The spring market has come early. So early, it started in December! Buyers are battling it out until the nerve-wracking end for the homes they want. They are putting everything they have and more into offers to make them more enticing for Sellers to accept. Here are a few suggestions & tools that have worked for us to help our Buyers win the dueling offers battle.
1. Work with a seasoned real estate agent that knows how to help you write a strong offer. Experienced agents will help you win the house. They can offer great ideas on how to write an offer that will capture the Seller's attention & ultimately, get you the accepted offer.
2. Get yourself pre-approved before you even think about looking at a home. Things move really quickly when you find the home you want to write an offer on & one thing that can hinder you from getting that accepted offer is not having gone to the bank. Along this line of thinking, go to a local lender. Sellers want assurances that the money will be at the closing table. Don't let this be the reason you don't get the house.
3. Be prepared to offer over the asking price. It's a tough pill to swallow for most of us - paying more than the asking price. However, when multiple offers are coming in, your Buyers may have to open their wallets a bit deeper.
4. Offer more earnest money. Show the Sellers how serious you are by offers more than the standard (in South Central WI) 1%.
5. Keep your contingency timelines short. The Sellers want to know you can wrap up all inspection, financing & appraisal contingencies as quickly as possible.
6. Find out ahead of time the Seller's ideal closing date & try to accommodate it. Again, this can sweeten the deal for the Sellers.
Here's the bottom line: it's a Seller's real estate market. Buyers have to do everything they can to entice a Seller to accept your offer. These suggestions are just that, suggestions. However, our team has had success by using these tools to help our Buyers get the accepted offer.
Talk to a local agent in your real estate market to find out more about local marketing conditions & if you're a Seller - there's no better time to throw your hat in! And if you're in the Madison market,
give us a call today!
Disclaimer: This blog post is based on our real estate experience & these tools are strictly suggestions.
