How I approach to put an offer on a property.
Why not:
1. Produce the offer in writing (price and conditions you want) and email to real estate agent with any legal contracts and perhaps copy of PL insurance if trying to negotiate immediate access.
2. Offer negotiation and if accepted forward the contract to your property lawyer for review. I have agreement with the lawyers that they review for free but I will pay a fixed fee ($1600) and will use them if successful in buying process.
3. If happy with the review of contract: Exchange 'conditional' contract (a. satisfactory outcome in building & pest inspection, b. Unconditional finance approval, c.any special due diligence requests).
4. Organize building & pest and asbestos report if needed (determine costs for rectifying if any issues arise)
5. Now, after finance approval and inspection reports proceed to an 'unconditional contract'. At this stage, you are locked in to buy and cannot terminate without incurring heavy penalties.
6. On exchange of contract organize building insurance if renovation starts then perhaps "Construction all risk insurance OR Owner-builder insurance.
7. Project plan what you wish to do with the property (tradies, council approvals, fixtures, etc...)
8. Inspect 1-2 days prior to settlement to advice if OK. Then you become the owner and start to incur mortgage holding cost from this point if you have finance on it.
So you see anything is negotiable. If you are active and you have the right team with you they will do this for you. There are property lawyers that do check contracts upfront for free and have a fixed fee arrangements, but their fee may be higher when compared with solicitors fees.
IMHO, a good property lawyer would be worth the money as they can save you money and lots of hassles down the track... Good Luck!
I suppose it's up to who plays the game the best then can get the results first, right? I know the hard way when I dealt with RE agents in unprofessional ways and how I missed out on some deals.... Now I wish I made the offer in a formal way rather than just through words and mouth..
Example, rang agent, I asked questions, IP going to auction, agent wouldn't even state the asking price, wouldn't let me make an offer, he gave out 28 contracts so was I told, etc... said he had to go, didn't even want to pass me the contract, yes, really! I was willing to offer up to $670K. Guess, how much the property went for at auction? $640K and I was mad as my inexperience passed on the deal. I never went to see the property and never followed through - my mistake which I learned from!
So now, I use the strategy outlined above as IMO, I don't think even the agents can predict how much the property will go for, right? Imagine if I was the seller, I just missed out on extra $30K, so perhaps he was a good agent to deal with when buying but a bad agent to deal with when selling!
Just remember, no-one gets all the deals all the time and if it wasn't meant to be, so be it. Sometimes we get too emotional playing the game, and that's what it really should be. Most unprofessional investors do buy just on emotion, as we are only human after all. Just see some of the prices they pay for the properties!