If you are a buyer making offers in this crazy market, you know how hard, frustrating and depressing it all can be. I am here to give you some helpful strategies to make your offer stand out and get it accepted (hopefully)!!
1) USE A BUYERS AGENT! I cannot stress this enough. A buyers agent is the best tool in your home buying tool box. Why, because they work for YOU, the buyer. A buyers agent will negotiate on your behalf, protect your deposit, stay on top of important dates, refer inspectors, tradesman, etc & manage the transaction every step of the way. Without a buyers agent you are on your own island. The sellers agent works for the sellers best interest and cannot offer you any guidance.
2) Get pre-approved with a REPUTABLE, lender. When you use a lender who is well known in the industry, it will put the sellers agent at ease and be more likely to advocate for your offer. It’s a small industry and agents and lenders work hand in hand, when there is a familiar lender on the other side of the transaction, its often an additional layer of comfort for a smooth transaction.
3) Be creative with contingencies. The two main contingencies in the transaction are the Home Inspection contingency and Mortgage Commitment
contingency. I would never suggest you waive either, however, there are ways to tweak both that is advantageous to the seller and buyer!
4) Ask for closing cost concessions ONLY when absolutely necessary!! What does this mean? Well, when purchasing a home there are fees associated with the purchase, some are associated with the lender, some are pre-paids (property taxes not yet due & homeowners insurance). Sometimes, to reserve funds, buyers will ask the seller to pay closing costs and include that dollar amount into the offer. Doing this, the seller is not getting the full offer amount, they are getting the offer less what you are asking for as a concession. This puts your offer at a disadvantage against competing offers without concessions.
I hope this all helps.
