Ok, so you’ve been searching for your dream home for some time now, and you believe you have finally found it … yes, the perfect home!!
Now the real work begins for you and your Realtor to structure an offer that will be considered and accepted by the seller. Not an easy task in a seller’s market, where multiple offers are becoming more and more the “norm”.
It is important that your Realtor explain to you what, why and how using any of these tips & strategies could help you secure the home of your dreams, but also to explain and ensure that you understand what this means to you in the process.
Below I’ve listed some tips, to help make your offer more appealing to the seller over some of the others …
Make your offer as clean as possible, the less contingencies the better.
Offering sellers their asking price, or better yet “above asking price.” This will certainly help you and is in most cases common in this market if the property is priced competitively. Have your Realtor run a search of comparable, recently sold properties will be helpful to determine where your range to value is with your offer! Bottom line, you want to ensure as best you can that the property will appraise for the amount you offer/settle on, so you won’t have to “re-negotiate” the agreed upon sales price if the property does not appraise.
In this market, some buyers are willing to pay offer asking, just to get the house – if that be the case … then “waiving your appraisal contingency – will certainly entice the seller to sway your way!!
Putting down a good down-payment/earnest deposit money will appeal to the seller.
While I would never suggest that a buyer “waive their inspection contingency” – that could appeal to the seller. To be a little more cautious with this in mind, you can state “inspection for buyer’s information only, falling short of any Health & Safety issues. In short – this means buyer will do their inspections but has the right to walk away IF the seller is not willing to address any health & safety issues should they arise.
Be flexible with closing timeframe. Perhaps the seller needs to find suitable housing, or for possible family needs, may need some flexibility of time to close. This strategy may not cost you a dime but could be a BIG value to the seller – thus, making your offer more appealing to them, sometimes even more valuable than price.
Making your offer a “CASH” offer, can certainly entice the seller … but don’t be surprised if they accept another offer due to other appealing terms. CASH is great, but terms play a factor in an offer as well.
And lastly, write a personal note to the seller, telling them a little bit of “your story” expressing to them what you love about the home, and how you can see yourselves living there for whatever your reasons may be. Adding a photo, can be very helpful as well. Telling your story, can be something that could resonate with them and make them more inclined to accept your offer.
While all of the above tips & strategies can put your offer at the top of the list for the seller to consider your offer … making sure you are “Pre Approved” is paramount. Most Realtors will want to know you are “Pre-Approved prior to them even scheduling a showing. No sense in going through the exercise if you are not approved to purchase a home, and in addition, will help you know what price-point your budget will allow you to afford to enable you to start your search.
If you found this information helpful, feel free to reach out to me direct … call or text at 203-948-1103 to discuss your real estate needs.
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