How much should you offer for your dream house?

Now that you have found the home of your dreams, how much should you offer for it?
Some other questions to ask yourself before you make an offer include:

1. How much can I afford?
2. What is my debt-to-income ratio?
3. How do I find out the answer to #2? (see a mortgage company or bank)
4. How badly do I want this home? In other words, how high is my motivation level?
5. How long do I see myself living in this home?
6. Do I think I could resell this home easily if I really needed to? (Resale value
is an important thing to consider when buying a home.)
7. Are there any other homes similar to this one that are less expensive?
8. Do I plan on staying in my current job long enough to make the mortgage payments worthwhile?

Are you an experienced home buyer, or are you a first-time home buyer? What are the feelings you are going through? Are you excited? Nervous? Scared? At peace? If you have been nervous, but have asked all the questions you need to ask or have been afraid to ask and are satisfied with the answers, go ahead and make an offer. If you're still a little bit nervous as to whether or not you can afford it, make your offer contingent on financing. In other words, apply for a loan and have your mortgage company or lender make sure you can afford your offer. Go ahead and submit your offer, then let the lender put a stamp of approval on it, or not.

If the lender approves your loan and says that you can afford the monthly payments, which include property taxes, homeowner's insurance, and sometimes mortgage insurance, you've got a solid offer which hopefully, cross your fingers, will be accepted by the seller, and you'll have your dream home!

On the other hand, if the lender doesn't approve a loan for you based on your income and expenses, you don't lose anything with a financing addendum attached. You get your earnest money back, and you have learned a wealth of information from your experience of making an offer on your dream house.

Help yourself in this process by pre-qualifying first, and THEN looking for the home of your dreams that fits your budget. I can't stress this enough.


Tip of the day: Buy a lot that is zoned for manufactured homes and put a brand new manufactured home on it with a garage. Need help finding a manufactured home dealer with a good reputation? Let me know, and I'll help.

509-431-5804 my cell
509-765-3463 ext. 110 - office of Gary Mann Real Estate