Unaware buyers may think submitting a purchase agreement is something done automatically by a Realtor. It is quite the opposite. Submitting a purchase agreement is a careful and deliberative process with hundreds of moving parts and lots of consideration required for the Realtor before making the submission. We’ll go over some of the considerations that take place before submitting the offer.
The residential purchase agreement is 16 pages long. It used to be a single page before 1970, but has been added over time to cover stipulations that are necessary for both parties to clarify. Whenever a lawsuit occurred, more language was added, to both parties’ benefit.
Seeing the perfect house and then moving on to sign a 16 page document can be cumbersome. Clients of mine who work 8 hours and then have to sit down to read 16 pages of small text will feel burdened. Others want to do the close reading with me and I’ll gladly do it. Others want the paraphrased version. As long as they understand that they must read and understand it before signing, it’s up to them how deep they want to engage the document.
One thing I will say is that I know this document like the back of my hand—I know where the most important clauses are, where to ask for certain things at certain points, and how to modify certain clauses to get the most out of the exchange. That is why pairing up with a Realtor to draw up this document is necessary.
One know-how aspect of modifying this document is to make sure the buyer complies with any point of sale ordinances and customs of the local area. There are transaction-related customs that buyers and sellers adhere to that streamline the process of purchase. While all items in the agreement are negotiable, having a streamlined purchase agreement simplifies the seller’s reading of the purchase agreement, which allows them to compare the submission with others. Think of it like tailoring a resume to fit the employer. That is what happens every time we submit the offer.
A second know-how aspect of offer submission is the Realtor’s ability to gather information and sleuth around, and take that information back to the buyer to have the offer submission be the best it can possibly be. This intel gathering could include getting comparable sales data for the buyer, and also chatting with the listing agent to determine the amount of submitted offers. If the number of submitted offers are unknown, the best alternative is figuring out how much interest exists on that particular property, by figuring out the number of times it was shown, how many people attended open house, etc.
Ultimately the Realtor will write in specific clauses, add addenda, and make other pertinent suggestions to make the offer submission not only flawless, but free from vagueness and keep buyers out of court. Realtors ultimately have the bird’s eye view to clarify language and get ambiguity out of the picture at a time where everything must be written down and accounted for. If a novice were to make these acts without knowing the local laws, point of sale ordinances, or customs of offer submission, one would not get very far in the process and may be overlooked. Sellers perceive incompetent offer submissions are time wasters and may be overlooked. When this happens, the perfect house you saw may not be available for you.
I hope I outlined the various facets of how a Realtor aids buyers in the offer submission process and how critical this step is in the home purchase process. I make it a point to draw up the purchase agreement in a few hours time to keep my buyer within the offer submission schedule, but just know that I am proofreading the contract several times and reviewing laws as needed to keep my buyer’s interests preserved and at heart.