How Offers Work

A cash offer is not an opinion of value — it is arithmetic, and the arithmetic is not a secret. It works back from what the property is worth repaired, subtracts the cost of the work, the cost of holding it, and a margin. These guides open that up so you can judge whether a number is fair, and explain the parts of a New Jersey contract that determine whether an offer is worth anything at all.

The most useful thing to learn here is which offers are real. An impressive number from a buyer who assigns the contract to someone else, or who leaves themselves an inspection escape, is worth less than a lower number that closes — and the warning signs are recognisable in advance.