Winning The Best Property: What Home Buyers Should Know

3 STRATEGIES BUYERS NEED TO BEAT THE COMPETITION

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WINNING THE BEST PROPERTIES

1. BE PREPARED

To have the best STRATEGIC POSITION, you must be prepared.

Before you begin, it’s important to have an idea of where you want your offer to be and how high you’re willing to go.

Also, have your finances in order when you make the offer. Most Sellers will ask for ‘proof’ of finances before accepting your offer.

At some point in the negotiation, you may realize that you’ll have to exceed your limit to get the property.

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Nothing is wrong with that as long as you’re comfortable and the property is worth the money. You want to know your limit ahead of time so you can make quick decisions.

Talk with your real estate agent. They will guide and advise you on your market and market trends so you can make informed decisions.

A Buyer who is not prepared and hesitates too long during initial negotiations opens the door for other buyers to come in and “steal the deal.”

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Many buyers, when starting, tend to make an offer well below market value. There’s a home inventory shortage in a ‘hot’ market, and many prepared buyers are ready to purchase.

Be forewarned: In this scenario, you’ll most likely miss out on the home if you come in far below market value. Consider starting a little higher and reviewing points 2 and 3 below.

Once you’ve agreed on a price and terms and have the home under contract…the seller is often willing to negotiate during your due diligence and other deadline situations.

Doing your homework, working with a knowledgeable professional, and framing your offer well when presenting it will place you ahead of most of your competition!

2. HIRE AN ‘EYE’

Your ‘eye,’ your real estate agent, knows what you want (you need to let your agent know your likes and dislikes and keep the communication open). With this information, your real estate agent will work hard for you.

This gives you a MAJOR ADVANTAGE over your competition.

This can’t be emphasized enough: Open up about your goals, needs, and desires. For your ‘eye’ (your agent) to be productive, they have to know what these are.

Stay in communication with them and you’ll see opportunities and properties appear before you.

A good real estate agent is in high demand.

If you open up to your real estate agent and work with your agent, your chances at getting the best home for you is high.

3. DO YOUR HOMEWORK

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What does the seller need? What do they want?

Price is usually a ‘pat’ answer, but there’s more. Knowing these and crafting an offer around them will put you in the seller’s favor and can help keep the competition at bay.

Finding out the seller’s time frame for moving, priorities outside of a sales price, and other areas of importance to them (and meeting some or all of those needs) add VALUE to your offer without spending more money.

What will shut them down: In addition to what they want, it’s equally important to know what will turn them off. Closing costs, home warranties, lowball offers, etc., can completely SHUT DOWN a seller during negotiations.

Get a preview of what the seller has dealt with in the past, and use that information to help you make your offer work!