Other than the final purchase offer price there are several other items that you should review when making an offer on a house.  The date of closing, time allowed for inspections, review of any homeowners associations bylaws, date of possession, amount of earnest money deposit, proration of taxes and assessments, and a few others. Ask your Realtor to give you a copy of a blank purchase contract so you can review it prior to actually writing your offer. You want to be familiar with the purchase contract prior to finding that perfect home. One of the things about writing an offer that makes people nervous is that they are not familiar with the contract and things can seem overwhelming the day you find the “perfect home”.

One of the clauses that you should have in your contract is a clause stating that the property must appraise for the purchase price.  While this should probably be used on every transaction it commonly overlooked.  This clause gives the buyer the right to cancel the offer if the property does not appraise at least as much as the purchase price. This seemingly unimportant clause can save a buyer thousands of dollars. Most contracts make no mention that the property has to appraise for the purchase price. Without this clause, the buyer would have to come up in cash any extra amount need. The Lender will only lend off of the appraised value or the purchase price, WHICHEVER IS LESS.