Real estate transactions can be fraught with setbacks and complications, but they can also go smoothly and quickly—if planned for accordingly.
Working as a broker or buyer’s agent, you’ll not just be involved in different kinds of transactions; you may have to contend with different kinds of people. There are difficult sellers and easy buyers. Also, there may be easy sellers and difficult buyers.
At times, you may have to face lawsuits if transactions or certain elements of the contract go awry. Also, it’s easy to get your clients irritated due to misunderstandings or unrealistic requests. To make it easy for you, we’ve prepared this guide to help you conduct a smooth real estate transaction.
Making an Offer
Once you decide to buy a home, your realtor will prepare what’s known as Offer to Purchase. This written formal real estate contract lists the price, conditions, and the terms for purchase.
The buyer presents the written offer and once accepted, it becomes the contract between the buyer and the seller. To ensure you reach an acceptable agreement that’s favorable to all, make sure your buyers are aware of the market and key factors that matter most when constructing an offer: These factors include:
- Financing
- Inspection and repairs
- Property insurance
- Time frame
- Comparable properties
To ensure the initial stage of the buying process goes smoothly, it’s important to advise the buyer to submit the offer on time—the earlier the better. Successful realtors use robust tools, such as real estate transaction management software to create automated checklists and reminders so they will always remind buyers of what’s expected of them on time.
Competing With Other Buyers
At times, the seller may receive more than one written offer on a property. This competing offer situation creates unique circumstances for the buyers and it’s important for all the parties to understand how to deal with this situation.
While not obliged by law, sellers are at liberty to disclose the number of buyers interested in the property. It’s entirely up to the seller to disclose this information and it can sometimes work in their favor. Why?
Once the buyer is made aware that they are in a competing situation, they may want to relax some terms or conditions in an effort to compel the seller. For instance, they may go easy on inspection and repairs or offer a competitive price to improve their offer.
Negotiating Counter Offers
If the seller doesn’t find the initial offer acceptable, they may come back with a counteroffer. A seller may suggest a counteroffer if the buyer’s price is too low or where requests for repairs and inspection are stringent.
Make sure to prepare the buyer for the possibility of a counteroffer. In the event of a counteroffer, the buyer may choose to:
- Accept the counteroffer
- Counter the counteroffer
- Reject the counteroffer and opt for another seller
If the buyer rejects the seller’s counteroffer, they may choose to write another offer (a second counteroffer) and leave it up to the seller to accept or reject it.
Closing the Deal
If the offer is accepted by both the buyer and the seller, it becomes a binding contract. However, that doesn’t close the deal. Before the sale’s process is complete, you must ensure all the preliminary tasks are done as per the terms of the contract. These include inspections, repair, availability of property insurance, etc.
