After 21 years in real estate, I can tell you the best offers are not the biggest ones. They are the most informed ones. Before you sign, sit down with your agent and answer these five questions together.
1. What is this home actually worth, and why?
Comparables, condition, lot design, timing in the market: a price is a story told with evidence. Ask your agent to walk you through the numbers behind the number, and to be honest when the asking price is ahead of the market.
2. What are the inspection risks?
On North Bay homes, that often means age: roofs, plumbing, and electrical systems, plus site-specific items like retaining walls and hillside drainage. On country property, it means wells, septic, and soils. Knowing the risk before you offer shapes both the price and the contingencies.
3. What does the sellers' situation look like?
Is it a multiply-offer situation? A fresh listing or a price reduction? A seller with a closing date they need to hit? None of that is gossip; it is negotiation context that tells you how much room the offer really has.
4. Can I live with the caveats?
Every house is a trade. A perfect condition home costs more; a fixer costs time. List what you will need to change and what you can live with, and be realistic about what your first year of ownership really looks like.
5. Do I understand the full cost of ownership?
Price is the admission ticket. Taxes, insurance, HOA dues, utilities, maintenance, and the simple cost of doing nothing at all. Your lender pre-approves the mortgage; your agent should walk you through the month-to-month reality of the house.
“A confident offer is built on answers, not guesses. That is the whole job.”
Peter Schardt
Written by
Peter Schardt
21 years in real estate, 100+ homes sold, and a lifetime in the North Bay. Sales Associate · 01702383 · California.
