Getting ready to make an offer? Buying a home is a nerve wracking experience in the best of times, but it is particularly challenging these days, when it is a seller’s market. There are some things you should consider.

Obviously you need to be pre-approved before you start shopping. First of all, you need to know how much house you can afford, so you don’t get your heart broken shopping for houses outside your budget. Secondly, no intelligent seller is going to consider your offer if you haven’t been pre-approved, and you are just wasting people’s time.

You need to consider the closing costs when you decide if you can afford a house. Closing costs can add 2% to 5% to your price tag, so you need to be aware of that. You also need to consider the additional costs of maintaining your home, including home insurance, utility bills and other miscellaneous costs. Before making an offer, you should consider asking for additional information, such as to see the water and other utility bills from the past year, and factor those into your budget.

Make sure your realtor has checked out the comparable homes in your market to make sure that the amount you are preparing to offer makes sense, and that you aren’t over bidding on the property.

You might want to hold down the contingencies to be competitive. When your home inspection reveals things that need to be fixed, you might want to consider repairing some of the things yourself after you move in. If you are too demanding with the contingencies, you might make your offer uncompetitive when compared to other offers.

Ruth Schoenherr is a mortgage broker who will help you find home loans in the Clearwater, Palm Harbor, Largo, Safety Harbor, St Petersburg and Tampa Bay area. For more information, go to her web site at www.ClearwaterMortgageBroker.net or call at 727 447-2418.