Home Loans Arizona - California - Nevada - Utah

One of the most significant factors that home buyers and sellers in California focus on when buying real estate property is the negotiated sales price in the purchase agreement. While the sales price is very important, the fact is that other terms in the sales agreement may have more far reaching and significant effects on the purchase transaction.

In fact, lets take a closer look at some of the most important terms when writing up your offer in California, you will see why you and your agent should actively negotiate for improved terms of the purchase while still getting a home that you are comfortable paying for.

Closing Costs Credit From the Seller:

Some buyers and sellers will haggle over a few thousand dollars in the sales price without addressing to the closing costs, the fact is that the closing costs for a typical transaction may cost the buyer between two to five percent of the sales price and this is on average. The cost to purchase a home are lender, escrow, title and buyers prepaid fees. A sales contract may be negotiated so that the seller assumes some or most of the closing costs and this will result in a fair amount of savings to the buyer. Likewise to the seller, when the contract is negotiated in the interest of the property owner, the seller may save thousands of dollars at closing if the contract states that the buyer(s) are responsible for their closing costs.

The Appraised Value of the Property:

In an ideal world, a home would appraise for the agreed upon sales contract, but that does not always happen. A sales contract can be constructed with terms that allow for the sales price to be renegotiated after the appraised value is established and this may benefit both the buyer and seller. Some sales contracts, however, state that the negotiated sales price is final regardless of the appraised value. If the appraised value comes in higher than the agreed purchase amount, the the buyers are coming in the with equity in the home. Should the appraisal come in lower than the agreed upon purchase amount, the seller at that time can move forward with the purchase at the lower price or cancel the transaction because of the out come of the appraisal.

The Property Inspection is Very Important:

Many home buyers in California opt to obtain a property inspection to determine if there are hidden issues with the property's structure, foundation, roof, air quality and other important components of the property. The inspections with reveal what condition the home is currently in, poor, fair, good or excellent condition. The inspection report may reveal that a property needs a few hundred or thousands of dollars worth of repairs. The sales contract may be written so that the buyer may back out from purchasing the home within a set period of time after receiving the property inspection report or the terms of the sales contract may be re-negotiated once the property inspection report has been completed and reviewed.

Special Contingencies During the Purchase Process:

A real estate transaction may extend a couple days or several weeks while the buyer and seller contacts a home inspector, termite and roofing company, a lender and other third parties to ensure a smooth and successfully closing. During this time period, many events can occur that may adjust the interest level or even the ability of the buyer and seller to complete the terms of the purchase agreement. Some sales contracts are drafted on how the buyer may cancel out of the contract within a certain period of time with minimal expense and the out come of the appraisal and home inspection.

Generally, there are standard terms (there are many others) found in many real estate purchase contracts, the terms can be adjusted by either party to benefit the buyer or seller. If you are looking to buy or sell a home, you should actively communicate your needs and desires with your qualified licensed real estate agent so that he or she can negotiated the terms of the contract to be most favorable to your needs.

Before you look for a home to make an offer on, lets get you pre-approved to purchase a home so that you know what your budget will allow you to purchase. My focus is to facilitate a home loan here in California that will meet your monthly mortgage payment. After you have selected a home loan program, then lets connect you with a real estate agent to assist you with your home search. The Agent will assist and guide you with your offer to the seller(s).

The best professional advise I can give is, work with a licensed Realtor® that has a proven track record selling and buying homes for their client. The last thing you want is working with a part time agent and you lose out on a great opportunity to sell or buy your home. I welcome the opportunity to assist with your lending needs before starting your home search to ensure you have a loan secured.