Hire A Local Buyer’s Agent w/ A Proven Track Record
Hiring a real estate agent is the most important part of the process because this is the partnership that will determine the best plan and position your offer to get accepted. A savvy buyer’s agents with a proven track record can be hard to come by, so make sure to interview the agent and ask them to provide you with recent sales, success stories, and testimonials so that you feel like you are in the right hands.
Prepare Financials Early
The first thing that you should do after hiring an agent is to prepare your financials. This includes gathering your proof of funds, ensuring that most recent two years tax returns and income statements are available and that you get pre-qualified for a mortgage loan form a bank, should you need one. If you do not have a particular bank you use, your realtor should have several recommendations for you. Once you have a loan pre-approval, then it’s time to start shopping for homes. It’s vital to get this done prior to your home search because this will identify exactly what you can buy and what markets your budget takes you to. Now you are ready to make offers!
Determine Exactly What The Seller Wants
This is where your Realtor comes in to do what they do best. This part of the transaction can often be overlooked by buyers agents that are not forthcoming, direct and inquisitive. Simply submitting offers, even at the asking price is not good enough in today’s market! Inventory is so limited it’s very likely that several buyers will be bidding on the same home as you. One of the most important conversation your agent can have, is the initial conversation to determine exactly what the seller wants regarding price and terms to see if those wants and needs aline with yours. Not only will this help discover whether this is the right home, but this will allow for you to write up the strongest offer possible and increase your chances for an acceptance.
Submit Your Highest & Best Offer
When writing an offer, there are a variety of creative strategies that you can do to position yourself in the best light. In general, it is always a good rule of thumb to include your highest price and reduce the contingency timelines as much as possible. Beyond best price and terms, you could offer to pay for the sellers escrow and title fees, add a daily per diem from buyer to seller should escrow not close on time and a more aggressive tactic could be adding an escalation clause to allow the option for the buyer to pay X amount higher then the highest offer received. Check with a qualified real estate attorney prior to writing escalation clauses so that you understand the ramifications. These are all great incentives for a seller to choose your offer above anyone else’s!
Leverage Your Team To Create Best Ability To Perform
I am a big believer in leveraging your team to create positive influence in the seller’s eyes regarding the buyer’s ability to perform. For example, the loan officer at the bank should always call the seller’s agent to outline in more details the buyers qualifications regarding income, assets and DTI ratios. If there is a business manager, CPA or wealth advisor related to the buyer, these are also great professionals that can further instill confidence in a buyer’s ability to perform thus creating more competitive advantage.
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