How to win Multiple Offer Situations.
Are you constantly struggling with the bidding wars? Have you been shopping for a new house and submitting offers only to be disappointed again and again? Sometimes it comes down to only one thing that can make a difference. Here are seven tips on how to make your offer stand out above the rest to be accepted.
- Get Pre-Approved: Your lender will Pre-Approve you when you submit verifiable documents. The lender will only “Pre-Qualify” you based on the information that you submit without documentation.
- Increase your Down Payment – A higher earnest money deposit shows to the seller that you are serious about buying their home. This deposit is simply a pre-payment of your down payment, so aim for an earnest money deposit above the normal amount for your market.
- Eliminate or decrease time on Contingencies – ie. financing, appraisal, inspection, repairs, etc. – if you have strong financing in place you can opt to eliminate that contingency all together. You can pay the difference between the appraisal and asking price if the home appraises lower.
- Include an escalation clause within your offer – The escalation clause will increase your offer automatically by a pre-determined amount if you are out bid.
- Be flexible on your closing date – With a flexible closing date you are telling the seller that you are ready when they are. It eliminates some of the stress for them when thinking about how soon they have to move out.
- Increase your offer – In this very strong Sellers Market most properties are getting multiple offers over asking price. So be ready to go in with your highest and best offer right away.
- Pay in cash if possible – Paying in cash could be the deciding factor of getting your offer accepted.
If you are constantly getting out bid on your prospective properties and you are looking at the top of your price range, you may want to look for homes at a lower price point. The logic here is to find a home that meets your criteria that may need a little work, so you can offer over asking price to get the home of your dreams.
Gary V Meier, Real Estate Investor/Realtor
Cumming, GA