With home prices still quickly increasing and inventory still well below demand, sellers remain in the driver’s seat. So when you find that home you love and it’s within your price range, you’ll likely be bidding against several other buyers. And that means you have to find a way to make your offer more noticeable and more attractive than all those other offers. Find out how to do that with these tips to make your offer stand out when buying a house in Northwest Arkansas, Fayetteville, or Northwest Arkansas.
Get Pre-Approved
Pre-approval is simply a lender’s approval after you’ve submitted all your financial information, for a mortgage loan of a certain amount. With approval, if nothing changes in your financial situation, it’s almost certain you can get the loan needed for buying a house in NWA. And that’s why it can make your offer stand out.
In a seller’s market where a property often has several offers coming in, your pre-approval letter can dramatically increase your chances of having your offer accepted. The seller will know that you can get the financing, and you will be seen as a serious buyer. Sellers typically skip over buyers who might not be able to get financing.
Make a Competitive Offer
Another way to make your offer stand out when buying a house in Northwest Arkansas, Fayetteville, or Northwest Arkansas is to make a competitive offer. More often than not, though, this requires the expertise of a good local real estate agent.
A competitive offer is one that falls in line with fair market value. You want to start strong, but still need to keep market value in mind. Your agent can perform a comparative market analysis to determine that fair market value and can then advise you on how to proceed.
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Offer More Earnest Money
To be seen as a serious buyer and to really make your offer stand out when buying a house in NWA, you can increase the earnest money. This is money paid at the time of offer – usually, a flat amount that works out to about 1% to 3% of the purchase price – with the purpose of protecting a seller from a buyer who makes too many offers. Earnest money also positions you as a serious buyer who is in earnest about buying the home. And if you back out of the deal without good reason, you will likely lose that money.
Offering more earnest money, though, carries little risk if you really are a serious buyer. For when the buyer accepts your stand-out offer, the money goes toward the purchase price.
Go Easy on Contingencies
Contingencies provide buyers a way to address unforeseen issues that may arise, such as the buyer’s inability to get financing or problems discovered by the inspection. Contingencies are a typical part of the process but can prolong negotiations.
So, in order to make your offer stand out when buying a house, don’t go overboard with contingencies, as many buyers are prone to do. Yes, go for necessary and reasonable contingencies. But ask for as few as possible in order not to create additional problems for the seller.
Consider an Escalation Clause
An escalation clause provides you a way to automatically increase your offer up to a set amount if needed. This can be a valuable way of making a stand-out offer for buying a house in Northwest Arkansas when pre-approval, a competitive offer, more earnest money, and few contingencies just aren’t enough.
An escalation clause does carry some risk, though, because it may allow the seller to know that you are willing to pay quite a bit more than you first offered. The key here is to work with an agent to reduce that risk and make this an effective strategy.
Use an Experienced Local Agent
All these tips and strategies require the assistance and expertise of a qualified local real estate agent. Using a good agent just may be the best way to make your offer stand out when buying a house in Northwest Arkansas, Fayetteville, or Northwest Arkansas. Find out today how I can help you make that winning bid.
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