Getting Started: Understand the Numbers Understanding Mortgage, Escrow & Additional Costs What to Buy & Where to Live Find Your New Home Know the Market Understanding the Contract Make an Offer After Your Offer is Accepted About Closing Costs & Title Insurance Moving Guide Ask Us About Our VIP Concierge Service VIP Realty offers exclusive concierge services for interested home buyers. Learn more.   "VIP took the guess work out of everything... Tammy under-promised and over-delivered, and always within the timeline she gave us." Natalie Guzman Indianapolis

Home >> Buying a Home in Indiana >> Know the Market Buying a Home: Know the Market Buying a Home: Know the Market; Offer to Buy, Buyer's Market, Seller's Market, Negotiate the Best Price / Favorable Contract Terms,  Comparable Home Sales

Once VIP Realty has helped you find the home you want, it's time to make an offer to buy. Be prepared to move fast. The ideal home can go fast in the right market. Your first task before making an offer is understanding the market that is working in your area.

This will help determine how fast you need to move when looking at homes. If you are in a buyer's market, you will have time to search several homes and negotiate the best price. If, on the other hand, you are in a seller's market, you may have only a short time to make an offer before the house slips away.

Working in a Buyer's Market

A Buyer's Market has more sellers than buyers and time is on your side. You will find many homes that you can visit, revisit again for comparisons, and negotiate favorable contract terms.

It would be advisable to run a comparable neighborhood analysis among homes that you have visited before making an offer. Items to compare include:

• Age and condition of similar homes in the neighborhood
• Homes that have sold within the last six months
• List of comparable sales in the neighborhood - we can provide this for you, or you can  generate your own list online

Before you can make a reasonable offer on a home, you need to know what it's worth?  There are a few options available to determine the market value of the property:

• Order a personal home valuation report - get a home price analysis at electronicappraiser.com (opens in new window). For about $30, you will receive a comprehensive report based on data obtained from numerous public sources. This report is best used to determine initial offering price. Topics addressed include:
  • Estimated Market Value
  • Tax information
  • Comparable Properties Report - will show comparable homes that have sold in the area and at what price
  • Locality Information
  • FEMA Flood Map, great for insurance purposes ($4 additional). Know your flood zone before you buy or sell. 

  For more details, you can view a sample home valuation report (opens in new window).

• Professional home appraisal - hire an appraiser to look at the home to get an accurate independent appraised value based on the most current market conditions. The appraisal can run anywhere from $200-500, depending on how fast you want the appraisal done. The appraisal will help you negotiate best price during final negotiations.

VIP Realty will gladly provide you a list of qualified appraisers in the area. Or, if you prefer to find your own, other places to look include (opens in new window):

• National Association of Realtor Home Appraisers
• The Appraisal Institute

Working in a Seller's Market

In a Seller's Market you need to be able to act fast. Home prices are firm and many homes sell quickly even before reaching the MLS listing. Homes in a seller market receive multiple contract offers and buyers will compete for top price.

• Know exactly what you can afford  - Knowing what you can afford based on your financial resources can save you time from calculating different mortgage payment scenarios. You can move fast knowing what price you can work with. See Understanding the Numbers.
• Know exactly what kind of home you want and in what neighborhood. This way you can move fast on the home if it meets your requirements. See What to Buy & Where to Buy.
• It's important to have your paper work completed in a seller's market. Mortgage pre-approval is particularly helpful, as you can negotiate more easily knowing exactly how much you can offer and when you can close on the home.

  Pre-approval can give you a negotiating edge if the seller knows that you have been pre-approved and that you can close fast on the house if necessary. See Understanding Mortgage, Escrow & Additional Costs.

• Know What it's Worth - see Buyer's Market, above.

Keep Yourself Available: Things Can Happen Fast

Let us know what times you are available to look at homes that come on the market. If possible, give us your daytime numbers, cell numbers or pager numbers so that you can act instantly. Other buyers in the market may be using similar tactics.

When you are ready to make an offer, as your agent we will provide you the standard documents that list the terms of the contract, and review the contract with you. For detailed information on the key variables you will find in a typical real estate contract, read Understanding the Contract.

We will explain each line item before submitting the contract to the Seller's agent. Once submitted, if the seller accepts your terms without any changes you are legally bound by the agreement. So make sure you include all items that are important to you.

For more information about how VIP Realty can help you buy a home in Central Indiana, call Tammy Bookout at (317) 345 - 8269 or toll-free at 888-VIP-0002 (888-847-0002), or send Tammy an e-mail, or submit the Request for Information form below.

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