If you have been thinking of making an offer on a real estate property you have chosen, it is important to consider a few things.  Writing an offer is not actually as easy as buying a car or investing in stocks.  After all, when writing up an offer, you are not only talking about money but also other crucial factors when buying a house.

Writing an offer is said to be the first part in the negotiation process when purchasing a real estate property.  You have to include other things along with the offer.  This may consist of indicating how you plan to finance the property, the down payment, if you want to have repairs done and who would finance this, house insurance and clauses that indicate what would happen should you cancel the property.  These things are very important for it talks about what you are expecting from the seller and what the seller is expecting from you.

As for the monetary value of the offer, try to put yourself in the seller’s shoes.  It would be very wise to offer something reasonable.  Of course you want to get the best possible deal but if you bid on the property too low, the seller might not think you are serious.  Consider also the situation of the seller.  Is he or she in a hurry to sell?  Is the house under a bank mortgage?  These things could actually affect the negotiation process.

It is also important to compare the house you are buying with similar real estate.   This is referred to as comparable sales.  Look at the most recent sales of properties with similar features as the house you want to buy.  Compare the number of floors, bedrooms, bathrooms, garage space, floor area or the total land area.  There are databases that you may also use to look at properties prices.  However, these are only accessible for certified real estate agents.  Nonetheless, you may look into some of the public records and multiple listings that can be accessed by the general public.  Comparable sales in public records are from sales made by sellers and buyers in the past.  When a property is sold and the title is transferred from seller to buyer, the deed is recorded and registered at the local county’s office.  They do this so that they can assess the property taxes properly.  This record usually includes the price, number of rooms and the floor area of the property.  The good thing about using public records is that they are, as earlier mentioned, easily accessible.  Your real estate agent can also access these through title insurance companies.  If you don’t have an agent, however, you can simply go to the record’s office and ask for the record yourself.  The only trouble with this record is that it is usually six to eight weeks behind.   As such, it is not that all current.   However, by looking at public records such as this, you at least get an idea of the rate you could somewhat aim for.