Putting in an Offer on a Fort Wayne Home: What Buyers Should Know
Buying a Home · From Moving Fort Wayne
Putting in an Offer on a Fort Wayne Home: What Buyers Should Know
Every home search reaches the same moment: the showings are done, the list is down to one house, and it is time to put a number on paper. On this episode of Moving Fort Wayne, Brad Noll sits down with Charity Middleton of the Noll Team to talk through exactly what happens next, from the first call to the listing agent to the counteroffer that lands while a buyer is still deciding.
Their conversation starts with a question the two had been debating before the microphones came on: is buying a home emotional or practical? The honest answer is both. Brad shares a line his mentor taught him early in his career: "Buyers buy emotionally, and then they justify logically." A good agent honors the emotion while making sure the numbers hold up.
The Moment Before the Offer
Charity says buyers tend to arrive at this point in one of two ways. Some are fired up and ready to go, and her role is to slow things down just enough: "Let's get all of our ducks in a row and make sure that this price makes sense." Others are analytical and want to walk through every line of the purchase agreement and every price per square foot in the zip code. Both are fine, she says. "We go as they go."
Brad adds advice he wishes every first-time buyer heard early. If a parent, relative, or friend is going to weigh in on the final decision, bring that person into the process from the very first buyer consultation. Too often a well-meaning mom or dad shows up for the last showing, points out the busy street, and a ready buyer walks away defeated. As Brad puts it, "somebody thinks that they're helping and they're actually hurting."
Charity has her own gentle way of handling it. She will ask the buyer whether that relative is helping with the house payment or the maintenance, a lighthearted reminder that the buyer is informed and is the one who will live there.
“Because it's not always about price. We know that. So it's our job to ask some questions there.”
Charity Middleton
Do the Homework and Call the Listing Agent
Before writing anything, Charity does her fact finding. Was the home just listed, with buyers competing among a full slate of first-day showings? Or has it sat past the average days on market, which might signal an opportunity or a seller with a specific timeline? Then she gets on the phone with the listing agent to learn what the seller actually wants in a strong offer. "Because it's not always about price," she says. "We know that."
That call is where Brad gets fired up. On the listing side, he regularly receives offers from buyer's agents who never reached out at all, and without that conversation he cannot look his seller in the eye and say the deal will close. His advice to buyers, whoever they work with, is to expect their agent to call the listing agent and ask questions. "When you're a buyer, you need to think like a seller," he says, adding that "sometimes great communication is actually what gets the offer."
Terms That Can Win Without the Highest Price
Brad points out how much is in play beyond the price. An Indiana purchase agreement runs nine pages and 492 lines, with 76 decision points tied to some kind of fee or expense. Each checkbox is a chance to keep money in the client's pocket or to make an offer more attractive to the seller. Charity walks through the terms that come up most often:
- Days to close. A seller who has not settled on a next home may welcome a longer close, such as 45 days.
- Possession. Some sellers need a couple of days after closing to move out, and a flexible buyer can make that easy.
- Home warranty. If the furnace and air conditioner are aging, a warranty brings peace of mind, but in a competitive situation the buyer may choose to pay for it rather than ask the seller.
- Who pays for what. Every box on the agreement decides which side covers a cost, and those choices shape what the seller nets.
On the warranty, Charity is direct: "You don't want to lose out on an offer over a $600 home warranty." Brad notes that sellers who have lived in their homes for 20 or 30 years may not be used to these terms being negotiated at all, and that a buyer's flexibility alone sometimes wins the house. Charity agrees she has won offers that were not the highest price, simply by doing the homework up front and asking the right questions.
Pricing the Offer
Price still matters, of course. "I always tell buyers, the seller's not Walmart," Brad says. There is no 20 percent off sale. He shares a pattern the team has studied in days on market: homes that sell in the first 30 days typically bring 98 to 99 percent of list price, and that figure slips in the months after. Once a listing has been sitting for 100 days or so, though, it tends to climb back toward 98 percent, because by then the seller has reduced the price enough that it is a good deal on a stale listing.
That is why Charity leans on comparable sales. She has seen homes sit for months, take price reductions, and then draw multiple offers on the same day. When the comps show a home is now under market value for the neighborhood, a full price offer can be a no-brainer. "The data wins," she says. "It doesn't lie." Brad says the team looks at comps a year back and, more importantly, the last six months to spot trends.
Brad also offers a perspective buyers rarely hear: "20 years ago, I wish I would have overpaid for more homes." If a buyer plans to stay one to five years, overpaying deserves caution. If it is a home to put down roots and raise a family in for ten or fifteen years, appreciation tends to take care of itself. Charity adds that some buyers have to lose a house before they understand the market, and that is okay. "It wasn't meant to be, but you got a little better."
Counteroffers, Deadlines, and Personalities
Every offer comes with a response deadline, often 12, 24, or 48 hours depending on activity. When a counteroffer comes back, Charity lays out the options plainly: accept it, counter back, or decline and move on. Either side can also rescind before the other party signs, which is why the phrase "time is of the essence" carries real weight. Buyers need to "be ready to handle that heat and make a decision in the timeline provided."
Brad describes how waiting can cost a buyer. A seller counters, the buyer plans to talk it over after work, and meanwhile another showing produces a better offer and the seller rescinds. He also mentions an offer rejected just the day before, because the sides were far apart and the sellers did not want multiple rounds of negotiation.
That is where personalities come in. Charity says buyers sometimes take a full price counter personally after offering well below asking, and she reminds them to put themselves in the seller's shoes. Brad closes with a story he will never forget: a young couple with four finalists who could not agree on a favorite. He invited them to dinner, had them each rank the homes, and found they disagreed on number one but agreed on number two. "Would you both be content in number two?" he asked. They bought it, stayed for a while, and loved it.
How Do You Make a Strong Offer on a Home in Fort Wayne?
Start before the offer. Bring every decision maker into the process early, know your own timeline and flexibility, and work with an agent who calls the listing agent and asks what the seller needs. Look past price to closing dates, possession, and who pays for what, then let comparable sales guide the number.
Most of all, expect emotion and plan for it. As Brad says at the close, buyers find the home that makes them feel good and then justify it with the walkability or the backyard. The Noll Team sees its role as the guide, helping buyers get from where they are to where they want to be.
▶ Listen to the full episode
Putting in an Offer with Charity Middelton, on Moving Fort Wayne.
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