TIPS FOR HOME BUYERS
SHOW THE SELLER YOU ARE A SERIOUS BUYER
In today's fast real estate market, it may be difficult to get your offer accepted on the first home a buyer falls in love with! Remember, it may take looking at a lot of homes and putting in a few offers to get one accepted. It doesn’t hurt to have a war chest of strategies to help your odds in getting your offer accepted. When inventory is low, time is of the essence.
Tip #1
Don’t low-ball the Seller. Instead, get an accurate history of homes in the immediate area with similar number of bedrooms, bathrooms, square footage, and other amenities. After making realistic adjustments, you (and your Realtor!) should come up with a realistic offer price.
Plus, while you are messing around, a more realistic offer may come in and take your favorite home away from you.
Buying a home is serious business. Be serious … and well-prepared!
Tip #2
Be flexible. Remember, the Seller may have more than simply financial considerations. Closing escrow quickly may allow the Seller to reach their goal sooner. However, allowing them time to find their next home may reduce some of their stress from moving. The more flexible you are with the timing of the seller’s move can give you a great advantage over other offers - and cost you very little.
Tip #3
Make your offer as ‘clean’ as possible. A lot of convoluted contract terms and complicated additional clauses are counter-productive. All the Seller wants to know ‘How much?’, “How soon?, and “How long until you are comfortable with the condition of the property?”. Anything else is like static on the radio. Give the Seller a clear signal that you are ready to buy.
But this is probably the most important thing of all: Show the Seller you can perform! A REAL buyer will have already seen a lender, provided all relevant financial information such as income statements and tax returns, plus provided a credit report. A good lender will provide a qualification letter to be delivered with the offer, showing that their offer is as good as money in the bank! This is known as Buyer-qualified. Now all the lender needs is an appraisal to deliver the financing.
Tip #4
Pay attention to the Earnest Money Deposit! A larger earnest money deposit may appeal to a Seller. The Buyer will show they are truly ready, willing, and able to buy the home. It doesn’t need to be more than 3% of the offer price, but it can make a big difference for appearance sake. You're going to pay it at closing anyway.
Tip #5
Keep your requests for personal items and concessions to a minimum. When asking for additional appliances, furniture, fixtures, or to repaint the front door could hurt your offer. If you really want these items, make your request after your offer is accepted - like after your inspection contingencies have been removed. Don’t let a million-dollar home investment fall victim to the desire for a used refrigerator.
Tip #6
Limit the contract contingencies. Realtors call these ‘weasel clauses’, because they can allow a Buyer to ‘weasel out of a contract’. To be fair, many contingencies are good things. Like inspections! They help the Buyer become more comfortable with the home they probably saw for only a few minutes before deciding to make an offer. Some contingencies are necessary - like loan and appraisal contingencies - because they require the acceptance of other parties to the transaction. But it doesn’t take ten days to read a Home Inspection or a pest report. I order the home or pest inspection at the same time we make the offer! When the offer is presented, I inform the Seller that the inspections are already ordered and can be completed as soon as possible. If it isn’t accepted, I cancel the inspection! Anything we can do to speed up the buying process and show the Seller it is a ‘done deal’, the better our offer will appear.