Write an Offer with These 5 Things | RISE Homes

Today, I’m going to talk about the five things that you need in order to write an offer in a multiple offer, competitive environment. We have a very competitive housing market in the San Francisco Bay Area.

If you are a homebuyer or somebody looking to buy a home in the near future, this is something that you and your real estate agent should talk about when you write an offer. A nice compelling offer could influence the sellers to accept your offer rather than somebody else’s.

This advice rings true whether you are in the San Francisco Bay Area, or anywhere in the country, where it is a competitive market.

Purchase Agreement

First, you need to have a Purchase Contract or Purchase Agreement. In the San Francisco Bay Area, we one of three. The PRDS, the CAR (California Association of Realtors) or San Francisco Association of Realtors Purchase Contract. These are the three (3) purchase agreements that are common in California.

Your agent is responsible for making sure they prepare this document. Additionally, they need to prepare any other associated documents like the Buyer’s Representation documents, Possible Representation of more than one Buyer or Seller, and Contingency Removal document.

Pre-approval Letter

It’s very important that you get a full pre-approval sometimes known as an underwritten approval. It’s important because if you just have a pre-qualification letter where the lender has not pulled your documentation and is not confident that you’re going to get approved for a loan then you cannot write an offer with no contingencies.

Proof of Funds documents

Where is your down payment coming from? The reason why we provide that is because, along with the pre-approval letter, the proof of funds shows that you can afford the house. That’s important when a seller is deciding on which one of the offers to take.

It’s not always going to be the highest price; they may take a lower offer if by 20k, 30k, 50k if they’re more confident that this one is going to close. Providing a purchase agreement, pre-approval letter, and proof of funds makes a big difference!

Fully signed disclosure package

In the Bay Area most listing agents provide pre-sale inspections and a full disclosure package with everything associated with a property known by the seller, they provide that to the buyers ahead of time before offers are under review. By initialing and fully signing them, you as the buyer, are acknowledging/receiving the seller’s disclosure package.

Cover letter

This is telling the sellers about you, about who you are. Include a picture of you and your family or your dogs or your kids or whoever else. At the end of the day, people want to know who is buying their house.

In addition to that, it is supposed to tell them how much you love the property. All the wonderful things about it, and this kind of flatters the seller. Believe it or not, most sellers look at these closely. Obviously, if your offer is one hundred thousand dollars below another, then it’s not really gonna make a difference. But, if your offer is within $50k, $30k, $20k, you have a chance! I have had sellers accept offers that were as much as $40k or $50k less than the highest one simply because of a STRONG COMPELLING COVER LETTER.

I hope this breakdown was helpful. If you have any questions, I hope that you reach out to me! I’m constantly posting relevant information on the San Francisco real estate market. Please follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and Youtube!

Watch the video below for a realtor’s take on writing a compelling offer!