A home purchase form, also known as an offer to purchase real estate form is one of the most important types of forms you will ever fill out. Not only is the form somewhat complicated, but whenever you find yourself dealing with big money offers, you will find that the forms involved are exacting, since no one wants to make a mistake that could cost them in the long run. Here are a few tips for creating your own home purchase form and for filling one out properly.

Since more and more people are bypassing the option of using a real estate agent, more and more people are designing and writing their own real estate forms. While this can be a bit dangerous, careful crafting of a home purchase form is possible, but it is always a good idea to seek the advice of a lawyer before you officially submit the form.

Start the form off with the date, addresses of everyone involved, including the property that you are looking to buy and a formal yet polite greeting. Simply state in plain words that you wish to put a monetary offer down on a specific piece of property located at a specific location. It may seem redundant to restate the exact location of the property so many times throughout the letter but it is better to be repetitive and clear than it is to be vague and unclear. Also make sure that you include a description of the property, such a single family home, an apartment building, etc. You also need to include the land that you are buying along with the piece of property that is sitting on it.

Next, clearly state how much of a deposit or earnest money that you have on hand that you will be putting down as part of your offer. This is often the biggest deciding factor when it comes to your offer. In almost all cases, the people you are tendering the offer to will take which ever offer gives them the most up front cash.

The next part of the letter should state the purchase price of the property and then you can state what your offer is (either more, less or equal to the asking price). You don’t need a paragraph justifying your offer, simply state it in relation to the asking price. You should also include the closing date should your offer be accepted so that the seller has an idea of when everything would be wrapped up by.

If you are going to be getting a mortgage, include a section about your current status (pre-approved, haven’t applied yet, etc.) and how long they can expect to wait for you to be fully approved for your mortgage.

Finally, include a paragraph about inspections to the property and when/if they would be done and by whom and make sure you also include a section about any other parts of the home that you want included in the sale, such as furniture or belongings that would be included in the purchase price.