Once you find a central Florida home that you fall in love with, you need to make sure that your first offer to the seller gives you a high probability of getting the home. You don't want to submit an offer that may insult a seller or not make you seem like a serious buyer. You also don't want to offer too much for the Orlando property if you could have possibly gotten it for a better price.
Before you write an offer, you should consider the following 3 things:
1. The first thing you need to understand is how the home is priced compared to recently sold properties in the surrounding area. Your REALTOR should be able to provide a market analysis for you, which will show you if the home is priced below market value, at market value, or above market value. Depending on how it is priced, it will help you determine what price point your first offer should be.
2. You will also need to understand how long the property has been on the market. If it just came onto the market, your starting price may be a little bit higher compared to a house that has been on the market for the past 6 months. We typically find that the longer a home is on the market, the stronger the motivation of the seller may have in getting it under contract.
3. Additionally, you will want to consider the condition of the property, If the property needs a lot of work and it is not priced appropriately, you could account for this on your initial offer. This doesn't mean that if a house has a tiled house and you want wood floors you can abstract the cost to install the wood floors for the price. It means if a house needs a new roof, AC, or anything else, these items should be considered if they are not already accounted for in the price.
Lastly and most importantly, if there are multiple offers on the home you are wanting to purchase, all bets are off. In these types of scenarios, you will need to put your highest and best offer upfront in order to help you win the contract.
The key is to make sure that you are working with an Orlando REALTOR who has the experience and expertise to advise you on how to make that "winning offer." There are many deals which are lost because the buyer did not receive the best advice from their agent.
