One critical component to include in making your fir st o ff er the best o ff er is having a Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) done, which your real estate can provide for you — yet another bene fi t of hiring a good buyer’s agent! A CMA is a mathematical model used to determine the value of a target home. It calculates basic conditions (number of bedrooms, number of bathrooms, existence or size of yard, existence or size of garage, etc.), and then compares the prospective home to similar homes currently on the market in your area. Th is will give an idea of the local/nearby average home asking price, which is fundamental information to consider for yo ur fir st o ff er. A ft er the basic CMA is done, you and your agent can add or remove factors that increase or decrease the target home’s value. For example, perhaps you learn that the seller has recently upgraded all the plumbing in the home (increased value); on the fli p side, perhaps the seller’s plumbing system is old and outdated and will likely require repair or replacement sooner rather than later (decreased value). Get estimates for any necessary immediate repairs that will need to be done (decreased value). Using your research on comparable home sales and current housing market trends, as well as a ft er you’ve done a CMA, you and your agent can move forward in dra ft ing the best o ff er. DON’T TRY TO DO THIS ON YOUR OWN. Coming up with and researching all the applicable information, components, statistics, trends, market, comps, etc., needed to make a good o ff er on your own is not a good idea. First, it will take you far too long, and there’s a good chance that you’ll miss some vital information in putting together a proposal. Having a good real estate agent on your side will prove to be very useful at this stage, in helping you compose a great fir st o ff er. Even though it takes time, e ff ort, and energy to get all this research 112
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