Welcome to the House Hunt. I’m sure you’ve heard — it’s competitive out there. No bother though! Our team is here to make it seamless by giving you the education and tools needed to make your experience smooth!
What is home’s typical timeline on the market?
Monday through Thursday — Home goes ACTIVE status on the MLS (Multiple Listing Service: Where Realtors post and view listings).
Thursday through Sunday (sometimes Monday, too) — Showings an Open Houses
Monday through Wednesday — Offers Due
Wednesday through Friday — Counter offers until the seller picks a buyer
For a competitive home, it’s about 1–2 weeks from the time a home is on the market to in escrow. After the offer deadline, agents don’t usually like to look at other offers, so it’s important to meet the deadline.
*If you see a home that’s been on the market for over 14 days, that typically means the home will sell close to the asking price, perhaps even a little below.
How much higher do homes go over the asking price?
There’s no definite answer here. Some homes are priced right where they will sell. Others are priced low to encourage a bidding war. Some homes have gone up $100k+ over. It doesn’t mean that the buyers are overpaying — it’s just that the listing agent priced the home low.
When one of our buyers sends us a home, we run the comparables to see if the home is going to sell in a buyer’s desired price range. So if you send us a home that will sell $50k above your comfortability zone, we’ll give you a heads up.
Don’t be concerned by how much the home is going over asking because the asking price isn’t always what they are really asking for.
What do I do now?
1. Monitor your RealScout notifications. Download the Realscout app on Apple or Google. Send us the homes you’re interested in once you see them. Ask us questions! We’re here to help make the process easy, so reach out to us whenever you need help!
2. If you are working with our preferred lender, Leigh McMahon with United American, make sure ALL your documents are uploaded on her secure portal. When you are ready to get the full pre-approval by running your credit, she will have all your documents ready to go in order to issue the pre-approval. Typically (unless you ask for it) she won’t run your credit right away. And she absolutely will not run your credit without consent first.
You can click “apply now” to upload your documents.
3. Start learning about the offer process. You can watch our Offer Prep videos here where I’ll walk you through the purchase agreement.
What do I NOT do now?
1. Don’t visit a new construction without giving us the heads up! New Constructions will deny you agent representation if you don’t bring your agent on the first showing.
2. Don’t make large money transfers. If you need to, that’s okay, but each transfer needs to be explained during escrow.
3. Don’t lease or buy a new car or open any new credit. Keep everything the same unless you check with your lender first.
