Here are four tips for competing in this market as a homebuyer.
Over the past few months, I’ve seen buyers pay 10%, 15%, and even 20% over the asking price for homes. There’s no need for that; buyers can be competitive in other arenas besides price. Here are four points that will help you compete as a homebuyer:
1. Get pre-approved. In this hot market, sellers don’t want to take any offers that are conditional on financing. Therefore, you need to speak with a lender and get pre-approved well before starting your home search in earnest.
2. Be well-informed. Having accurate information on home prices in the neighborhoods you’re most interested in is key. What have homes in that area sold for over the last month or two? The worst thing you can do is get carried away by emotion and not value a house properly.
“In the eyes of a seller, the strongest offer of all is the one with no strings attached.”
3. Don’t go in with any conditions. In other words, don’t have any strings attached to your offer. If your offer is contingent on the sale of your current home or contingent on a home inspection, you’ll lose out to a buyer who submits a clean offer.
4. Get your offer in on time. The listing agent will let your agent know the number of offers on the home and the time at which they’ll be taking resubmissions. Your agent will then communicate this information to you and ask whether you’ll be submitting an offer. If that seller’s deadline is 5 p.m. on Thursday, then your offer should be in at 5 p.m. on Thursday.
If you’d like to know more about competing as a homebuyer in today’s market or have any real estate questions at all, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I’d love to speak with you.
