Recently I had a client ask me how long the offer process takes and then apologize for asking me what they considered a dumb question. First, I’d like to say that there really are no dumb questions in real estate, as with just about anything else in life. It’s only dumb to not ask the question in the first place.
Unfortunately for HGTV watchers, the offer process is not really at all like how the shows Property Virgins or My First Place portray it to be. So most buyers don’t understand how it works and my client’s question was actually a common one.
First of all, it takes most buyers some time to think about if they’d like to make an offer or not. Most people will at least sleep on the decision to make an offer, if they feel they have time on their side based on the specific property. Of course there are instances where someone will walk into a house and know by the end of a showing that they’d like to make an offer, but that isn’t usually the norm.
Once a buyer decides that they would like to make an offer, they sit down with their agent to physically write up the offer. Typically the agent provides comparison sales data so the buyer has some guidance on pricing. There are a variety of other factors to consider including deposit amounts, home inspection requests, and mortgage information. Usually it takes at least an hour for a buyer to write up an offer, sometimes longer depending on how many questions they have and how confident they feel about the process.
When the offer is written, the buyer’s agent presents the offer to the seller’s agent, who in turn then presents it to the seller. From there, it’s a waiting game regarding the response. As a buyer, you may hear back on your offer on the same day or sometime the next day. Counter offers are typically delivered verbally between the agents with an email follow up to document everything. Buyers and sellers counter offer back and forth until it’s determined if an agreement can be reached. Sometimes we know within a day if there will be a meeting of the minds. Sometimes it’s as long as a week. And one time it took us four months. No joke. We’ve also been in situations where buyers and sellers have gone back and forth eight times before coming to a conclusion. Other agents have probably seen even more counter offers. Honestly, it can be grueling at times.
TV isn’t realistic when it shows home purchases tied up with a tidy bow in 30 minutes. It takes much longer than that and will most likely be a stressful and emotional process for both buyers and sellers. There will be plenty of thinking, discussion, and questions during negotiations. Hopefully your agent is an experienced negotiator and can guide you through the process so that the outcome makes you feel like you’ve made the right decisions.