Finding a house you love can happen quickly.

Sometimes a buyer walks through the door and knows almost immediately: This is the one.

But deciding that you love a house and deciding what you're willing to offer for it are two different things.

By the time one of my buyers says, “I want to make an offer,” I usually want us to have much more information than the price on the listing.

In fact, for me, that process often starts before we even walk through the front door.

I Like My Buyers to Have Context Before the Showing

For most showings, I create a Google Calendar appointment for my buyers with the time and location, the seller's disclosure when one is available, and my highlights or notes about the property.

Over time, I've added more information to that process, including automated valuation models (AVMs) and comparable sales when appropriate.

Why?

Because I don't want buyers looking at a house in isolation.

A home listed at $300,000 might look fantastic at $300,000—or it might look very different once we see what comparable homes have recently sold for.

The list price gives us one piece of information. I want more pieces.

I Read the “Non-Sexy” Stuff

Beautiful kitchens are fun.

I'm also interested in the roof.

And the HVAC. Foundation. Water issues. Major repairs. Age of important systems. Anything in the seller's disclosure that deserves another question.

I'm also looking for what isn't there.

Sometimes missing information is just missing information. Other times, it gives me a reason to ask another question before my buyer makes a significant financial commitment.

That happened recently when I was helping my husband look at a home.

He was ready to make an offer. There was no seller's disclosure, however, and some things surrounding the property and ownership didn't feel clear enough to me.

Instead of writing the offer and sorting it out later, I kept researching.

Additional information revealed a prior water-loss claim of approximately $32,000. I also found questions surrounding the ownership documentation and how the transaction would be handled.

There were aspects of the title situation that I wasn't qualified to interpret myself, so I didn't try to.

I asked a title professional for help.

After additional research, there were enough unanswered questions that we decided not to make the offer.

That experience reinforced something I believe strongly about buyer representation:

Sometimes my job isn't helping a buyer get a house. Sometimes it's helping them know when to slow down.

I Always Want to Look at the Comps

Before one of my buyers writes an offer, I want to know what comparable properties tell us.

I look at recent sales, the property's listing history, price changes and other available market information. I may also look at AVMs, but I don't treat an automated valuation as the answer.

They're another piece of information.

I also value having other experienced eyes on a situation. Depending on the property, I may discuss my analysis with my owner/broker, supervising broker, coaching broker or a trusted veteran agent.

Real estate can involve judgment calls. I don't think asking another knowledgeable professional to challenge your thinking is a weakness. I think it's a resource worth using.

Then I Call the Listing Agent

One of my favorite questions is essentially:

What would make this a competitive offer for your sellers?

I want to learn as much as the listing agent is able and willing to share.

What's important to the seller? Is there a preferred timeline? Are there terms that matter particularly to them? Is there competition? Is there something besides price that could make an offer more attractive?

I've been surprised by how much useful information you can sometimes learn simply by asking good questions.

Because an offer isn't just a price.

Financing, earnest money, inspections, appraisal considerations, closing date, possession, seller-paid costs and other terms can all be part of the conversation.

“Okay, Alyssa. How Much Should I Offer?”

That's ultimately the buyer's decision.

I will give my buyers my analysis. We can look at the comps, AVMs, listing history, condition of the property, what we've learned from the listing agent and the overall situation.

From that, I can give them a range and my guidance.

But I'm not buying the house. They are.

After giving them the information I have, I follow their lead.

There's also a question I like to ask:

What's your walk-away price?

Imagine we don't get the house.

Later, you learn what it sold for.

At what price would you be able to say, “I'm disappointed, but I'm okay with losing it. I wouldn't have wanted to pay more than that.”

That's a very different question from, “How cheaply can we get this house?”

It helps put the decision back where I think it belongs: with the buyer's finances, priorities, risk tolerance and feelings about that particular home.

Negotiating the Deal Isn't the Same as Getting to Closing

One transaction taught me this particularly well.

The home was listed around $225,000. Based on the information I was reviewing, I thought the property was potentially undervalued. The automated values were generally in the low $200,000s, while comparable properties I reviewed were around $245,000 and $263,000.

There was also an unusual data issue: tax information showed the property as having zero bedrooms, which was obviously important context when considering automated values and online property data.

Once we were under contract, negotiations continued.

By the end, I had negotiated nearly $20,000 off the purchase price and a new roof for my buyers. There was still an HVAC issue the seller wasn't willing to address, but we'd made significant progress.

And then none of it mattered.

A title problem ultimately prevented the transaction from closing.

I was disappointed for my buyers, but I learned something important from that experience.

Getting an offer accepted isn't the finish line.

Neither is negotiating a price reduction. Neither is getting a seller to agree to a new roof.

The goal is getting my buyer through the entire transaction while continuing to evaluate the information we learn along the way.

Sometimes protecting a buyer means negotiating harder.

Sometimes it means asking another question.

Sometimes it means bringing in a lender, inspector, title professional, broker, attorney or another expert who knows more about a particular issue than I do.

And sometimes it means not buying the house.

I Also Prepare Buyers for the Emotional Part

After an offer is submitted, buyers sometimes expect to feel nothing but excitement.

That's not always what happens.

I know because when I've bought homes myself, I've experienced it too.

Excitement can very quickly turn into:

Did I offer too much?

What if they don't accept it?

What if they DO accept it?

Did I make the right decision?

A little anxiety after making a major financial decision doesn't automatically mean it was the wrong decision.

I try to prepare my buyers for that, too.

I explain what happens next, how long different parts of the process may take and when we should expect to hear something.

There are enough unknowns in a real estate transaction. I don't want the process itself to be one of them.

An Offer Should Be More Than a Number

When my buyer is ready to click “sign,” I want them to understand how we got there.

I want them to know what we learned about the property, what the market data showed, what questions we asked, what the important terms of their offer mean and where uncertainty still exists.

They don't have to feel completely fearless.

But they should feel informed.

Because my goal isn't simply to help someone get an offer accepted.

It's to help them make a decision they understand—and then advocate for them through whatever comes next.

Thinking about buying a home in the Kansas City metro?

I have free buyer resources available in both English and Spanish, whether you're preparing for your first home or just want to better understand today's buying process.

Alyssa Woodside, REALTOR®
RE/MAX State Line
English & Spanish Services Available

Each Office Independently Owned and Operated.