When making your strongest offer on a property, there are other things to consider other than price.
First, you should know what’s important to the seller. Maybe the seller has some specific needs that not every buyer can meet. But if you can craft you offer to meet their needs at the beginning, you stand a better chance of getting your offer accepted.
Second, there are plenty of terms in the purchase contract, making may different opportunities to make your offer stand out from the rest.
Escrow Period
You can shorten your escrow period, making it a quick transaction.
Contingencies
You can shorten or eliminate contingencies. Contingencies are a buyer’s “outs”. You can cancel the contract based on several contingencies including a loan contingency, appraisal contingency, investigations contingency, preliminary title contingency, and so on. If you are making an aggressive offer and you suspect you will be paying more than market value, you may want to consider eliminating your appraisal contingency. In this way, the seller doesn’t have to be afraid that the home won’t appraise and you will walk away from the deal. Of course, you have to be prepared to come out-or-pocket for the additional cost.
You can shorten the time period for your investigations and other contingencies.
Seller’s Closing Costs
In a buyer’s market, sellers are often more apt to pay for some of the buyers’ closing costs. Well in a sellers market, a buyer can do the same thing. If you pick up some of the seller’s expenses, you increase their bottom line, making your offer stronger. Sometimes a buyer is not even able to increase the purchase price due loan restrictions, but if he has extra cash, he can pay for some closing costs and possibly win the bidding war.
Termite Work
You don’t need to ask the seller to do termite work. A buyer can take this on themselves at their own discretion. It’s a good idea, however, to still get the termite report in order to determine how much work is needed and what it will cost.
The list can go and, and I’m happy to go over your options with you.
Last, it’s always a good idea to impress upon the seller that you are a motivated buyer to will move quickly with the intent to close. By preparing a complete offer package with all financials, by putting your lender in contact with the listing agent, by giving the seller as much information as possible, and responding in a timely manner will assure the seller that you will be a good partner in the transaction.
