“You got the house!” I exclaimed to my anxious buyers. Up against 5 other buyers, these are the steps my clients did to increase their chance of their offer being selected.
With low housing inventory combined with incredibly low interest rates, the probability of finding yourself in a multiple offer situation is high. If the home you like is priced right and “show ready”, most likely you are not the only buyer who will want to make an offer on the home. I want to share with you 6 Tips you can use if you find yourself in a multiple offer/ bidding war situation. You don’t have to apply all of them, you can use whichever you’re comfortable with. Using them all however will only further increase your chance of your offer being selected.
- What is the Seller’s Motivation? Find out as much as you can about the sellers. Why are they selling? How long have they owned the home? Do they currently live far away? Are they looking for a quick closing or would they prefer something a little way out. The more you know about the sellers motivation and desires, you can work this information into your offer, potentially making your offer more appealing to the sellers. Your agent should be able to get you additional information from the listing agent.
- Educate yourself on the Market Value with comps. If you are competing against other buyers, this is no time to test a low ball offer. Look through comps and decide on a reasonable and fair offer price for the home. Your agent will help you gather comps.
- Make the move as convenient as possible for the Seller. If this is a 2nd home, do the sellers live far away? Is moving furniture more of a burden to them? Allowing the seller the opportunity to leave furniture that they don’t want can be very appealing. They don’t have to worry about coordinating moving trucks or having estate or yard sales. Even if it’s a primary home, perhaps offering that the sellers can simply leave what’s in the garage in the garage and you would clean it out after closing. This too can be very appealing to a seller.
- Increase your down payment. Increasing your down payment/ escrow money will show the buyer that you are a strong and capable buyer and willing to put a lot of skin in the game.
- A sincere, heartfelt letter as to why their home is the perfect home for you. This may not work if you are an investor, but if this is your primary home you are buying or a vacation home this added element to the offer will simply humanize you and may also drive the seller to choose your offer.
- Waive the home inspection. This is a big one and can really bump you ahead of other offers. However you must be confident with the condition of the home prior to taking away this contingency from the contract. If you are handy and not overly concerned with small issues that may need repaired and you are able to take a look in the crawl space and attic for added assurance, waiving the home inspection will appeal to the sellers. If time permits, you could certainly pay for a home inspection before putting in your final and best offer. This is exactly what my buyers recently did. They had my Husband, Rich Gilson from RTG Home Inspection do a quick inspection with a verbal report. He gave them the thumbs up and they felt confident to go ahead and waive the home inspection.
Within 24 hours of our highest and best offer with my clients using all of the above tips, I was notified that my clients offer was accepted! My clients were ecstatic and I was thrilled that sharing these tips helped them win the house.
If Buying, Selling or Investing in Real estate is something you’ve been thinking about, I can help! Along with my Husband Rich, a licensed Home Inspector, we’ve helped numerous families throughout Cape May County and we look forward to helping you!
