What constitutes an online offer?

When you submit an offer on Snapdoor, you must specify all required price and non-price terms of your offer. Offer terms can be broken down into three different groups: (1) Financial Terms; (2) Settlement Date; and (3) Non-Price Terms/Contingencies.

1. Financial Terms

A. Offer Price: You can specify your offer price in one of two ways.

• Exact Pricing lets you specify an exact price without any minimum or maximum. You specify the exact amount of your offer.
• Escalation Pricing lets you specify a starting price, escalation increment, and a maximum price. If allowed by the seller/listing agent, this option will be shown. If you do not see the escalation option, this means that the seller/listing agent wants you to submit an exact price

B. Financing Type: Different types of financing involves varying risks. This is taken into account in scoring and ranking your offer. Cash is always king. Conventional financing comes next. All forms of financing are accepted. You must provide proof of financing prior to being able to submit an offer on Snapdoor.

C. Down Payment: The higher your down payment, the stronger your offer.

D. Earnest Money Deposit: The higher your Earnest Money Deposit, the stronger your offer. This is the money that you deposit with the escrow agent (typically the Settlement Company).

E. Seller Subsidy: This is the amount that buyers may ask of the seller to cover some or all of the closing costs. This is discouraged as it will negatively affect your ability to be a successful bidder.

F. Buyer Broker Commission: This is the amount that the buyer is requesting from the seller to be applied towards the buyer broker's commission. It is usually negotiable but it may be limited to a certain percentage or amount. Some sellers may not offer anything.

2. Settlement Date

As a general rule, most sellers prefer to close as quickly as possible. Some sellers may prefer a Settlement Date a few months away. If there is a preferred date for Settlement, this will be made known to you.

3. Non-Financial Terms (Mostly Contingencies)

These are the various contingencies that you may attach to the offer. These include various inspection contingencies, the financing contingency, and the appraisal contingencies. Most contingencies are specified as waived or not waived. If not waived, you need to specify the number of days after signing the contract (i.e., ratification date) that the contingency will be valid.

For example, if you specify seven (7) days for a home inspection, you are specifying that the contract will be valid for seven (7) days after ratification. Your offer will be stronger when you waive contingencies or make them shorter. Buyers should consider and then manage the risks associated with waiving contingencies.