Karen Pelkey, Realtor® Keller Williams Classic Realty Northwest: Making an offer on your Maple Grove home

Once you have found the Maple Grove home you want, we will write a purchase agreement. While much of the

agreement is standard, there are a few areas that you can negotiate:

The Price

What you offer on a property depends on a number of factors, including its condition, length of

time on the market, buyer activity, and the urgency of the seller. While some buyers want to make a

very low offer, just to see if the seller will accept, this often isn't a smart choice, because the seller

may be insulted and decide not to negotiate at all.

The Move-in Date

If you can be flexible on the possession date, the seller will be more apt to choose your offers over others.

Additional Property

Often the seller plans on leaving major appliances in the home, however, which items stay or go is

often a matter of negotiation.

Typically you will not be present at the offer presentation; your REALTOR will present it to the listing agent and/or seller.

The Maple Grove seller will then do one of the following:

• Accept the offer

• Reject the offer

• Counter the offer with changes

By far the most common is the counter offer. In these cases,as a REALTOR my experience and negotiating skills become powerful in representing the buyer's best interests.

When a counter offer is presented, you and your agent will work together to review each specific area of the counter offer, making sure to keep your goals in mind and ensuring that you negotiate the best possible price and terms on your behalf.