The market right now is HOT HOT HOT! There are tons of buyers bidding on the limited number of properties being sold on the market – leading to multiple offers. As long as we are in a multiple offer market there will be one winner and many disappointed losers for every listing…. So how do we make offers that stick?

What matters other than price?

Timing– look at date flexibility, find out what the sellers need and want and deliver those dates.

Down Payment Size– The greater the down payment, the more attractive the offer.

Cash– If able pay cash!

Speed– With our premiere appraisal team and rush group we can get a property appraised and a loan approved and ready to close in two weeks! 

What about contingencies?

Financing– Call your loan officer to determine if it is reasonable for your buyer to remove the financing contingency and what the related risks are. This is not the same as paying cash – what it means is that buyers cannot get their deposit back if denied the loan. If properly pre-approved, the only concern when removing a financing contingency is that the appraisal comes in at the purchase price, if it doesn’t,  the buyer must be willing to make up the difference between the agreed upon price and the appraised value.

Inspections– Some people remove the inspection contingency, and some people have the inspection at or even before they make an offer. I heard of one offer accepted with the agreement that they would have the inspection right away but that the results of that inspection could not be used to cancel the contract on the house, with an at offer deposit of $5,000 versus the standard $1,000.

More Inventory

Until we get more listing inventory we are going to have lots of frustrated buyers…  In a recent survey of current home owners the biggest obstacle to listing their home now is fear of not finding another property. Most of those surveyed will be looking to ‘move up’ when they believe that the timing is right for them.