How to Beat the Competition:

Top 10 tips for home buyers in a competitive market

Today, top 10 tips for home buyers in a competitive market. Check it out. In a competitive market, you want to do everything that you possibly can to get the home of your dreams. So I've created a list here, 10 things that you need to do as a home buyer if you are in a competitive market and you want to win.

1)

First thing's first, man, you got to get pre-approved for mortgage. Getting this pre-approval will let the sellers know that you are a serious buyer. Nothing worse than them getting an offer from somebody who says they want to purchase their house for, you name the price, and then that person submits an offer. They're not pre-approved yet, or they're submitting an offer in the hopes of getting pre-approved, or they say they want to write, they don't have a pre-approval letter. That seller then looks at that buyer and says, I don't know if they really have the funds to buy this property.

They don't have a pre-approval letter. They haven't done the things necessary to get pre-approved and qualified, and they don't have a third party saying, "They have enough money to buy your house." So if you want the house competitive market, don't do that. Make sure you get pre-approved.

2)

Second thing, make sure you work with a licensed agent. Why do I say this? Yes, I'm a licensed agent, but they also can help you through the process. They can help you navigate the process itself. They can help you when it comes to negotiating, and they can also write up the offer for you.

3)

Number three, if you want that house in a competitive market, you got to act fast. This goes back to us getting that pre-approval letter. Before you even start shopping. You want to be able to say, "Hey, I like this house. Let's write up this offer and submit it today."

If you're not ready to go, then you got to wait and wait and wait and waste time, while you're wasting time, somebody else is crafting their offer.

4)

The fourth thing is don't be afraid to make a strong offer right out the gate. Some people say, "Hey, I'll throw an offer out there, and I hope that they'll counter offer me, and then we'll go back and forth and we'll do the dance. We'll play the game." In a competitive market, that strategy is not highly successful. If you come in with a low offer and they have other offers in hand, then they automatically just kick yours right out because they're going to go with the best and highest. And if you're not the best and highest, and there's no more reason for them to be conversing with you. So when I say don't hesitate to make a strong offer, what I mean is don't be afraid to come in at asking price if you really like the house.

5)

The fifth thing is, and this is probably the most controversial on here, but if you really like the house and it's a competitive market, you might want to consider waving some contingencies. I know, I know, I know. Waving contingencies? No way, Jose. Your contingencies are usually your outs in the contract. So if something happens to come up on a home inspection report that you don't like, if you have that contingency written in there, then you can make that contract null and void based on what you find in a home inspection. If you waive that right, then basically your home inspection would be for informational purposes only. So have a home inspection so that you know what you're walking into. Just know that if you waive that contingency, you are waiving the right to cancel that contract based on what you find in that home inspection.

That's just an example of what waving a contingency means and what it is. If you really feel comfortable with the property that you're looking to purchase, and it's very important for you to get that one, then you might want to consider waving a contingency or two to make it more appealing to the seller.

6)

The sixth thing, be flexible with your timeline. Sometimes based on the seller situation, timeline could be something that makes or breaks a deal. One of the things that a lot of agents, including myself that we like to do is before we submit an offer, I like to talk to the listing agent and say like, "Hey, is there anything with a timeline that would help your seller out so that we can make our offer the best offer for your seller?" And a lot of times they'll tell me whether or not something like timeline works for them, if they need to move faster or if they don't know where they're going yet, if the seller is still uncertain of where they're going next, they might ask for a longer timeline.

Sometimes you'll get a post-settlement occupancy deal or a rent back. So after settlement, they will still occupy the property. So once again, if you would like to make your offer a little more attractive, be flexible with your timeline if at all possible.

7)

Number seven, keep an eye out for these off market deals. Sometimes you come across deals that aren't posted in the MLS, whether it's a for sale by owner or if it is a listing that is in-house with whatever agent that you're working with. There might be an opportunity for you to scoop up a deal that hasn't been sent out there for the mass public to see yet. Keep an eye out for those because those could be a great deal to find in a competitive market.

8)

Number eight, consider making a larger down payment or a larger earnest money deposit. Cash is king when it comes to real estate.

I know everybody's heard that. It sounds very cliche, but at the end of the day, if you have the money on hand, if you have the cash and you really want the property saying upfront that, "I have a large down payment," or even, "I have a large earnest money deposit that I can put down in the event that if something were to go wrong and I was in breach of contract, you would be entitled to keep that earnest money deposit." Or if you say, "I have enough cash to put up a large down payment," some people look at that and say, "Okay, if they have a large down payment, the likelihood of their financing not going through with this amount of money is a lot less likely than someone who's only putting down the bare minimum." So that makes deals a lot more attractive to some sellers.

So if you're in a competitive market, it is a good tool, a good strategy to kind of think through and see if it makes sense for you to make that larger deposit.

9)

Number nine, this one is a key factor and is very important in a competitive market. Don't get discouraged. Do not get discouraged. There are times where you're going to make an offer, you really like a property, it's priced at a price point that works for you, and you're going to throw your offer in there, and then the listing agent is going to say, "thanks for your offer. You're one of X number of people who've submitted an offer." Sometimes when that happens, the price gets at a point where it becomes no longer advantageous for you to consider pursuing that property or the seller picks someone else's offer. If that's the case, I don't want you to get in the dumps and say, "Ah, well, this is never going to happen."

Put your head down and go through all the rollercoaster of emotions that happens when you don't get a house. Don't get discouraged. It will happen. You will be able to buy a house at some point in time. It might not just be that house. Typically, when that happens, what I found is that the buyer then turns around and finds a house that suits their needs a lot better and actually is a better fit for them than the house that they just lost out on. So don't get discouraged. Keep at it. It is a process. It doesn't always happen on the first shot. And I say all that to bring you to number 10.

10)

Be patient. As I just said, don't get discouraged. Sometimes it takes a little bit of time to find the right house for you in your situation.

So sometimes you just have to be a little patient. Take your time. You're going to go through the bumps and bruises of the whole process, but take your time and be patient. You will find the house for you. If you're looking for more helpful tips like this, make sure you continue to watch the videos on my YouTube channel.

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