Three tips to help you win in today’s competitive seller’s market.
How can you as a buyer win in our competitive market? Each buyer and their financial circumstances are different. Each seller’s circumstances are different as well. The most obvious way to win as a buyer is to present the strongest offer to the seller. There are a few key elements that make an offer strong in today’s market:
1. Nonrefundable earnest money. Be sure that you’re ready to go all in with nonrefundable earnest money. When you do that, the property is typically newer or very well cared for.
2. Appraisal guarantees. This is a concept that’s new in our current market and what it means is this: If you offer, say, $110,000 on a $100,000 property, you guarantee to the seller that if the property only appraises for a price less than your offer, you’ll bring in the remainder of your contract price. They are another solid way to ensure that you have the strongest offer.
Keep in mind that the lender will only lend up to the appraised amount. There’s been a lot of demand, and we’re seeing that demand push prices up to the point that it’s hard for an appraisal to come in at a price that’s 5% to 10% over because the market’s moving so fast. This all assumes that this offer doesn’t have any other strange contingencies like subject to the sale of a home.
3. Hire a strong buyer’s agent. Our team’s agents are trained to ask the right questions to understand your scenario and what your levels of comfort are. We use that to your advantage in negotiating for you and asking the seller or the seller’s agent what’s most important to them and how you can get this offer accepted. We think this is one of the most underestimated aspects of a strong offer.
Hopefully these points are helpful in getting your offer accepted and winning in this very competitive market. If you have questions about this or anything else, please reach out to your Colemere Realty specialist.
