Making an Offer to Buy a Franklin TN Home

You've finally decided on a home. You sit down with your Buyer's Agent to discuss making an offer to buy a Franklin TN home. Your agent may be reluctant to suggest a price. However, they should already have the comparable sales to review before you actually write the offer.

It's important to remember the basic principles of supply and demand. When inventory is low and demand high, home prices will rise. When inventory is high and demand low, home prices will drop.

With that in mind, the following tips will help you when making an offer to buy a Franklin TN home:

• Hire a Buyer's Agent to Represent Your Interest - Many buyers believe if they approach the listing agent, they'll have a better chance of buying a Franklin TN home. The reality is the listing agent represents the seller. It is his job to get the best price for the seller. The listing agent's commission has been determined prior to ever putting the seller's home on the market. That percentage is usually between 6 and 7% which the listing agent agrees to split with a buyer's agent. If there is no buyer's agent, the listing agent gets to keep that entire commission for himself. The most important thing to remember is a buyer's agent will represent your interest, not the seller's or the listing agent's.
• Determine Market Conditions - Are you in a seller's market, a buyer's market or a steady market? If you're making an offer in a buyer's market, sellers will be more receptive to your offer because fewer buyers will be vying for their home. If you're in a seller's market, you will have lots of competition. More buyers will be interested in a seller's home and he may be less negotiable on the price. You may even be in a multiple bid situation where the seller has more than one offer to consider. In these cases, you should make your first offer as attractive as possible because you may not get a second chance.
• Determine Comparable Sales - When looking at comparable home sales, you want to make sure you are using homes in the same neighborhood with a similar size, age and amenities. Use data from the most recent home sales. Sales from six months earlier, may have been during different market conditions. Don't look at any home sales beyond six months because appraisers won't.
• Determine List-Price-to-Sales-Price Ratio - Your real estate agent should be able to provide you will a list of recently sold homes. When you compare the sales price to the list price, what percentage of that list price are homes selling? Are they selling over list price or under list price? If under, what percentage under list? For example, if the list price of a home is $300,000 and it sells for $297,000, then that home sold for 99% of list price or 1% below list.
• Determine Square Footage Cost Averages - There may be times when there isn't a home of similar size for your comparable. When this occurs you can use square footage cost averages to determine an offer price. Keep in mind that the square footage price will be higher on smaller homes and lower on bigger homes.
• Determine Days on Market and Listing History - Your real estate agent will be able to pull this information for you and let you know how many days the home has been on the market or if it has been previously listed. Homes that have been on the market for over 30 days or previously listed, may be more negotiable in price. However, don't make the mistake of looking at history from two years ago to determine. A home may have been listed during totally different market conditions. Some agents are known to re-list homes every 30 days so the days on the market remain low. Your agent will be able to see this in the listing history if that is the case.

When you are ready to make an offer to buy a Franklin TN home, your Buyer's Agent will provide you with valuable information to aid you in the process. Don't discount his/her advice. After all, he/she is there to represent your best interest in buying a Franklin TN home.

When you are ready to buy a Franklin TN home,

Call Tammie White at (615) 495-0752!