The Keys To The Perfect Offer
If you are interested in buying a new home, it is time to face the facts. It is a seller’s market. A majority of home buyers are finding themselves in bidding wars trying to buy the home of their dreams. In order to win these bidding wars it takes resilience, foresight and the perfect offer. What goes into making a perfect offer when buying a new home? How can you make your offer stand out from other potential buyers? The team at Streamline Realty is here to help you navigate today’s seller’s market and help you close on your dream house.
Making the Perfect Offer when Buying a New Home
There is a lot that goes into making the perfect offer for a new home in today’s market. Some of it has to do with the offer itself, but a lot of his to do with the preparation that goes into it. Here are a few helpful hints than can help your offer get chosen from a sea of competing buyers:
Know Your Budget
The quickest way to lose a bidding war is to find yourself in over your head in terms of the other offers. As soon as you are interested in buying a home, it is time to make a budget. You want to make sure that you can afford your mortgage payments, normal bills, and anything else that might pop up. Having a firm budget for your new house will help your realtor find the perfect house for your financial situation. It will also prevent you from falling in love with a house that is out of your price range.
Get Pre-Qualified for a Mortgage
Many people think that they do not have to worry about qualifying for a mortgage until they find the perfect house. However, this will put you at a tremendous disadvantage in today’s market. Getting pre-qualified for a mortgage prior to your home search will give you a huge leg up on the competition. You should go into any offer you make assuming that there will be other offers on the house you want.
Having a pre-qualification letter will set your offer apart from the rest for a few reasons. First, it will let the home seller know you are serious about buying their home and that you have financial ability to afford it. If there is an offer between someone who is pre-qualified versus someone who isn’t, they will go with the pre-qualified buyer. A seller’s goal is to sell their home at a good price as quickly as possible. If someone is not pre-qualified, then there is no telling how long it might take for them to get financing. Second, already having your financing secured will give you the comfort of knowing that all you have to do is win the negotiation. This comfort will give you an added boost of confidence as you deal with the ups and downs of trying to beat out other offers.
Act Quickly
Not only are bidding wars common in today’s sellers’ market, homes are selling quicker than ever. According to the National Realtors Association, your average home is only on the market for 21 days. This means that if you find a house that you like and is within your budget, you need to pounce on it. Sitting back and carefully considering whether or not you want to buy the home could lead to you missing out on it. That is a big reason why it is important to have your finances and mortgage options set long before you start looking for a home.
Make a Reasonable Offer
Everyone wants to buy a home as cheap as possible. However, making an offer that is too low could leave you out of a bidding war altogether. If your offer comes in far below the other offers, the seller might not even be willing to engage you with a counter offer. You need to set a price that is reflective of the value of the home and the state of the market.
In a seller’s market like today, it is always advisable to look for homes slightly below your budget. You should anticipate that you will have to pay more for the home you want than the listing price. As such, looking for homes that are below your budget gives you a chance to increase your offer. This will give you a much better chance to buy the home of your dreams.
Always Get an Inspection
Although you want to buy your home as quickly as possible, do not be tempted to waive an inspection. Home inspections are essential to understanding the overall condition of the home. You need to have someone thoroughly inspect the plumbing, roof, foundation and a whole host of other parts of the home. Not all problems can be seen with the naked eye by someone who isn’t a professional contractor. When you buy a home, you are marrying that home and you need to know any of the bad parts that will come with it. Skipping out on an inspection could leave you in a bad place where you are shelling out lots of money for costly repairs. It could also leave you in a situation where you will be denied home coverage by your insurer. Skipping an inspection might have significant consequences in terms of stress and money.
Final Thoughts
There are a lot of important things to consider when making an offer for a home in a seller’s market. All of the above tips are important things to keep in mind. However, the most important advice we have for you is to trust your realtor. Realtor’s are real estate professionals and our job is to know your market inside and out. Our job is to help you craft the perfect offer for your desired house based on its specific market. We understand what comparable homes have been selling for and many other market factors that will impact your purchase. We live to help your clients buy the home of their dreams. The advice we offer is designed to help make your dream a reality.
If you or anyone you know is interested in buying a new home, contact us! The team at Streamline Realty is here to walk you through every step of the process.
