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Berkeley Real Estate
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Home > Buyer Systems > Crafting Your Offer

Crafting Your Offer

  • Home Work
  • Market Conditions
  • Customized Home Updates
  • Crafting Your Offer
  • Buying Strategies
  • Inspections
  • Closing

The Sellers’ Disclosure Package — Disclosures, Reports & Inspections

Property Disclosure Package Pages
Property Disclosure Package Pages

The sellers’ disclosure package typically includes a home inspection, pest report, seller transfer disclosure report, local hazards such as earthquake or slide zones, and more.

We’ll upload the sellers’ disclosure package to our cloud server site and send you the link.

We then set up a Zoom video call, share our screen, and carefully review every page with you. Screen sharing lets each of us be in different locations and see the same thing. I zoom (on Zoom) in on important things, so it’s actually better than reviewing it in person.

After our review, you’ll know which additional inspections to get.

The best scenario for you is when the seller doesn’t have any inspections – it gives us a chance to negotiate price changes or credits for you if our inspections turn up work.

We’ll Craft Your Offer To Make It Easier For The Seller To Say YES!

When I call to let you know which offer the seller has selected, my favorite word is “Congratulations!”

Here’s how we craft your offer to increase the odds of the seller saying YES! to you.

Set Aside Time For Your Offer

We’ll let you know the day and time offers are due. It’s best to review the disclosures and offer paperwork a day or two before then.

It takes about an hour to review the seller disclosures with you, and at least that much time to prepare the disclosures, recent sales (comps), and the purchase agreement for signing. 

Review Our Neighborhood Market Research

We’ll show you nearby homes which have recently sold so you get a hyper-local view of neighborhood market conditions.

Click the map or photos to view a sample report.

Map of Nearby Home Sales
Map of Nearby Home Sales
Details of Nearby Home Sales - Photos, Price, Sq Ft
Details of Nearby Home Sales – Photos, Price, Sq Ft

 

 

What’s The Likely Overbid?
There’s a relationship between how many buyers ask for property disclosures, and how many offers the home receives.

There is also a correlation between how many offers a listing receives, and the amount of overbid.

I’ll analyze nearby recent sales and market conditions for each home you bid on.

Graph of Overbid vs # Of Offers
Graph of Overbid vs # Of Offers

Detailed Analysis For Each Home You’re Considering Buying
There’s a strong relationship between the square footage of a home and the sales price.  Homes are in different conditions, so you’d expect there to be scattered data, but the trend line is clear.

What about Zillow?  We’ll compare actual MLS sales prices to the values assigned by automated valuation websites such as Zillow, Redfin, Realtor.com, and NARRPR. The circles are sales reported in the Multiple Listing Service (MLS).  The triangles, diamonds, and squares are automated valuations.

We offer the advantage of having been inside many of the homes … so we have “boots on the ground” knowledge that computer algorithms can’t possibly have.

Graph of Sales Price vs Sq Ft - MLS Sales and Automated Valuations from Zillow, Redfin ...
Graph of Sales Price vs Sq Ft – MLS Sales and Automated Valuations from Zillow, Redfin …

Well Priced Homes Sell Quickly … And With Large Overbids
Most homes sell within 10-15 days of coming on the market – that’s when a home is highly likely to sell for more than its asking price.  Once a home has been on the market for about a month, it often sells for less than the original asking price.  Savvy sellers position their home’s list price to generate multiple offers.

Graph of Overbid vs Days On The Market
Graph of Overbid vs Days On The Market
Docusign Page for Digital Signatures buyer-presentation-offer-disclosure-review-digital-signing-2
Docusign Page for Digital Signatures

Digital Signing – No matter if you’re down the street or overseas

Sellers Walt and Robin reviewing offers on their Thousand Oaks Home via Skype! They were under an ancient tree in Normandy France sellers-tickner-walt-robin-skype-call-1
Sellers Walt and Robin reviewing offers on their Thousand Oaks Home via Skype! They were under an ancient tree in Normandy France

Robin & Walt signed their contract … under an ancient apple tree … in Normandy!

As long as you’re within the Troposphere … we can make it happen!

Relationships With Other Agents

Other agents know when we represent the buyers, it will close.

We’ve gotten our buyers’ offer accepted because of our reputation and relationships with other agents – they tell us they’d rather work with us than other agents since they know once we’re in contract, there’s a very high likelihood that it will close.

The Offer Presentation

In general, the sellers’ agent collects offers on a specific date and time. It’s a sealed bid process – you don’t know anything about the other offers.

The Seller’s Response

When a seller receives multiple offers, they usually select one to counter or accept. That’s why it’s best to submit your best offer; it’s unlikely you’ll have a chance to improve it.

Sometimes the seller counters two or more offers at the same time, a “multiple counter offer”. Even if each buyer accepts the terms of the sellers’ multiple counteroffer, the seller gets to decide one to accept. Multiple counter offers tend to irritate buyers; it’s not uncommon for one or more buyers to withdraw from the negotiations.

Timing – Closing, Possession Dates, Vacation, or Travel

The lender will let us know realistic time frames for loan approval and funding; look at your calendar to see if you’ve upcoming vacations or business trips.

Let us know if you have any vacations or travel plans. Some buyers elect to give their co-buyer, or trusted friend or family member, powers-of-attorney to sign on their behalf. The title company will prepare it for you.

The Title Company can arrange for a signing service/notary to meet you at your home or office. If you’re signing in a different state, they’ll attach the appropriate notary tag to the appropriate. If overseas, however, your documents have to be signed at a US Consulate; be sure to check their schedule and hours and to make sure you can notarize it so the paperwork’s returned in time.  Overseas signings greatly complicate transactions

We know how to craft your offers so you buy at the best possible price.

#RealEstate #Buyer #BuyerBroker #Serkes

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Ira & Carol Serkes
Berkeley Real Estate

Ira & Carol Serkes

(510) 526-6668 Office
(510) 684-3334 Cell
Contact
New Listing Alerts What's My Home Worth
"Dear Carol and Ira,I wanted to take a moment to tell you how good it is to have you as my real estate agents with the hope you will share this with others.... full testimonial"
- David Braun, MD
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      1625 Shattuck Avenue #101
      Berkeley, CA 94709

      Ira & Carol Serkes

      Berkeley Real Estate
      (510) 526-6668 Office
      (510) 684-3334 Cell
      DRE# 00936453, 01143916
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