There are few guarantees when it comes to the real estate market, but there are plenty of things you can do to improve your chances of receiving the keys to your new home. Wyndham Capital Mortgage is here to here to offer 10 tips on sharpening your home buying skills and taking the next step in becoming a successful home buyer.
10 Ways Savvy Home Buyers Can Win
1. Understand and Accept the Market
The more you understand how the real estate market works and accept how it works, the better off you’ll be. Believing in outdated notions and believing a seller should accept a lowball offer is sure to bring nothing but storm clouds that shower cold disappointment all over your parade.
2. Take Advantage of Low Interest Rates
While it’s great to shop for a home while rates are especially low, it’s better to take full advantage of those low rates. If the property you’re considering is in need of repairs, add them to your mortgage instead of paying for them on your own, which is likely to come with higher interest if you use credit.
3. Have a Large Deposit
Having a large amount of money in escrow shows the seller you’re serious about buying, mainly because you have more money to lose. Know you’ll receive your money back if you don’t break the contract.
4. Think Fast With Cash
If you’ve got the means to do so, offer to pay with cold, hard cash. Doing so is sure to make a seller do a double take, maybe even a spit take. You can double your approval chances if you’re open to a quick close.
5. Choose Your Contingencies With Care
Keep the contingencies you include in your offer to a minimum. Add too many and the seller may get the impression you’re looking for ways to get out of the deal.
6. Send an Approval Letter
Before you send over that preapproval or prequalification letter to the seller, switch it out for an approval letter. The seller’s realtor is sure to love learning you’ve already been approved. The problem with a preapproval or prequalification is there’s still a sliver of a doubt as to whether you’ll be approved for a loan.
7. Minimize Problems
Show sellers you’re serious about buying up the property by doing away with the inspection contingency. This contingency says you can back out of a deal during the inspection for any reason and get your deposit back, which may make sellers wary of doing business with you. To keep the upper hand, consider adding a clause that states you can back out of the deal if repairs over a certain dollar amount need to be done and the seller refuses to follow through on them.
8. Get Your Own Realtor
Make sure you have your own realtor rather than go through the seller’s. This way you’ll have someone looking out for your own interests rather than just the seller’s.
9. Put Yourself in the Seller’s Frame of Mind
Know that sellers don’t want to lose any money they don’t absolutely have to. Remember they’re paying for two realtors as well as the closing costs, which is why giving a low offer is unacceptable. To find a nice middle ground between yourself and the seller, you can narrow your options down to properties that have been on the market for at least a month. If a home is slow to move, sellers are more likely to budge a bit when it comes to the price.
Read: Home Buyers: How to Make Your Offer Stand Out in a Competitive Market
10. Write a Letter
Finally, think about writing a personalized letter (by hand) to the seller about what the home means to you and your future and what you love about the property. Attach the letter to your bid and make sure it can’t be missed.
