Make the offer: strong, protected, direct

An offer is four decisions — price, protections, timeline, and earnest money — plus the conversation that delivers them. In a direct deal you make all four yourself, which means they're all working for you. Here's how to build an offer a seller takes seriously and a buyer never regrets.

Decision 1 — The price

Run the same comps method sellers use — our pricing guide works in both directions. Anchor on sold prices per square foot, adjust for condition, then read the market you're in from the current report:

• Fast market (12–20 day town like Mishawaka or South Bend lately): open near your comp number; lowball offers just donate the house to the next buyer.
• Loosening market (inventory rising, like Granger recently): the data is your leverage — "three comparable homes are sitting; here's my number" is a respectful, effective open.
• Thin markets (Niles, the villages): fewer comps, wider spread — lean harder on condition and the inspection.

Decision 2 — The protections (contingencies)

Contingencies are the clauses that let you exit with your earnest money if defined things go wrong. The standard three:

1. Inspection contingency — typically 7–14 days to inspect and renegotiate or walk.
2. Financing contingency — if the loan falls through despite good-faith effort, you exit with your deposit.
3. Appraisal contingency — if the lender's appraisal comes in low, you renegotiate or exit.

A direct offer with normal contingencies is still a strong offer — you're not competing against a stack of agent-written offers waiving everything; you're one verified buyer talking to one owner. Waive protections only knowingly, never to seem agreeable.

Decision 3 — Timeline and terms

• Closing date: 30–45 days is standard with a loan; cash can close as fast as title work allows. Ask what date helps the seller — matching their move is free negotiating currency.
• What conveys: appliances, the shed, the dock, the generator — name everything in writing. The seller's fact sheet lists it; your offer confirms it.
• Possession: day of closing is normal; a short rent-back helps a seller waiting on their next house — again, currency that costs you little.

Decision 4 — Earnest money

Roughly 1% of the price, deposited with the title company (never handed to the seller) once terms are agreed. It signals seriousness; your contingencies protect it. See the direct close for how escrow holds it.

Delivering the offer

Put the whole thing in writing — price, contingencies, dates, inclusions, earnest money — and pair it with the short version out loud:

"Here's my written offer: [price], pre-approval letter attached, standard inspection and financing contingencies, closing on [date], earnest money to the title company this week. I picked the number from the neighborhood's sold comps — happy to walk you through them."

That last sentence is the direct model's quiet power move: an offer that shows its math is hard to dismiss and easy to trust.

After the inspection

The report will have a list; every house does. Negotiate the list like an owner, not a lawyer:

• Ignore the small stuff. Nickel-and-diming $200 items torches goodwill you'll want later.
• Negotiate the real items — roof, sewer, furnace, structural — with contractor quotes, not feelings: "the sewer scope found a break; two quotes average $6,800; I'm asking [credit/price cut] of that."
• Prefer price cuts or closing credits over seller-managed repairs — you want to choose the contractor who fixes your house.

Deal agreed? Close it direct → — title company, escrow, keys.

Unusual deals — estates, land contracts, multi-parcel sales — are worth a flat-fee real-estate attorney's review before you sign.