To find a great home in today’s competitive market, there are four specific tips you can utilize.
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Here are a few tips and tricks you should know as a homebuyer entering our competitive market.
First, get pre-qualified by a local, reputable lender. You need to know what your purchasing power is. The last thing I want you to do is fall in love with a home you can’t afford or not know that you can afford more than you think. Find a home that’s a great fit and you can grow into for the long term.
Also, be ready to submit a pre-qualification letter with any offer you make. If a seller has multiple offers to consider and yours isn’t accompanied by a pre-qualification letter, that offer may go straight to the bottom of the stack. Put yourself in the best possible position to get the home you want.
Next, make sure you communicate with your agent. If you work with us, our agents will proactively ask you about your thought process regarding the homes we show you. For example, we’ll ask you if there’s any reason you wouldn’t consider writing an offer on certain homes. We don’t want you to feel like we’re being pushy; we’re just trying to get to the bottom of what your needs are. If you’re not prepared to write an offer on a home we show you after a detailed buyer consultation, we need to know why so we can learn more about you and not show you any more homes like that. Help your agent hone in on your dream home by communicating with them.
“Help your agent hone in on your dream home by communicating with them.”
Finally, pay attention to contract contingencies. In a competitive market like ours, you can lock out your competition for 24, 48, and even 72 hours because that’s how long you’re allowed in the negotiation process. There’s also basically a get-out-of-jail-free card with the contingency process, and what I mean by that is the inspection contingency clause. This clause is a 10-day grace period where you can get out of the deal with no questions asked if you decide you don’t like something about the home.
Use contingencies like these to your advantage. If there’s someone else who viewed the property in the previous 24 hours who’s considering making an offer, you can beat them to the punch. A lot of times, homebuyers are hesitant to write a contract for what it might involve them in that they can’t get out of, but that 10-day grace period is put in place so that you can vet the house and make sure it’s the right one for you.
If you have any questions about these tips or you have any other real estate needs I can help you with, don’t hesitate to give me a call or shoot me an email. I’d love to speak with you.