How to Make the Winning Home Offer.

A winning home offer…how do you make it when prices are rising, inventory is shrinking and competition for good homes is increasing? Below we’ll share with you five strategies to help make your offer stand out to sellers, which will increase your chances of having your offer accepted.

1. If you have the cash, use it: If you can afford to make a full-cash offer you’ll most certainly win over other offers that have mortgage requirements to meet. With cash, there are no issues involving mortgages, escrow or appraisals. CASH IS KING and the best way to make a winning home offer.
2. If you don’t have the cash, get a pre-approval: A pre-approval letter is confirmation from your mortgage bank that you have the ability to borrow the money necessary to finance the home purchase. In short, pre-approval for a specific dollar amount means you are able to obtain a loan. While not the same as cash, it does indicate to the seller that you have the resources on hand to purchase the home. This is what happens in most cases and having good credit will substantially help during pre-approval.
3. Be Flexible: Being willing and able to meet the seller’s timeline for closing can go a long way in having your offer accepted. In many cases, a buyer who is willing to work with the seller’s schedule will win the offer — even if the offering price is slightly lower!
4. Contingent on appraisal: It is entirely possible that the home may not appraise at your offer price. That being said, if you’ve done thorough research and are satisfied and confident in your offer you may want to consider waving this contingency, which will reduce barriers to the sale of the home. Just remember there is risk involved, and you may be responsible for the price difference under the negotiated sales price.
5. Make it personal: Think about it. Selling a home can be an emotional process for a family who has lived there for decades. They’ve invested perhaps ¼ of their lives into the home, and selling it will no doubt be an emotional time for them. A letter that recognizes this and assures the homeowner that the home will be well taken care of can go a long way in making an emotional connection with the seller. Let them know you are looking forward to making lasting memories of your own. It can’t hurt, and it could most certainly be the difference between accepting of rejecting your offer.

Have done anything special or out of the ordinary to get your offer approved by a seller? Please share your story with us. We’d love to share it with our readers.