In today’s market, homes seem to be selling fast and sometimes above asking price. We have some tips to help you in this busy market.
1. Hire a Buyer’s Agent –
Reach out to your favorite agent or research someone in the area who knows the area well and ask them about representing you as a buyer. In most cases, the buyer’s agent doesn’t cost you anything because they are paid by the listing brokerage to sell the home. Even if looking at a For Sale by Owner, it is a good idea to talk with your exclusive agent about it to see if there is potential for them to help you. The knowledge and experience that your buyer’s agent will provide you with will help ease the stress of one of your largest purchases. The other great part about using an exclusive buyer’s agent is that that one agent can represent you on all the market listings. This makes it so much easier getting information and looking at properties! The agent can represent you and your best interest including helping negotiate, writing contracts, working with the lender and title company and so much more. It’s great to have someone on your side.
2. Have Your Preapproval Letter Ready
It is a good idea to talk with the bank first about getting preapproved to purchase a home/land. Your lender will be able to go over some numbers and different situations that will help you get an idea on payments and what you can afford. We have even seen buyers that already own a home get it on the market before finding another home if they have another place to live in the meantime. This can help strengthen your potential offer by creating less contingencies. Less contingencies usually makes for a better offer. Your lender can go over possible options of bridge loans as well.
3. Be Ready
This seems pretty broad, but it is so true. You or your agent (see No. 1) should be actively combing the market for new listings, price reductions and even older listings that may have potential. When that new listing comes on the market at a good price, we are seeing many cases where multiple buyers are putting in an offer. Being ready to look quickly after it is listed is vital to getting a jump on the home. Waiting to long to look or put in an offer can cause you to miss out, reducing options. While we don’t want to jump too quickly into a purchase, we want to “Be Ready” so that you don’t miss that dream home.
4. Make a Good Offer First
It can be easy to get caught up in an offering price or contemplating a low ball offer that may try to get the homeowner’s to move off the asking a ways. In a seller’s market (meaning less inventory and more buyers) the low ball and ugly offers just don’t work. On a listing that is worth that asking price, you may cost yourself some money by not making a great offer first. Seller’s would usually rather see a multiple offer situation but would look at a great offer if it is the first one in. Don’t be afraid to go a touch above asking if it’s the place you love and your experienced agent and you both think it’s worth it.
5. Don’t Let It Stress You
We have seen it time and time again, a buyer is just absolutely heartbroken because their offer wasn’t accepted or a home sold before they had a chance to see if and get an offer in. I’d bet nine times out of ten down the road that buyer finds something that is even better for them. Don’t sweat it too much, that agent is going to find something else for you most times. That doesn’t mean to sit back and let them all go by without being aggressive. Just that you can’t let the busy market make you go crazy.
We at Real Estate Results love working with homebuyers and pride ourselves on professionalism and honesty. We’ll work for you as a buyer’s agent to help you find that dream home, lake cabin, or hunting land. Call us anytime to talk more about Buyer’s Representation and how we can work for you.
Nick Dockter, Broker.