Understanding the Offer Process in Oregon

offer on a home can feel complicated, but most offers come down to a handful of important decisions. Our job is to help you understand each one, give you as much information as possible about the home and the situation, and put together an offer that gives you the best chance of getting the house without taking on risks you’re not comfortable with.

START WITH A STRONG PRE-APPROVAL

If you’ll be using financing, the first step is getting pre-approved with a credible and responsive lender. A good lender will help you understand your budget, talk through different loan and down-payment options, and make sure you’re ready to move quickly when the right house comes along.

We’re always happy to recommend lenders we trust based on your goals and situation.

YOU FOUND THE HOUSE. NOW WHAT?

Once you’ve found the home you can’t stop thinking about, we jump into overdrive.

We’ll look at recent comparable sales to help determine value, find out what we can about activity on the home and whether other offers are expected, and talk with the listing agent to understand what matters most to the seller.

Then we’ll sit down with you and build the offer.

Winning offers aren’t just about price. Terms matter too, and sometimes a cleaner or more thoughtful offer can be more attractive to a seller than one with a higher price. We’ll help you understand all the tools available to make your offer competitive while still protecting yourself.

WHAT GOES INTO AN OFFER?

Some of the key terms we might talk through include:

• Purchase price

• Down payment and financing

• Earnest money

• Closing date and timeline

• Inspection period

• Inspections you plan to perform

• Appraisal and financing contingencies

• Personal property included with the home

• Fixtures or items to be removed

• Escrow and title company

• Any additional terms or contingencies

• How long the seller has to respond

Not every term carries the same importance on every home. Part of our job is figuring out where strengthening your offer might actually matter to this particular seller and where taking on additional risk probably isn't worthwhile.

HOW WE PRESENT YOUR OFFER MATTERS

Once everything is signed, we package the offer and submit it to the listing agent or seller.

Real estate is a relationship business, and communication matters. We want the listing agent to know that you’re serious, well prepared, and represented by a team that will communicate clearly and work hard to get the transaction to closing.

We have a strong reputation in the Portland real estate community, and we work hard to build a good relationship with the listing agent from the first phone call. That can be especially valuable in a multiple-offer situation.

We also think strategically about when to submit, how long to give the seller to respond, and how to keep the conversation open so that, when possible, you have an opportunity to adjust your offer rather than simply hearing that another offer was selected.

We've had plenty of clients get the house without submitting the highest price.

YOU SUBMITTED AN OFFER. NOW WHAT?

The seller generally has three choices: accept your offer, reject it, or counter it.

If they accept, congratulations—you’re under contract, and we move into the inspection and due-diligence phase.

If they counter, we'll walk through exactly what they're proposing and help you decide whether to accept it, counter again, or walk away.

And if there are multiple offers, we'll help you decide whether strengthening your offer makes sense and, just as importantly, where your limits should be.

The right strategy changes with the house, the seller, the competition, and the market. Our role is to give you the information and advice you need to make those decisions confidently.