Four tips to help buyers win against multiple offers in a seller’s market.
Are you frustrated with trying to get an offer accepted in our current hot seller’s market? Today I want to share some tips to help your offer stand out against all the rest. It can be discouraging to go up against many offers on one home. I recently received 40 offers on one house within 24 hours. So here are four tips to help buyers win in a multiple-offer situation:
1. Offer more than the asking price. Offering more for the home may not guarantee you’ll win, but it will certainly help. Price is one of the most crucial factors in an offer, so if you can offer over asking price, you should probably do so. With the present interest rates, offering an additional $10,000 will only cost you about $50 more on your monthly payments. Adding an extra $50 to $200 per month might be worth it to get that perfect house.
“These tips are likely to help your offer stand head and shoulders above the rest.”
2. Increase your earnest money deposit. Earnest money is part of your down payment, but by raising it, you’re showing the sellers that you’re serious about closing. The seller will have more confidence that you won’t back out of the deal come the first bump in the road. Your money is still protected by the contract, but it speaks volumes and stands out against other offers that don’t include extra earnest money.
3. Be flexible with the move-in date. You can set a later moving date to give the sellers time to get their affairs sorted after closing. I’ve seen buyers allow the sellers to stay in the house for an additional 60 days rent-free to help get their offer accepted. However, this strategy doesn’t always work if you have to give up possession of your current home before moving into the new one. With that said, if you can allow the seller to stay for a while, even just a few days, they may give you extra points when evaluating multiple offers. By offering extra time, you’re showing the sellers generosity, and they might not even need to take that additional time.
4. Offer to cover the appraisal gap. Right now, there’s a good chance that the appraised value will be lower than the offer prices. To stand out from the crowd, you can write into your offer that you’ll make up the difference between the appraised value and your offer price if the numbers don’t match. For example, if your offer of $300,000 is accepted, the appraisal could come in at $290,000. You can offer to pay that extra $10,000 to secure the property.
Keep in mind that you should only use this strategy if you can truly pay that difference. You cannot pay the appraisal gap with borrowed funds. Don’t get into a financial disaster over a house.
These tips are likely to help your offer stand head and shoulders above the rest. If you’d like more tips to help your offer stand out, just give me a call. I’d be more than glad to speak with you.
