Now that you’ve found the perfect Knoxville house, got pre-approved for a mortgage, and you’re ready to make an offer; what’s the first step.

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First thing we need to do is a little detective work in the neighborhood and find out what similar homes have sold for within the past 6 months if possible, and no longer than a year ago.

The more recent the comparable sales (called ‘comps’ in the trade), the better handle we can get on what the actual value of the home you’re interested is could be. In most Knoxville neighborhoods the annual appreciation rate is 3-5% so we need to get recent data for valid pricing information.

Next we need to do some prying to find out why the seller is selling. Job transfers, estate sale, job promotion, and divorce are all factors that tend to make sellers more motivated to sell and thus more flexible with their price.

Also if the seller has already bought a new house or signed a purchase contract contingent on selling his current home would be valuable information to know.

Now that we’ve found the house and done some detective work we’re ready to submit an offer.

Initially an offer towards the low end, or maybe just a little below, similar home prices in the area is a good starting point.

At this point there are 3 possible outcomes: 1. Seller accepts, Seller rejects, or, most likely, Seller will make a counter offer below his asking price. This is the beginning of negotiations.

If the Seller flatly rejects your initial offer with no counter that’s often a sign he’s not really serious about selling or is inflexible. There is usually a good selection of Knoxville area houses for sale so at this point it could be a good time to move on to another house.

Next, due dilligence and the closing process.