Hi, all I'm a first time home buyer and been looking for a house for a few months now and finally came across a house that met me and my wife's minimum requirement. Sad thing is that our offer got shot down and our realtor and I never even received noticed about whether or not our offer was rejected or accepted. The only way we found out that our offer was rejected was because the house appeared in inspection contingency status in the MLS. I REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY liked this house and really wanted it. It was perfect! It had a new roof, new AC, appliances, and furnace etc.
When we first saw the house I told my realtor we wanted to offer $10k above asking price, which she told us we probably should just start off with the listing price first and go on from there since we can always resubmit offers. So then I went with her advice and offer listing price of $135k then 2 days later it was due to close all offers so we had to offer our highest and best offer and this is when I told my realtor that we needed to be more aggressive with our offer. That day right before the due date we offer $135k with increments of $500 to a max of $145k should anyone go over $$135k. We also opted for paying all closing costs and earnest money of $1500.
My only concern was that the seller agent never provided disclosure to my realtor or us and we also did NOT sign the Arbitration Disclosure and Residential Real Property Arbitration Agreement. What I really want to know is:
Did we make the right move? Should I of done something differently?
What can I do next time to ensure my offer is accepted?
Here's more info:
I'm preapproved for $170k conventional loan and qualify for both lift grant and MN housing down payment assistance.
This was the house:
https://www.zillow.com/homes/for_sale/Saint-Paul-MN/house_type/2140311_zpid/20313_rid/3-_beds/134000-140000_price/498-520_mp/pricea_sort/45.045752,-92.921677,44.833352,-93.290749_rect/11_zm/The house was only on MLS for a few days and already has an accepted offer..... back to the drawing board.... :*(
Oh forgot to mention that our realtor just recently got her real estate license too so she doesn't have a whole lot of experience but she's a good person that we trust. She's also the spouse to one of our family member which is how we got in contact. At first, I didn't want to use her because she has no prior experience but felt a bit obligated because she's helped us in the past and I feel like I really owe her one. I also know that she's really in it to help us and doesn't care about whether or not she gets any commission. We went through one realtor before her and that realtor although was more aggressive with offers and has more experience in our area was not really someone I can trust (too many little red flags).