Making an Offer When You Have a House to Sell
February 4, 2010
If the government's $6,500 tax credit incentive for potential homeowners/homebuyers is to be used, real estate agents may be seeing more "contingent on the sale of a home" offers. The $6,500 tax credit is only available to homeowners who have occupied their home as a principal residence for a consecutive period of five of the past eight years and have actually owned it for the past eight years. For those homeowners who decide that the current low interest rates and the desire to make a move prior to their present home being sold, a contingent offer is a possibility.
Obviously, sellers prefer offers that are not contingent on the sale of another property. Certainly bank-owned properties and properties that are being offered for sale, but are "short sales' requiring lender approval, are not going to consider contingent offers. These sellers need to know that the buyer is ready, willing, and able to close a transaction once the offer is accepted.
This means that any buyer with a house to sell will be pretty much limited to "standard sale" properties.
The best strategy is to put your home on the market before you make an offer on a replacement home. Sellers are generally more receptive to offers that are contingent on the closing of a buyer's home that on an offer in which the buyer's home is either just a listing or not yet listed. Also, as a contingent buyer, you should be prepared to furnish the seller of the replacement property copies of your purchase agreement and escrow instructions. The seller will need to know what kind of a transaction you have on your home and may make the acceptance of your offer contingent on the approval of your transaction.
Sellers are wary of contingent offers because the sale of their property is now tied to a property over which they have no real control. In the current real estate environment, sellers may need to be a bit flexible about offers contingent on the sale of the buyer's home, but they need to have some ability to continue to market their own property, either for back-up offers or with a clause that allows them to notify the contingent buyer that they have received another offer and the buyer has a set period to remove the contingency or the transaction will be cancelled.
Agents have not seen contingent offers very often in the past several years, but this incentive for current homeowners to purchase another home, may increase "contingent on the sale " offers.
We shall see.
If the government's $6,500 tax credit incentive for potential homeowners/homebuyers is to be used, real estate agents may be seeing more "contingent on the sale of a home" offers. The $6,500 tax credit is only available to homeowners who have occupied their home as a principal residence for a consecutive period of five of the past eight years and have actually owned it for the past eight years. For those homeowners who decide that the current low interest rates and the desire to make a move prior to their present home being sold, a contingent offer is a possibility.
Obviously, sellers prefer offers that are not contingent on the sale of another property. Certainly bank-owned properties and properties that are being offered for sale, but are "short sales' requiring lender approval, are not going to consider contingent offers. These sellers need to know that the buyer is ready, willing, and able to close a transaction once the offer is accepted.
This means that any buyer with a house to sell will be pretty much limited to "standard sale" properties.
The best strategy is to put your home on the market before you make an offer on a replacement home. Sellers are generally more receptive to offers that are contingent on the closing of a buyer's home that on an offer in which the buyer's home is either just a listing or not yet listed. Also, as a contingent buyer, you should be prepared to furnish the seller of the replacement property copies of your purchase agreement and escrow instructions. The seller will need to know what kind of a transaction you have on your home and may make the acceptance of your offer contingent on the approval of your transaction.
Sellers are wary of contingent offers because the sale of their property is now tied to a property over which they have no real control. In the current real estate environment, sellers may need to be a bit flexible about offers contingent on the sale of the buyer's home, but they need to have some ability to continue to market their own property, either for back-up offers or with a clause that allows them to notify the contingent buyer that they have received another offer and the buyer has a set period to remove the contingency or the transaction will be cancelled.
Agents have not seen contingent offers very often in the past several years, but this incentive for current homeowners to purchase another home, may increase "contingent on the sale " offers.
We shall see.
posted by shirley harry at 8:13 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home