How to Write Purchase Offers

First-time home buyers, veteran house hunters, lawyers and plenty of real estate agents make mistakes when writing purchase offers. Mistakes are not only costly, but they can delay offer acceptance because counter offers may be necessary to clarify points and correct errors. During the time that counter offers are being shuttled back and forth for signatures, another buyer could swoop in and buy that home. On top of that, a badly written offer could alter a buyer's original intentions.

Take Arnie, for example. He told his real estate agent that he needed a day after closing to move, but the contract was signed giving the seller possession at closing. Arnie didn't notice the day of possession was wrong until a few days before closing. The seller refused to renegotiate possession. Arnie was stuck: He had to make last-minute moving plans and hire more expensive movers to get him out a day earlier than planned. None of that would have happened if the contract had been prepared properly at its inception. To minimize that risk from happening to you, here are 10 Tips to Writing Purchase Offers that will pertain to just about any deal you could write.

C.A.R. Residential Purchase Agreement © 2006 E. Weintraub, Licensed to About.com

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