YOU'VE FOUND THE HOUSE. SHOULD YOU MAKE AN OFFER YET?

Jonathan Deeley

Oct 2

3 min read

You’ve found it.

You’ve viewed the house. You love it. You can already imagine yourself living there.

And then the conversation changes.

“What would you like to offer?”

It sounds like a perfectly reasonable question.

But I think there is another question you should answer first:

What is your buying position?

Before deciding what you are prepared to pay, establish what you are actually buying.

What has been confirmed?

What remains unresolved?

What does the available evidence tell you about the property and the asking price?

What are you comfortable accepting?

And what would need to change before you were prepared to proceed?

Because once you put a number on the table, something important happens.

It is no longer simply the seller’s asking price.

It becomes your price.

You have said: this is what I am prepared to pay for this property.

That is a perfectly sensible thing to do — provided you have established the position from which that number came.

Don’t start with the number

For many overseas buyers, the sequence can easily become:

Find the house → fall in love → ask a few questions → decide on a number → make an offer → investigate further.

I prefer a different sequence:

Find the house → establish the evidence → establish your buying position → decide your price and terms → make the offer.

The difference looks small.

It isn’t.

Questions and uncertainties discovered before you establish your price can help form that price.

The same information discovered afterwards has to fight against a number you have already put on the table.

That doesn’t mean every issue should result in a lower offer.

Sometimes the evidence supports the asking price.

Sometimes it gives you a reason to negotiate.

Sometimes the price is right but the terms need attention.

Sometimes something needs to be established by the appropriate professional before you proceed.

And occasionally the right decision is simply to walk away.

The important thing is that you are making the decision deliberately.

Everybody has a role

Your estate agent has a role.

Your geometra has a role.

Your lawyer has a role.

Your notaio has a role.

Use good professionals. Listen to them.

But there is one role none of them can perform for you.

You are the buyer.

It is your money.

It is your decision.

And ultimately you have to decide the basis on which you are prepared to purchase the property.

That is why I believe the period before an offer is made deserves far more attention than many overseas buyers give it.

This is where the Pre-Offer Audit™ comes in

The Pre-Offer Audit brings the relevant information together around one question:

Where do you stand before you commit?

We look at the property, the available evidence, the price, what has been established, what remains unresolved and what needs professional clarification.

The objective isn't to frighten you out of buying the house.

Quite the opposite.

If everything stacks up, fantastic.

Buy the bloody house and enjoy it.

But do it knowing why you are doing it.

The proposition is very simple:

Know what you’re buying.Know where you stand.Then decide what you’re prepared to pay.

You don’t need to fight the Italian property system.

You don’t need to distrust everybody around you.

You simply shouldn't hand somebody else your decision.

My position.My decision.My money.