so we really don't have an excuse not to write an offer right away. What I do to streamline the process is to have a file saved with all the necessary forms to submit an offer. Also, if you feel you made a really good offer, I would shorten the expiration of offer to 1 day or less. That will minimize the chances of being in a multiple offer situation. If I have a strong offer, I usually give the other agent until noon the next day to respond. If it's a strong offer, that's enough time for the agent to speak with the seller and get back to you. The seller can still counter to extend the time frame, but if you accept his counter, you're in escrow.
As for your offer, a highest and best typically suggests that the seller won't be countering and will accept the best offer with the best terms. That phrase is typically used in a counter from the seller. Have your agent ask the listing agent if that is the case. The seller can always change his mind and do a round of counters. If the positives outweigh the negatives, then see how much higher you're willing to go. For example, a $10K increase in price is only $2K out of pocket (assuming 20% down) and about $38 more per month on a 30 year at 4%. If it's a home you can see yourself in and living in for a while, ask yourself if it's worth losing the house if another $10K or $20K would have had your offer accepted? Good luck!
Sorry, I'm a first-time home buyer...how do I get the name of her broker/phone number?
The purchase agreement should have a section with the agent's office information. The phone number on the purchase agreement may be the agent's direct number, but typically the address is the office address. Google the office name and you should be able to find an office number. Ask to speak with the broker or owner of the company.
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