1-877-932-8946
Enter the address of your home and we'll make you a cash offer!
An offer isn’t really an offer until the buyer knows what they’re buying
Getting an offer on your house without anyone ever stepping inside can sound pretty appealing.
You answer a few questions over the phone or fill out a form online. The buyer asks about the condition of the property. Maybe you send them some photos. Then, before you know it, they give you an offer - sometimes a surprisingly good one - and send you a contract to sign electronically.
Easy, right?
Maybe. But there's an important question every homeowner should ask before signing:
How can someone know exactly what they're willing to pay for your house if they've never actually seen it?
The answer is that, in many cases, they don't know yet.
And that can become a problem later.
When a buyer makes an offer without seeing your property, that offer is usually based on assumptions.
They may be estimating the condition of the roof, HVAC system, foundation, plumbing, electrical system, flooring, kitchen, bathrooms and dozens of other things that can affect the value of a house.
Those assumptions may be perfectly reasonable. But they're still assumptions.
Eventually, someone is probably going to look at the property. And when the actual condition of the house is different from what the buyer assumed, you may hear something like:
"We found some additional repairs, so we're going to need to adjust our offer."
Unfortunately, that adjustment usually isn't upward.
One of the most important things you can do when considering an offer from a buyer who hasn't seen your house is to carefully read the contract.
Look specifically for an inspection, due diligence or cancellation clause that gives the buyer the right to inspect the property after you sign the agreement.
Depending on the contract, that provision may give the buyer an opportunity to cancel the transaction or attempt to renegotiate the purchase price based on what they discover.
That doesn't necessarily mean the buyer is doing anything wrong. Inspecting a property before buying it is perfectly reasonable.
The issue is when the inspection happens.
If the buyer gives you an attractive price first, gets you under contract and inspects the house later, you may discover that the price you thought you had agreed upon wasn't as firm as you believed.
Suppose someone offers you $250,000 for your house over the phone.
It's the best offer you've received, so you sign the contract.
Now you start making decisions based on that $250,000. You arrange your move. You put a deposit on another place. You rent a moving truck. You pack up the house. Maybe you tell another interested buyer that the property is already sold.
Then the buyer finally inspects the property.
They discover that the roof is older than expected, the HVAC system needs work and there are several other repairs they hadn't included in their original estimate.
The buyer comes back and says:
"We can still buy the house, but now we can only pay $225,000."
What do you do?
Technically, you may have choices depending on the terms of your contract. Practically, however, those choices may be much harder because you've already made plans based on the original offer.
That's the real danger.
A high offer today isn't necessarily the best offer if the price changes tomorrow.
There are legitimate reasons a real estate buyer might provide a preliminary estimate before visiting your property.
Technology makes it possible to learn quite a bit about a house without physically being there. Buyers can review public records, comparable home sales, tax information, maps, satellite imagery and other property data.
We use technology at WeBuyHouses.com, too.
But data can only tell you so much.
A database doesn't know that the living room carpet is 25 years old. Satellite imagery can't tell you that the air conditioner stopped working last summer. And an online property record probably isn't going to mention the water stain in the upstairs bedroom.
Those things matter when someone is determining what they're actually willing to pay.
That's why there's an important difference between a preliminary estimate and an offer made after someone has evaluated the property.
If you're considering selling to someone who hasn't seen your property, ask:
"What could cause this price to change after I sign the contract?"
Then read the contract and make sure the answer matches what you're being told.
You may also want to ask:
The answers can tell you quite a bit about how firm that initial offer really is.
At WeBuyHouses.com, we may be able to give you an initial estimate after talking with you about your property.
But we don't pretend that a phone conversation tells us everything there is to know about a house.
Our local real estate professionals can quickly visit the property, evaluate its condition and take the repairs into consideration before you make important decisions based on the offer.
Once we've seen the property and understand what we're buying, we can make an informed offer based on the actual condition of the house.
That's important because our goal isn't simply to give you the biggest number we can over the phone.
Our goal is to give you an offer you can actually rely on.
If you're comparing offers to buy your house, it's natural to focus on price.
But don't stop there.
A $250,000 offer that can easily become $225,000 after an inspection isn't necessarily better than an offer made by someone who has already walked through the property and accounted for the repairs.
So compare more than the numbers.
Compare the terms. Compare the inspection provisions. Compare the buyer's ability to cancel or renegotiate. And most importantly, understand exactly what has to happen before the price you're being quoted becomes a price you can count on.
If someone is offering to buy your house without ever seeing it, don't be afraid to ask:
"Is this your real offer - or is this the number you're giving me until you actually see my house?"
That's a pretty important distinction.
And it's one worth understanding before you sign a contract, pack your first box or make plans for what comes next.
Enter the address of your home and we'll make you a cash offer!